Activities of the South Carolina Native Plant Society include field trips, native plant "rescues", native plant sales and many excellent special guest speakers. Most activities are planned at the chapter level and details of these activities are listed at each chapter's activities page.

Ongoing Statewide Activities

	Oxypolis Bay (photo by Colette Degarady)
	Logging Operation summer 2005 (photo by Colette Degarady)

The Lisa Matthews Memorial Bay is a 52 acre site in Bamberg County which was given to the SCNPS by the Nature Conservancy for the purpose of preserving the rare and federally endangered Oxypolis canbyi (Canby's Dropwort). This depression wetland is apparently a remnant Carolina Bay which had become overgrown and much of the property had been planted in plantation loblolly pines. SCNPS has conducted numerous plant surveys of the bay and monitors water levels on an ongoing basis. Through restoration of the bay site, our goal is to create conditions which will allow the current population of Oxypolis canbyi to increase over time. As of August 2005, existing loblolly pines surrounding the bay have been removed in order to replant native Longleaf pine. Other restoration plans include implementation of prescribed fire and removal of some sweetgums and other "weedy" tree species within the bay to allow the herbaceous layer to thrive.

For more information about this property and our restoration plans, please read Jeff Glitzenstein's articles. Then, contact John Brubaker and let him know that you'd like to help with this fantastic project!

Plant Communities of the Oxypolis Bay (pdf file)

Article about the restoration project (pdf file) written in September 2005.

Oxypolis Canbyi Plant Profile - Center for Plant Conservation - detailed plant information about Oxypolis canbyi

Hydrology of the Canby's Dropwort Preserve (pdf file) - article written by Charles J. Everett, PhD in January, 2006.

Native Plant Seed Collection Field Trips

The SC Native Plant Society cooperates with the US Forest Service to collect native plant seeds for the Forest Service to use in re-vegetating disturbed lands in the national forests of the state.

The Society gets funding from the USFS to cover the cost of travel, food and supplies for groups of volunteers, who then travel to the various National Forest districts and surrounding areas to collect seeds from roadsides and utilities rights-of-way. The Forest Service then uses these seeds to re-vegetate land disturbed during logging and other activities.

We go out in early summer (late June) to collect cool-season grass and early season wildflower seeds, and late fall (November) to collect warm-season grass and late season wildflower seeds. Volunteers need not have any experience, as we teach plant ID and seed collection techniques.

Past participants have included grammar school, high school and college students, Scouts, as well as working and retired adults from all walks of life. Plese read this article from the Beaufort Gazette about our native grass seed collection efforts (.pdf format).

Because our trips are scheduled over several weekends and in different parts of the state, there is certain to be one convenient for you. For more information, please read our fact sheet (.pdf) about seed collecting.

Trip schedules and information will also be posted on our calendar page.

When developers clear an area of land of trees or old field vegetation, native plants, some not very common, are subject to being bulldozed and lost. At the same time, school-yards, public parks, and roadsides are often in need of native plants for ground cover, and for educational display purposes. The SCNPS tries to tackle these two situations together, in a plant rescue-plant placement program. We have a large number of school folks who seek help from us to get more native plants into their landscapes. When we can find out about a land clearing project before the bulldozers arrive, we contact the landowner, developer, or the contractor to explain our program and to get permission to go in to rescue. We like to schedule plant digs and transplanting sessions for the same day, so as to minimize the stress on the plants. If rescue opportunities come along in mid-summer, when direct transplanting is not feasible, we place plants out in pots or in a moist, shady soil site to hold them until conditions for transplanting are better.

If you have advance info about a site soon to be cleared, contact the owner, developer, or contractor if possible, to see about permission to rescue. Tell them that we do no damage, that we use the plants for placing in public sites, and that we can give them credit on our website. Contact Bill Sharpton gsharpton@aol.com to let him know about the location and timeline for the site development.

When these opportunities come along, we usually need volunteers quickly! We keep a list of interested persons with e-mail and phone information as well as their work schedules. If you are interested in being placed on this list, please contact Bill Stringer!

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