Statewide SCNPS News

Lifetime Achievement: Green Tie Goes to Chief Parr

September 20 was an emotional day for our own Rick Huffman, as he attended a ceremony honoring the Pee Dee Tribe’s Chief Pete Parr’s decades of conservation advocacy and education.

“The Green Tie Award for Lifetime Conservation Achievement,” given annually by the Conservation Voters of South Carolina, only scratches the surface about what a brilliant, transformative figure the Chief has been. So, below are just a few links which we encourage you to follow, if you’d like to feel a jolt of optimism for our collective future! (As Rick summed it up: “It was a sweet day. It gives me hope. Conservation is about people and culture as well as the land. The Chief is all that.”)

South Carolina Native Plant Week, 2023

Recap: October 16-20, 2023

Sparked by legislation drafted by Audubon South Carolina, the South Carolina Native Plant Week was first introduced as a resolution to the state legislature in 2017 and signed into law by Governor McMaster in April 2018.

This resolution recognized that “native plants are essential for healthy, diverse, and sustainable ecosystems,” and permanently established the third week of October as Native Plant Week in South Carolina.”

This year the big week… well, um. Didn’t see a lot of action. But we’re hoping to change that!

Send ideas to upstatepublicity@SCNPS.org (for any part of the state, not just up here in nose-bleed land!), and we’ll see if we can’t get next year’s party started!

Annual Meeting Update: New Bylaws

ANNUAL MEETING UPDATE

The New Bylaws, Now Available for Your Reviewing Pleasure!

The SCNPS Board of Directors and the Bylaws Committee have been hard at work revising the organization’s bylaws (and, let’s face it: The last update was in 2015, which is, like, soooo last century!).

Bylaws Review: The shiny new set of rules and regs is now available for YOU, dear member, to read over and weigh in on. Members in good standing are encouraged to review them and vote, either in person at the SCNPS Annual Meeting on November 4 or via an emailed absentee ballot (available upon request) no later than November 18. Please review the updated bylaws below.

Annual Meeting: The Annual Meeting will take place at Saluda Shoals Park in Columbia, SC on Saturday, November 4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Find all the information on speakers, field trips, and registration at the Event page. Tickets are $30 and include lunch and field trips.

Statewide Officers: In addition to voting on the new bylaws, we will be selecting a new set of statewide officers (Learn more about the nominees, HERE!). Additionally, the SCNPS is still seeking a new Membership Committee Chair! This is not an elected post, but a volunteer position requiring the Board of Directors’ approval. If you are interested in serving or need additional information, please contact Mitzi Stewart at membership@scnps.org.

Absentee Ballots: Absentee ballots for voting on both the new slate of officers and the new bylaws may be requested by any member in good standing unable to attend the annual meeting. The request must be made in writing to President Katie Ellis at president@scnps.org. Absentee ballots for the officer election MUST be completed and returned to Katie no later than October 31, 2023. Votes to approve the bylaws will be accepted until November 18, 2023. A ballot box will also be available at the annual meeting.

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2023 Annual Meeting Registration Open

South Carolina Native Plant Society Annual Meeting and Symposium

All the details are here for the meeting on Saturday, November 4, 2023 at Saluda Shoals Park in Columbia.

Find all the information on speakers, field trips, and registration at the Event page. Tickets are $30 and include lunch and field trips.

See the list of candidates for the State Board, to be elected at the meeting.

Autumn scene on the Saluda River.

The 2023 State-Wide Officers Election Ballot is Announced

In conjunction with the 2023 SCNPS Annual Meeting scheduled for November 4th, 2023 in Columbia, SC, the Society will hold elections for state officers. The State Board of Directors puts forth the following candidates for election to the SCNPS State Board of Directors:

State President – Dan Whitten: Dan has been a member of the SCNPS since 2009 and has served as president of the Upstate chapter from 2014-2018 and is currently serving on that board as field trip chair. He is a state certified Master Naturalist and assists as volunteer with the Upstate MN classes. Dan graduated from Auburn University in 1975 with a BS degree and majored in wildlife management. He worked 30 years at Michelin before retiring in 2008. He enjoys leading pontoon boat tours on Lake Jocassee for Jocassee Lake Tours. Dan and Sherrie have been married 41 years and have 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren.

State Vice-President – Frank Holleman: Frank is a long-time member of the SC Native Plant Society. He has served for years on the Board of the Upstate Chapter, working on advocacy, plant rescues, exotic removal work days, and plant sales. Frank also serves as President of Naturaland Trust, a Greenville-based land trust which has conserved properties to protect Bunched Arrowhead, Dwarf-flower Heartleaf, Oconee Bell, Rocky Shoals Spider Lily, and Carolina Bays. Frank is a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center and has represented the Society in administrative and court proceedings to protect native plants and their habitat.

