Keep South Carolina Wild

Month: October 2023

Endangered Species Act: The Gopher tortoise

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act! Join us as we highlight species throughout the year that have benefited from this landmark legislation.

Did you know that we have a native tortoise species in South Carolina? The Gopher tortoise is the only species of tortoise found in the southeast and one of only four tortoise species found in the entire U.S.! They dig large underground burrows that hundreds of other animals use for shelter and protection from predators. Gopher tortoises play an important role in the ecosystem as a keystone species, and this makes the protection of this species critical to the entire food web.

Read more about the Gopher tortoise and efforts to protect this species here.

LitterSweep
Image Credit: Gopher tortoise by Renee Bodine.

SCWF Plishing Challenge 2023 Winners Announced

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The overall points leader for fish, Colton Bateman, caught over 200 fish!

“My son and I had so much fun competing against each other on its (the SCWF Plishing Challenge) opening day”, messaged James Bateman, a 2023 Plishing Challenge participant.

SCWF hosted our second annual SCWF Plishing Challenge over the summer of 2023. We shared information about fishing, litter, conservation, best fishing practices, and more with our participants to help them make the most of the challenge and their time on the water. We increased our registrations in the program by about 75% over last year and are excited to see it grow. Nearly 100 bags of litter were removed from our waterways and over 1,200 fish were logged into the challenge, most of which were released.

This initiative was also an opportunity to partner with conservation-minded local organizations and businesses. For example, Wateree Dive Center invited us for their Lake Murray dive cleanup, and Keep the Midlands Beautiful, provided gear for us to do our own litter sweep!

We have been sharing photos and videos of participants and sponsors on our social media channels and have seen wonderful engagement, especially on one of the videos from Palmetto State Armory, one of our major sponsors. We also shared valuable information on litter prevention in South Carolina from another major sponsor, Palmetto Pride. With our product sponsors (including AFTCO and Local Boy) sharing the challenge on their social media, we actually had participants in 14 states this year!

We also want to thank our sponsors South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Angling Women, South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance, and Riverwinds Landing. SCWF director of education, BeBe Dalton Harrison shared, “This is truly helping engage anglers to understand safe fish handling, conservation, and habitat protection while keeping casual anglers engaged in fishing fun.

For more information on the SCWF Plishing Challenge and how to be a part of the fun next summer, please contact Harrison at bebe@scwf.org


Banner image credit: Fishing at Myrtle Beach Pier by Ryan McRae.

Wildlife Connections from the Mountains to the Sea

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The first year of “Wildlife Connections from the Mountains to the Sea” program was a success! This unique science-based curriculum, developed by SCWF staff, teaches students how wildlife is intricately linked to their habitats and how South Carolina’s habitats are connected. Students were engaged through hands-on activities, class visits from SCWF education staff, and received take-home materials to encourage outdoor exploration.

We are grateful to the ten upper elementary teachers from Title One schools who participated in this pilot program for the 2022-2023 academic year and to Dominion Energy for their financial support. Teachers around the state applied to participate in this program and applicants were selected based on need and geographic location. Once selected, the teachers attended a virtual meeting with SCWF education staff to introduce them to the kits they would receive, help them understand the activities, and learn what to expect from the program.

The kits that the teachers received contain three hands-on activities for every student related to owls, oysters, and fish, that align with the upper elementary science standards. After the kits were completed by the class, a SCWF education staff member visited the class and made a presentation tying together the lessons learned from these activities.

Students at Whitmire Community School were enthralled by the owl pellet dissection activity. Each student received their own owl pellet to disect.

Students were also provided take-home items including a certificate of completion, multiple field guides, a magnifying glass, reusable zippered tote bags, and other items to encourage outdoor exploration and to inspire them to become future conservationists.

The Fashion a Fish activity, which ties in with the science standards, teaches students about fish adaptations and also allows for creativity.

Please contact BeBe Dalton Harrison, SCWF’s Director of Education, if you would like to apply to be a part of this program in the future. You can email her at mail@scwf.org or call the office at 803-256-0670.

SCWF is able to offer this program completely free of charge thanks to the support of Dominion Energy. Thank you again to the teachers and schools who participated in this year’s program! We look forward to incorporating their feedback as we grow the program.

  • Ashley Williams, Bridge Creek Elementary School
  • Tracy Mitchell, Killian Elementary School
  • J’Nai Whitehead, Jackson Creek Elementary School
  • Michelle Hawkins, Pontiac Elementary School
  • Susan Lester, Gallman Elementary School
  • Huger Caughman, Boundary Street Elementary School
  • Morgan Rhoney, Saluda Elementary School
  • Sabrina Martin, Whitmire Community School
  • Sarah Hobert, Lonnie B. Nelson Elementary School
  • Latonya Hall-Gibson, Conder Elementary School

Project Wild Workshop

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“Oh Deer!”, shouted the instructor as several educators ran across a field recently to find what they needed to survive as a white-tailed deer. This classic activity from Project WILD gives a hands-on demonstration of what white-tailed deer, or any animal for that matter, need to survive in a habitat, which is food, water, shelter, and space. Not only do the educators learn how to carry out this activity, they get valuable background information in an easy to use format for their classes whether it is formal or informal education.

BeBe Dalton Harrison, SCWF Director of Education recently had the pleasure of training the environmental educators of Camp Leopold in Project Wild to help them prepare lesson plans for the many students who receive education through their onsite programs.

Camp Leopold hosts more than 2,500 students on site a year and this workshop provided certification and access to Project WILD and Project Learning Tree programs that are full of educational and fun workshops to be shared with their students! Project Learning Tree is hosted by the South Carolina Forestry Commission who shared this valuable training workshop with SCWF.

Difficult environmental subjects such as habitat fragmentation, food webs, and carrying capacity all have activities associated with them that make these topics easier for studentsy and fun to understand through hands-on lessons that can be done in or outside of the classroom at a variety of different age levels.

To best understand how to run some of these activities, Camp Leopold educators tried them out for themselves! Educators enjoyed their time playing games like “Oh Deer” and took turns teaching activities for the rest of the group. After doing these activities for themselves, educators were able to “debrief” about how to best run them and how they could change them depending on different settings, age ranges, or needs.

Creating these hands-on experiences and out-of-class experiences gives children the opportunity to engage with the environment in fun ways that they will remember and enjoy. A huge thank you to Camp Leopold for all the work they have done and for taking the time to learn a little more to give back to students!