Isabelle Sui (left) and Elena Mpougas during a recent beach sweep at Folly Beach.
What do you know about the world’s oceans? Do you know that – along with lakes and rivers – the oceans make up 71 percent of the earth’s surface? And did you know that the majority of these bodies of water are in danger? Those questions are important, but they barely scratch the surface of the kind of awareness that Elena Mpougas and Isabelle Sui are trying to generate on campus, and beyond.
Mpougas and Sui are both seniors at the College and interns in the College’s Office of Sustainability. In addition, they both share a passion for understanding, enjoying and preserving aquatic environments. And that’s why they’ve chosen sustainable seafood as the focus of the next Greenbag Lunch event for the Office of Sustainability (Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, in the Stern Center Ballroom at noon). The event is free and open to the public.
“There’s minimal awareness about the importance of sustainably sourcing seafood,” says Sui. “It’s lacking here on campus and generally throughout our society. But generating awareness for this on campus is where we feel we can make a difference.”
To do that, Sui, a business administration major with a minor in studio art, and Mpougas, a marine biology major with minors in environmental studies and archaeology, have assembled a panel of individuals from the local community who will help to shed light on the topic of sustainable seafood.
Shelly Dearheart, the Sustainable Seafood Initiative Coordinator for the South Carolina Aquarium, will be joined by Drew Hedlund, the executive chef at Fleet Landing Restaurant, and marine biology professor Gorka Sancho from the College. At the Greenbag Lunch, each of them will speak briefly and then be available for questions and answers.
The Greenbag Lunch event for the Office of Sustainability takes place at noon on Oct. 29, 2015, in the Stern Center Ballroom.
“Awareness of what’s going on with our ocean species is vitally important,” explains Mpougas. “And being exposed to differing viewpoints on this issue can be really informative.”
Both Mpougas and Sui say their outlook on the state of the world’s oceans was strongly influenced by viewing Sylvia Earle’s documentary “Mission Blue.” “The overfishing of many species of ocean fish is a big problem,” offers Sui, “and too few of us are really aware of the impending consequences.”
The sustainable seafood Greenbag Lunch represents the beginning of an awareness initiative for Mpougas and Sui. Next semester, they hope to expand the discussion and highlight the problem of plastic detritus in the ocean. Consequently, they’ve dubbed this initiative the “71 Percent Project.” “We hope we can bring these important issues to the attention of more students,” says Sui. “Both of us will be gone after next semester, so we need other, younger students to carry on this awareness-raising.”
Some snacks will be served. For additional information about this event and the work of the Office of Sustainability, visit their website.
