Blackwell Heritage Preserve Work Morning Scheduled
NPS along with and Naturaland Trust is holding a work morning to remove invasive plants (Privet mostly) for a newly acquired addition to Blackwell Heritage Preserve near Travelers Rest. The new property contains two federally protected plant species. It was saved from development through cumulative collaborative efforts by Upstate Forever, the Southern Environmental Law Center, SC Native Plant Society, Greenville County, Naturaland Trust, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Heritage Trust Program of the SC Department of Natural Resources. (Details at https://www.upstateforever.org/news/ultrarare-plant-habitat-protected-in-travelers-rest) Thanks also to local residents who raised the alarm about the proposed development and the harm it threatened to the Preserve and the surrounding community. They joined with conservation groups to fight the proposed development.
The work morning will be Saturday, January 11, 9am to no later than Noon. Wear long sleeves and long pants. There is poison ivy on the site. Wear gloves, bring shovels or mattocks as we will be pulling up and digging up privet. Some of the ground is damp, so wear shoes or boots that you can get muddy.
Directions: From Greenville and points south: Head up Poinsett Highway towards Travelers Rest; take Highway 25 north;, right as you leave the Travelers Rest business district, turn right on Blue Ridge Drive. Continue up Blue Ridge Drive. The parking area will be on the left in the pasture on the Heritage Trust property, marked with blue paint on the trees on the left side of the road.
From north of Travelers Rest: take Highway 25 south and turn left on Blue Ridge Drive, before entering the Travelers Rest business district. Then follow directions above.
To sign-up for the work party and receive any last-minute information, please contact Virginia Meador at vmeador@camperdown.org
