UNCW Environmental Sciences Department

Chancellor’s Walk won’t look so empty anymore as of tomorrow morning …. The FDOC is coming ! Welcome back Seahawks to the Fall 2026 term Wednesday August 19th !!! We missed you … 🦅🦅🦅

Seats still available in EVS 448 Human Wildlife Conflict ! Held 2-250pm MWF this Fall ! Come learn more about wildlife, conservation, and global environmental issues. 🐘🐘🐘🌎🌎🌎🐅🐅🐅

🌎🌿UNCW EVS kicking off a new academic year today with big ideas and even bigger environmental impact!

EVS Senior Lecturer Hannah Eaton sharing graduate program update info with EVS faculty and staff at our departmental academic year kickoff meeting, called the “EVS Advance”. From research and teaching to conservation and stewardship, we’re ready to grow, learn, and make a difference together! 🌱🔬🦋

Here’s to another school year of exploring, discovering, and protecting the places we call home! 🌎💚🐍🐝🦅🐟🐢🐠🌳🌎

Curtis Downey completed his undergraduate studies in December 2024, and is a graduate of the UNCW EVS program. He currently is very busy in the Wilmington area volunteering with Cape Fear Riverwatch, Bird Observatory, Willowdale Farms, and enjoys anything involving nature, birds, insects, plants, or local environmental issues. He also recently completed a horticulture program at Cape Fear Community College in May 2026 for plant propagation and greenhouse operations and hopes to grow native plants, food, and promote permaculture gardening. Curtis is pictured above at a recent experience volunteering at Willowdale Farms. We are excited to see our former students and program graduates show their dedication to environmental stewardship and make positive impacts in our communities! Keep soaring Seahawk! 🦅🪴🪏🏡🌎🌳🪾

The 7th edition of the EVS newsletter is out now! Created by EVS Administrative Associate Suzanne Mullins and EVS Department Chair Dr. Rachael Urbanek. 🌎🌳🌟💫☄️

https://www.whqr.org/local/2026-07-14/in-ocean-isle-beach-advocates-hope-turtle-lights-will-save-tiny-lives

🐢🐢🐢Wildlife ecologist and UNCW EVS Department Chair Dr. Rachael Urbanek was recently interviewed by WHQR's Rhonda Waterhouse, for an article about new lighting installed at Ocean Isle Beach to help save turtle hatchlings! The project was funded by Brunswick County nonprofit The Ocean Isle Beach Sea Turtle Protection Organization. 🐢🐢🐢

In Ocean Isle Beach, advocates hope ‘Turtle Lights’ will save tiny lives The Ocean Isle Beach Sea Turtle Protection Organization, a Brunswick County nonprofit, is funding the installation of 'turtle safe' lighting — part of a larger effort to help protect turtle hatchlings from misdirection and predators as they head from the beach to the ocean.

📚UNCW EVS faculty Dr. Kgosi Velempini recently co-authored a book chapter in the Handbook of Traditional Spirituality and Sustainability! 📚 The first listed author, Wazha Bickie Maundeni, is a PhD candidate at the Univeristy of Botswana and was mentored by Dr. Velempini before he joined UNCW. The chapter is published by Springer Nature and is available here: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-05795-2_3