S.C. Sea Grant Consortium
Susan Ferris Hill
Director of Communications
S.C. Sea Grant Consortium
Charleston
South Carolina
Magazine
Coastal Heritage
S.C. Sea Grant Consortium
Joey Holleman
Susan Ferris Hill, Director of Communications

Over the past few decades, South Carolina's coastal natural resources, historic cities, and lowcountry businesses and cultures have been transformed by population growth, economic development, and climate change. Coastal Heritage offers an in-depth look into environmental, historical, and cultural patterns of change and how they affect residents and visitors. Its purpose is to educate target audiences about ongoing coastal transformations, with consideration of diverse cultural, historical, and conservation perspectives important to South Carolinians. Coastal Heritage is published in print- and online-formats, and is distributed free-of-charge nationally and internationally to 5,000 subscribers. About 200 copies are distributed to various target audiences.
The target audience includes students and teachers from middle school to postgraduate, scientists, natural-resource managers, urban and regional planners, coastal property owners, coastal business owners, coastal visitors, S.C. legislators, government agency and municipal staff, non-governmental organizations, news media, and the general public.
In addition to the subscriber list of 5,000, we routinely receive a number of requests for the print publication. We have run out of the print edition on many occasions, but each issue also is offered in both text and PDF formats on our website. We have less than 25 copies remaining of each of these issues because museums, programs, and agencies have requested hard copies for distribution. Positive feedback from biennial reader surveys and requests for additional copies from specific target audiences reinforce the need for this type of magazine.
Coastal Heritage is a unique publication among South Carolina state agencies. As our agency's flagship publication, a high-quality product is expected each quarter. An internal editorial team of seven individuals guide the concept and development of each issue's theme. The magazine was recently named a BMP during our National Sea Grant federal review. Coastal Heritage is extremely cost-effective to produce and we are fortunate to work with a local photographer and graphic artist who know this magazine and its audiences well. Two-color printing gives the magazine a sepia-tone look, reinforcing the name of the publication while keeping print costs low.
Coastal Heritage is the flagship publication of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and we are pleased to be recognized by our peers for producing a high quality, socially-relevant publication.
https://www.scseagrant.org/coastal-heritage/