South Carolina lost a legendary naturalist this week. Rudy Mancke introduced so many people to the amazing natural world around us through his work on television and radio, at the SC State Museum and the University of South Carolina, as well as countless nature walks with groups all over the state.

Rudy had the special ability to open our eyes to the flora and fauna of our beautiful state and inspire conservation of natural resources for future generations. His gift of storytelling helped to make the information relatable to our own lives, and therefore easier to remember. When leading a nature walk, Rudy would often excitedly find so many things to show the group, that we were already entranced before even leaving the parking lot.

Rudy’s passion, curiosity and wonder of nature were qualities that endeared him to us all. His desire to educate others is now the legacy that he leaves in so many fellow naturalists following in his footsteps.

Here are just a few memorable quotes from Rudy:

“My definition of a naturalist is someone who studies the world of nature and marvels at it.”

“I recognize the healing properties of being in nature, especially when the man-made world begins to feel overwhelming.”

“If you know the names of things and the relationships between them, it helps you realize you’re a part of something bigger than yourself.”

“Death is a part of life, of course. We all know that. That’s not good, bad, right or wrong. But that’s what the system is like on the third planet from the star we call the sun, and we’re a part of that system aren’t we? Death is a part of life because of the recycling system we’ve got. It doesn’t work if death doesn’t come into play.”

In recognition of his life work in educating South Carolinians for many decades, SCWF recognized Naturalist Rudy Mancke with a Communication Conservationist of the Year Award in 1979 as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

Rudy Mancke grew up in Spartanburg, SC, and attended Wofford College for his bachelor’s degree and the University of South Carolina for graduate study. He began his career as a high school teacher of biology and geology. He then served as the natural history curator at the South Carolina State Museum for 10 years before becoming the naturalist and co-host of South Carolina ETV’s NatureScene, which began its long run in 1978 and introduced millions of viewers to a natural world of wonder that the average person might easily overlook. Rudy was happy to have founded the South Carolina Association of Naturalists in 1976, an organization dedicated to the gathering and sharing of natural history information about South Carolina. Since retiring from SCETV, Rudy had gone on to teach at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and was their first “Naturalist-in-Residence”.