ECU Water Resources Center

06/29/2026

Looking for ways you or your kids can help protect your local waterways? Take a cue from one of our amazing Community Liaisons!

Since 2024, Nelisa Wuilliez has been working with the CoPe project to inspire youth and families in Kill Devil Hills, NC to get involved in caring for their environment. She’s helped residents adopt local waterways, taught youth how to collect water‑quality samples, shown up at community markets, and even organized beach clean‑ups — she’s truly doing it all.

Want to see her impact? Check out her StoryMap below. And if you’re in the OBX, why not reach out and get involved? Your community (and your waterways!) will thank you. 🌊🌿

StoryMap link > https://arcg.is/0mCez52

05/21/2026

That’s a wrap on the spring session of the Moyewood Youth Community Garden program! Over the last 6 weeks, students had fun building their own little community garden. They had the opportunity to plant and nurture flowers, herbs, and leafy greens. They also learned about the ecosystem of a garden, from pollinators to decomposers. By making their own mini compost bins and tracking changes over time, they’ve gotten to see the natural process of turning organic waste into nutritious plant food. Whether it was taking care of the garden every week, or pretending to be bees collecting pollen, the students were able to learn, have fun, and get their hands dirty!

This program was run in collaboration with the Greenville Housing Authority (GHA) after-school program at the GHA Cultural & Recreation Center in Moyewood. Thank you to program coordinator Tiesha Long and her team, for working with us and allowing us to be a part of their program! Thank you as well to Moyewood resident Paradise Odom, who joined us this spring as a facilitator.

04/24/2026

The Moyewood Community Garden Inc.����� had its spring planting day on April 11th! 🌱

It was a wonderful day filled with food, community, and of course, gardening. This year, the garden plot was expanded, and community members were able to sign up for rows ahead of time. Nearly every row was planted—everything from tomatoes and cucumbers to rosemary and onions!

We’re excited to watch the garden grow in the coming months. We’re also grateful for the opportunity to support the Moyewood community, especially Mr. Pierre and Ms. Brenda, in renewing this beautiful garden space.

Thank you to all of the community members and everyone who came out to make this event a success!

04/23/2026

On the final episode of the Water We Share, we were excited to welcome our special guest, Aassal, a high school student and participant in our Student Leadership Program since August 2024. In this episode, we talk about her year-long project, her experience competing in the CSI Energy Generation Competition, and the impact she’s made within her community.

Aassal shares how she developed her ideas, the challenges she faced along the way, and how programs like this can empower students to take initiative in solving real-world environmental problems. This conversation highlights the importance of youth leadership, innovation, and community-driven solutions.

🔗 Explore the links related to this episode:
https://www.coastalstudiesinstitute.org/nc_renewable_energy_challenge/

Thank you for listening and we hope that this podcast has inspired you to take part in more conversations about water, science, and community action.

(Host: Tyler Wright)

https://youtu.be/C5G0w5yQYTE

The Water We Share Episode 4

04/22/2026

Happy Earth 🌎 Day from the WRC!!! Here's some fun throwback pics we took at the Sustain ECU Earth Day event on April 9th. Thank you to everyone who joined us and took pics to celebrate

04/15/2026

Ever wondered what should go into your recycle bin?

Peggy Novotny shares her work as a community liaison working with the Water Resources Center, and her passion for promoting proper recycling throughout the community. She explains which materials can and should be recycled, helping residents better understand how to “recycle right.”

Peggy also highlights local resources, including where community members can go to learn more about recycling and conveniently drop off their recyclable materials. Through her outreach efforts, she regularly presents to schools, organizations, and community groups, working to raise awareness and inspire positive environmental habits.

Watch to learn how small actions can make a big impact—and how you can be part of a cleaner, more sustainable Pitt County.

Pitt County Solid Waste and Recycling website: https://www.pittcountync.gov/430/Solid-Waste-And-Recycling

https://youtu.be/7R8MdyDwl4k?si=R3Q7WzyYkbczKKmU

Peggy Novotny shares her work as a community liaison working with the Water Resources Center in Greenville, NC, and her passion for promoting proper recyclin...

04/14/2026

The WRC had a busy time last week...

Not only did the WRC participate in the RCAW Centers’ Day on 4/8/26 as part of the R1 Celebration and Focus on Centers and Initiatives at ECU where we had opportunity to showcase some of the work being done through the Environmental Sensors and Data Networking Program (ESDN).

But we also had the opportunity to support and participate in the ECU Sustainability Department’s 2026 Earth Day. Students had fun taking selfies with WRC’s Drip Droplet, answering sustainability questions where they showed how deeply they thought about their environment, and joined Peggy Novotny, a WRC Greenville Community Liaison, in a “Place recyclables into the Bin” game. Char’Rese Finney, WRC Research Technician, also brought out some of the sensors and live dashboard used by the ESDN WRC program.

04/02/2026

This week on the Water We Share Podcast, we are excited to welcome our special guest, Mr. Pierre Lambson. As a WRC community partner and community activist leader of the Moyewood community in Greenville, NC, Mr. Lambson shares his perspective on the importance of community engagement and the role we all play in making our communities better than we found it. Working together with his fellow community members, Mr. Lambson has played a pivotal in spearheading the development of a community garden initiative in the Moyewood community. In this episode, he talks about their work in the garden, helping and getting fellow community members involved, spreading awareness on healthy eating and living, and giving back to his community.

Photo credits: Pierre Lambson, Michelle Ding.

This week, we are excited to welcome our special guest, Mr. Pierre Lambson. As a WRC community partner and community activist leader of the Moyewood communit...