Spartanburg Water provides ongoing support to Watershed Ecology Center
December 18, 2023
$23,000 grant will help Center continue education for 23,000 local students
The USC Upstate Watershed Ecology Center (WEC) was recently awarded a $23,000 grant by Spartanburg Water to help continue its mission of encouraging community watershed awareness.
On Wednesday, December 13, 2022, Spartanburg Water presented the Watershed Ecology Center with a check for the grant, which represented $11,500 contributions from both the Commission of Public Works of the City of Spartanburg and the Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District Commission.
The WEC’s mission is to encourage appreciation of our local watershed through education, experience, and community outreach. Special emphasis is placed on water conservation, watershed education, water quality, and the study of organisms living in the area encompassed by a watershed. The WEC also promotes programs related to watershed awareness in the upper regions of the Pacolet River Watershed, such as the Adopt-A-Stream program, a credentialed citizen’s monitoring network.
The WEC’s annual goal for 2024 is to reach 23,000 K-8 students through watershed-based, hands-on educational programming. In addition, they will host a summer camp for students aged 7-12 at the USC Upstate Arboretum (and other sites on the USCU campus).
Building on the success of their Teacher Assistance Program, the WEC will continue to facilitate existing teacher success in the classroom by providing tools to incorporate both more hands on education of science and math, as well as further enhance their teacher education program in elementary schools by assisting with training of “pre-service” elementary teachers.
“We are glad to once again help support the efforts of the Watershed Ecology Center and the amazing work they do to provide our area’s K-8 students with valuable experiences and hands-on learning opportunities that open their eyes to the significance of our watershed,” said Guy Boyle, Spartanburg Water CEO. “It is essential that future generations understand the interconnectivity of life within our watershed, and the value of preserving its ongoing health for our community’s benefit.”
About Spartanburg Water
Spartanburg Water, an industry leading utility, is comprised of Spartanburg Water System and Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District. It serves a population of nearly 200,000 within Spartanburg County, as well as others in parts of Greenville, Union and Cherokee counties. With the help of its dedicated team of nearly 300 employees, each day it produces an average of 25 million gallons of drinking water and cleans 14 million gallons of wastewater for its customers and community.