Secretary – Samantha Porzelt: Samantha is a Water Resources Extension Agent in Charleston, Dorchester, and Berkeley counties. She joined Clemson Extension in 2021 after 8 years of working as a Biologist in non-profit public aquariums. As part of her role with Clemson Extension, she co-coordinates the Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium and coordinates Clemson’s Master Rain Gardener hybrid course. She is a current student of Clemson University’s Wildlife and Fisheries Resources master’s program. Samantha has been a member of SCNPS since 2020 and is also currently serving as the SCNPS Lowcountry Chapter President.

Treasurer – Tierney Rosenstock: Tierney grew up on her parent’s cut flower and Christmas tree farm in upstate NY, going on to spend eight years working in greenhouse crop production in retail garden centers in NY and FL. She holds a BS in Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences from the University of Massachusetts and a Masters of Science in Environmental Studies and Conservation Biology from Antioch University. Through her upbringing and education, she developed an intrinsic passion for environmental conservation and the role native plants play in functioning ecosystems. Tierney is a founding member of the Grand Strand Chapter of the SCNPS and works as a GIS analyst with Horry County Government.

Additional Nominations: Nominations are still being accepted for these positions. Additional nominations must be made by a member in good standing and submitted no later than October 10, 2023 to be included on the final printed ballot. Please submit nominations in writing to Katie Ellis at president@scnps.org or via postal mail to SCNPS President at PO Box 1311, Chester, SC 29706.

Absentee Ballots: Absentee ballots may be requested by any member in good standing not attending the annual meeting. The request must be made in writing to Katie Ellis at the same email or postal mail address noted above. Absentee ballots MUST be completed and returned to Katie no later than October 31, 2023. A ballot box will be available at the annual meeting.

The Board of Directors and Nominating Committee are still seeking persons interested in serving as Membership Committee Chair. This is not an elected position, but a volunteer position requiring Board of Directors approval/appointment. Should you be interested in serving or need additional information about the positions, please contact Mitzi Stewart at membership@scnps.org.

Pickens Museum Native Plant Garden work day

Help Put the Pickens County Museum Native Plant Garden to Bed for the Winter

We need extra hands for a “blitz” of trimming, weeding and mulching. The Fire Department inspector requires us to trim plants away from the building, a sudden big extra job

THE DATE is Saturday, October 14 from 8:30am to 11am at the Pickens County Native Plant Garden located at 307 Johnson St, Pickens, SC 29671. The Museum rest rooms will be open.

BRING lots of energy, gloves, hat, water and any snacks you need. If possible, also bring a shovel, loppers, weeder, and hand pruner.

HOW TO SIGN-UP: Please email carol.asalon@furman.edu.

September Upstate Monthly Meeting: Alan Weakley, “It’s not your Grandfather’s Flora”

Photo Credit: North Carolina Botanical Garden/UNC

Save the Date: September 19, 6:30-8:00, Greenville

Alan S. Weakley: “It’s not your Grandfather’s Flora: New Floristic Tools for Information, Appreciation, and Conservation of South Carolina’s Plants”

A self-described plant systematist, plant community ecologist, biogeographer, and conservation biologist focused on the species and systems of the Southeastern United States, Alan S. Weakley is also the creator of the invaluable “Flora of the Southeastern United States,” available as a PDF, web app, and mobile apps.

In this presentation he’ll explore the rich biological diversity of South Carolina and talk about how we’re still learning about (and learning to see) “the real World” around us. He’ll discuss new tools that are being developed to make it easier to explore the plants growing in the Upstate of South Carolina. In his own words: “There will be pictures of beautiful plants, discussion of how humans identify plants, discussion of why plant names sometimes change, and an introduction to identifying wild plants for the novice and the expert.”

Alan Weakley is a plant taxonomist, community ecologist, and conservationist specializing in the Southeastern United States. He holds a B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. from Duke University. He has worked as botanist and ecologist for the N.C. Natural Heritage Program, and as regional and chief ecologist for The Nature Conservancy and NatureServe, and currently serves as Director of the UNC-CH Herbarium, a department of the N.C. Botanical Garden, and teaches as adjunct faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill and at the Highlands Biological Station. In the course of his career, he has worked cooperatively with most federal and state land-managing agencies in the southeastern United States.

