Community festival to celebrate Tar River, science, learning
Zasha Griffin, one of East Carolina University’s Brinkley-Lane Scholars from the Honors College, has excitedly helped to get other students involved in the third annual Tar River Community Science Festival (TRCSF). He has recruited 58 volunteers, whose total time will equal more than 260 cumulative hours.
The festival, which is free and open to the public, will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9., at the Greenville Town Common. It is a celebration of the Tar River, the community and their relationship to one another. The event will include activities that allow attendees of all ages to experience science and promote shared learning about challenges faced by different communities in eastern North Carolina.
The event is hosted by ECU’s Water Resources Center (WRC), housed in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences; the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network; the North of the River Association of Pitt County; and the Pitt County Coalition Against Racism.
Griffin, who is majoring in engineering with an environmental engineering concentration, first heard about the festival when he was applying to ECU. Later, he was contacted about helping with the event and met WRC staff Grace Gavigan and Dr. Steven Moysey, director of the center and professor in the Department of Geological Sciences.
Zasha Griffin volunteered his time to get other ECU students involved in this year’s festival. (Photo by Rhett Butler)
“I am a fan of getting engaged in the community,” Griffin said. “It is very important for me, especially when I can give that opportunity to others.”
“Zasha has done a tremendous job of recruiting student volunteers for the festival this year,” said Gavigan, who is the center’s Community and Coastal Community Environmental Data Scholars National Research Traineeship program coordinator.
The WRC partners with numerous organizations for the annual festival, including liaisons from the cities of Greenville, Princeville and Nags Head, as well as individuals from AmeriCorps, NC Civil and other community organizations.
More than 400 people attended the festival in its first year in 2022, and Gavigan said she hopes to surpass that number this year.
The festival will include approximately 30 hands-on activity tables. Other attractions include food trucks, boat rides, fishing lessons and three tents. One tent will feature members of the Bending Tree Creative Collective, a playback theater troupe from UNCGreensboro, who will chat about environmental justice issues. This tent also will include youth discussions and dialogs with other community liaisons. The second tent will feature exhibits of trash collected from the Tar River, and the third tent will consist of a community art project to which the public can contribute.
“I feel this is truly a community endeavor,” Gavigan said.
She hopes visitors to the festival will experience the same feeling of community she has. They will hear stories about other people’s issues and learn how to keep the Tar River and other watersheds clean while having fun.
Gavigan, who has worked with the WRC for a year, said the ability to partner with the community drew her to the job. She said she likes the variety of the center and the research. She also said she is passionate about the environmental justice aspects of the position, something she has experienced from the time she began her career out of law school with civil rights cases.
“It is very satisfying work,” she said. “Everyone is very committed and professional.”
Griffin, a first-year student and a research assistant to Dr. Randall Etheridge, assistant professor in the Center for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, is also a good fit when it comes to water quality issues. He briefly worked with an engineering firm in the area of site design, where he learned how stormwater and water quality are heavily involved in the permitting process. He was educated on guidelines, restrictions and the data involved in water quality and water resources, even taking into account aspects such as humidity when designing a building. He said it was a unique opportunity to expand his knowledge of water quality.
“My research is on water quality and chemistry of waterfowl impoundments surrounding Lake Mattamuskeet,” Griffin said. “This has been an additional opportunity to hone my understanding of water resources and how small changes, such as prescribed flooding, play a larger role in water quality.”
Griffin hopes the community gains a lot from the festival. He said it is a great opportunity for people, including young kids, to learn about their ecosystem and the Tar River.
“I wish I had learned more about science when I was younger,” he said. “The Water Resouces Center provides opportunities to get involved in both the environment and the community. Having these opportunities lets people find new interests and connect with the world.”
For more information about the WRC or the science festival, visit the WRC website.
Griffin helps clear the fish pond, located outside of ECU’s Old Cafeteria Complex, of excess aquatic vegetation so that the fish can access surface water more easily. (Contributed Photo)
The Water Resources Center staff hopes attendance at this year’s Tar River Community Science Festival will exceed the 400 visitors who came the first year. (Contributed Photo)