By Community Outreach Manager, Ari Hippensteal

SCWF volunteers & staff and Sandhills staff recently came together at the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge for a Working for Wildlife volunteer day to help with a variety of projects that support this amazing site and the wildlife that call it home. This Refuge is unique in that it hosts a wiregrass ecosystem and has a population of the endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers in its longleaf pines.

Volunteers assisted in the marking of longleaf pines that help identify trees that are nesting sites for red-cockaded woodpeckers. The bark was removed in a ring around the tree and was then painted with a white stripe. Carolina Sandhills continues the historically indigenous practice of prescribed burns which allows for the longleaf pines to thrive and age to the preferred 80-120 years old required for a red-cockaded woodpecker to create a nesting site.

An endangered red-cockaded woodpecker even made a rare appearance during the volunteer day in one of the many longleaf pines! In addition to marking longleaf pines, volunteers also assisted with trail marking and maintenance, and cleanup around their informational kiosks and guest spaces.

Thank you to Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge for allowing our volunteers to participate and help to assist with such meaningful projects in a beautiful piece of protected land.

Thank you to Deer Park Water for sponsoring this volunteer day!