Alan is author of the Flora of the Southeastern United States and its app version, FloraQuest, and co-author (with Chris Ludwig and Johnny Townsend) of the Flora of Virginia and the Flora of Virginia App, which have received awards including the Thomas Jefferson Award for Conservation. He is also co-author (with Laura Cotterman and Damon Waitt) of Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast. Working with a team of botanists and data scientists across the southeastern United States, Alan is leading a project to complete an enhanced version of the Flora of the Southeastern United States and also develop a series of apps, FloraQuest, covering the 25 state region.

The FloraQuest apps are designed by Alan and the Southeastern Flora Team as a modernized reinvention of “the flora”, designed to present the standard kinds of information usually found in a scientific flora (dichotomous keys, information on habitat, distribution, taxonomy, scientific references) with additional conservation-related information (rarity, conservatism, habitat dependency) and innovative identification tools (graphic keys, diagnostic photos) made possible by digital technology. The goal is to empower biodiversity conservation by a greater diversity of people, including nonprofessionals wantimng to contribute through citizen or participatory science.

Alan has authored over 100 journal articles and book chapters, and is in high demand as a speaker on plant taxonomy, community classification and mapping, biogeography, and biodiversity conservation. He is active with the Flora of North America project and the United States National Vegetation Classification, serves as an advisor to the N.C. Natural Heritage Program and N.C. Plant Conservation Program, and is a co-founder of the Carolina Vegetation Survey. As a trustee and board member of public and private conservation granting agencies and foundations, he has helped direct and oversee $400,000,000 of land conservation grants in the Southeastern United States.

Join us in person at the Kroc Center or via Zoom using this link. The link will open at 6:30 and we will have some time to socialize before the presentation starts at 7PM.

Save the Date: SC Native Plant Society Annual Meeting

Join us Saturday, November 4, 2023 for the SC Native Plant Society Annual Meeting at Columbia’s Saluda Shoals Park. Elections will be held, and updated bylaws will be presented for an approval vote.

More program information will be coming soon but read here about the 20-year project to catalog Saluda Shoals Park plant species, now a Special Collection on wildflower.org at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, UT-Austin.

Seeking State Board Officers for 2024: Apply Now!

The SCNPS is seeking officers for the next term (starting in 2024). South Carolina requires a minimum of 3 officers as part of the 501(c)(3) status to meet IRS requirements: President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Two or more offices may be held by the same person.

If you or anyone you know might be interested in serving, please contact current President Katie Ellis at president@scnps.org for more information.

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS

The State President presides at all meetings of the organization and Board of Directors, and serves as the official spokesperson of the SCNPS. The President represents the organization, its missions, goals and objectives, and projects and programs to the general public. The President serves as an ex-officio member of all state committees and all regional chapters.
The State Vice-President assumes the duties of the President in the absence of the President or at the President’s direction, and assists the President in those functions necessary for the leadership and development of the organization. In the event the President is no longer able to serve, the Vice-President shall become the President for the remainder of the term.
The State Secretary shall maintain all official records of the organization as well as minutes of the Board of Directors’ meetings. Actions handled remotely via email discussion and voting must also be recorded. The Secretary or his/her designee shall distribute official minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors. The Secretary will assure that all minutes and other documents are placed into a permanent archive, the nature of which will be established by Board action.
The State Treasurer has the charge and custody of and responsibility for all funds of the organization, and for the administration of such funds. The Treasurer deposits all such monies in the name of the organization as designated by the Board of Directors and maintains accurate records of all receipts and disbursements. Upon approval of the annual budget, the Treasurer is authorized to incur obligations on accounts and expenses provided in the annual budget without further approval of the Board of Director. In addition, the State Treasurer prepares a report for each meeting of the Board of Directors and the Annual Meeting of the Membership. The Treasurer executes and maintains all official correspondence with local, state, and federal entities related to the corporate and tax status of the organization. The Treasurer may be required to furnish a surety bond as determined by the Board of Directors. Candidates for the State Treasurer position should have knowledge of basic accounting procedures, a working knowledge of QuickBooks, and experience with Stripe.

Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve Update: Sign the Petition!

As a follow-on to our earlier post on the subject, our Grand Strand chapter reminds us that Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve, home to rare and endangered wildlife such as Venus flytraps, red-cockaded woodpeckers, and black bears, remains under threat.

Conway Medical Center is proposing to build a new hospital directly adjacent to the site, limiting the ability of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and SC Forestry Commission to carry out their prescribed burns, essential for the health of the Preserve’s ecosystem.

We encourage readers to visit Change.org and sign the petition there. As of this writing, the campaign is only 2,700 signatures short of its 25,000 goal. As the petition puts it, “fire, smoke, and hospitals do not mix!” Let’s make our voices heard!

Photo Credit: Becky Ryon