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South Carolina Native Plant Week is October 12-18 (and we will celebrate the whole month of October)! Here is a calendar of events and activities across the state.
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LECTURE
 Gadsden Creek and Gadsden Green community Photo by Jared BramblettTuesday, October 14, 6:30 pm
Note this is the SECOND Tuesday of October, during SC Native Plant Week
Lecture: Ecological Justice and History for Sustainable Policy Positions
Mika Gadsden, Director of Sustainability, City of Charleston
The Citadel’s Duckett Hall Auditorium, 2 Jones Ave, Charleston, SC 29403
Join Mika Gadsden, the City of Charleston’s Director of Sustainability, for an insightful presentation on the proposed E.E. Just Corridor initiative. This bold and innovative project aims to create sustainable, community-centered solutions to address climate resilience and environmental equity in Charleston. Mika will explore the intersection of ecological justice, historical inequities, and policy advocacy, and show how the corridor could serve as a model for inclusive urban planning and environmental stewardship.
Enter Duckett Hall from Jones Ave and go up the short steps to the Auditorium on your left. Free parking is available after 5:00 PM in the parking lot south of Richardson Street, accessible from Mims Ave. Refreshments and socializing after the meeting.
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FIELD TRIP
Gadsden Creek field trip 2023 Photo by Laura Moses
Saturday, October 18, 10 am – 12 noon
Field Trip: Gadsden Creek
Leader: Mika Gadsden, Director of Sustainability, City of Charleston
Meet at the southernmost parking lot (closest to the bridge) of Brittlebank Park, 185 Lockwood Drive, Charleston, SC 29403
Join us Saturday, October 18, from 10 am to 12 pm for a walking tour of Gadsden Creek, led by the City of Charleston’s Director of Sustainability, Mika Gadsden. For those who may have attended the Gadsden Creek field trip in the Fall of 2023, this trip will provide important updates to the conservation efforts by Friends of Gadsden Creek in partnership with the South Carolina Environmental Law Project. In addition to exploring this thriving saltmarsh ecosystem, Mika will give an overview of the history of the surrounding Gadsden Green neighborhood and recent efforts to preserve the Creek as part of the City’s E.E. Just Corridor initiative. Registration is required at this link.
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WORK DAY
Sunday, October 19, 9 am to 12 noon
Field trip: Invasive Removal Workday
With Special Guest Jim Martin, Director of Horticulture & Landscape, Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, 3550 Ashley River Road, Charleston
What a better way to wrap up Native Plant Week than to join us for an invasive removal workday! This is the South Carolina Native Plant Society’s second invasive removal workday this year, and we are grateful for this opportunity to serve our native plant communities at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens. Magnolia in many ways represents Ground Zero for invasive plant species introductions. The property was actively farmed as early as the 1670s and has been managed as a public garden since 1871. Weaving between old rice fields and rows of our oldest camellias are the usual suspects: popcorn tree, privets, and a number of other legacies of the horticultural trade here in the lowcountry. Join us Sunday, October 19th from 9am to noon for an invasive removal workday. We will discuss removal strategies, learn to distinguish between invasive plants and their native look-alikes, and get to work using mechanical removal techniques.
Some tools will be provided, but it’s a good idea to bring your own pair of gloves, wear long pants and sleeves, and plenty of water to drink. A shovel, weed wrench, or loppers would all be welcome! If you’d like to pack a bagged lunch or order something from the Peacock Cafe, we will have the opportunity to lunch break at the picnic tables and explore the property after the work day. Also note that invasive plant removal using mechanical techniques can be quite trying; however, there will be tasks suited to all levels of exertion and ease, including removing and bagging invasive seeds for safe disposal, dragging vegetative debris into a pile, and working as a team using a weed wrench or shovel to uproot these invasives where they stand! Our tour of the property afterwards takes place on light terrain. Expect to travel approximately 2 miles on foot with lots of stops to enjoy the surrounding landscape.
Please register at this link. Contact SCNPS Field Trip Chair Rebecca Fanning if you have questions at lowcountry.fieldtrips@scnps.org
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EDUCATION
By Samantha Porzelt, Lowcountry Chapter
What Is Stormwater?
After a rainstorm, water that falls onto impervious surfaces such as roofs, driveways, compacted lawns, parking lots, and roads cannot soak into the ground. Instead, it flows as stormwater runoff across the landscape. As it travels, this water collects contaminants like fertilizers, oil, trash, bacteria from pet waste, and sediment, carrying them to storm drains and ultimately to local rivers, lakes, or the ocean. Because stormwater systems typically discharge directly to waterways without treatment, unmanaged runoff is one of the leading causes of water pollution in the United States (EPA).
Read the full article on our News blog.
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DISCUSSION & FILM
Check out this event from The M.A.R.S.H. Project, a grassroots and community-based program working to revitalize and advocate for the unique marshland ecosystems in Charleston, South Carolina.
October 16th, we’re talking native plants and gardening with Rebecca McMackin at Hed Hi. HAVE YOU SEEN HER TED TALK?!
Rebecca lives up north, but she is spending Native Plant week in the Lowcountry and we’re thrilled to have her with us for a night. We’ll also be premiering Joel Caldwell’s latest directorial masterpeesh, starring!!! Rebecca! Come hungry, we’ve got Luther’s slinging food and we’ll have a keg of something local and beer-y. Come mingle with us at 6!
Hed Hi Studio is located at 654 King Street, Suite D Charleston, SC 29403.
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BIOBLITZ
Thursday, November 6, 6 AM – 12 PM
(Location shared with registered participants)
About the Event:
Working with staff from the Kiawah Conservancy, we will be conducting a bioblitz on a property just off Betsy Kerrison Parkway on Kiawah Island.
General schedule:
Please keep in mind that it will still be dark for the birding session at 6am, so your ability to bird by ear will be enormously helpful! Volunteers will use eBird to record their observations.
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8AM – Registered participants are welcome with all levels of expertise. Participants will be divided into small groups so that we cover as much of the property as possible. Volunteers will use iNaturalist to record their observations.
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A working knowledge of both eBird and iNaturalist apps is preferred.
REGISTER HERE
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