2023 Highlights
In 2023 , the Kiawah Consevancy continued to work to meet the lofty goals of our 2030 Strategic Plan , and succeeded by adding new land to our preservation footprint , hosting a variety of new and returning educational outreach programs and events , fulfilling our stewardship responsibilities , and working with a variety of volunteers and conservationists .
New Staff , Interns , and Trustees Sean Cannon , a former intern , joined our staff in 2023 as the Restoration and Enhancement Specialist . In this new role , Sean has worked to promote the use of locally native plants to ensure a healthy balanced habitat to support the rich and diverse wildlife population of our sea islands . He works closely with the Restoration and Enhancement Committee to create and promote native plant programs and habitat manangement plans on preserved areas .
Theresa Termine joined our staff in 2023 as the Advancment and Advocacy Specialist . Theresa has worked closely with the Advancement and Funding Committee to raise funds and awareness to support the mission of the Conservancy . She has also worked in concert with the Land Preservation and Restoration and Enhancement Committees on the Keep Betsy Beautiful initiative and has been instrumental in rallying support for the Conservancy ’ s conservation advocacy efforts .
Alexis Forsythe joined our outreach team in 2023 as an Outreach Intern and worked enthusiastically alongside Katie Warner to plan and implement many outreach programs including our Junior Explorers programs .
Autumn Blanchard joined our land preservation team in 2023 as a Land Stewardship Intern and worked diligently alongside Collie Farah ( Land Preservation Specialist ) and Lee Bundrick ( Senior Ecological Health and Conservation Coordinator ) in the areas of research , habitat restoration and enhancement , and land stewardship .
Kalli Williams joined our land preservation team in 2023 as a Land Stewardship Intern and worked diligently alongside Collie Farah ( Land Preservation Specialist ) and Lee Bundrick ( Senior Ecological Health and Conservation Coordinator ) in the areas of habitat restoration and enhancement and land stewardship .
In 2023 , the Conservancy Board welcomed five new Trustees .
• Doreen Chapman
• Anne Cotton
• Mark Griesbaum
• Mary Alice Roberts
• Pam Wilson
Unfortunately , we had to say goodbye , for now , to four Trustees as they left our Board in 2023 .
• Jim Gilliam
• Denise Baker
• David Bergstrom
• John McMurray
We ’ re excited to see what our new Trustees bring to the table and hope to work with the Trustees that rolled off our Board this year in other ways .
Programs and Events Our 2023 program season kicked off with several spring activities . The first one was a Junior Explorers : Gator Gathering , with 23 kids and 18 adults present to hear from Tiedemann Park Nature Center naturalist Elizabeth Allison . She taught us all about alligators and we got up close and personal with their educational outreach alligator , Sparky !
Next in line for our spring events was our biggest week of the year−Earth Week ! We offered a few new educational activities , including Come Aboard with Collie to ride on the Conservancy ’ s stewardship boat and learn about our preserved properties from the water ; Sketching in Nature with the illustrator of the newest local children ’ s book , Little Turtle ’ s Kiawah Island Journey ; a Bluebird Walk with two of our
Trustees ( Kim Anuszkiewicz and Peggy Barnes ). Kim and Peggy are also bluebird monitor volunteers and showed us some bluebird houses near the Sanctuary and how they monitor and track the nests . We offered several nature photography walks and ended the week with our annual Earth Day Celebration in Night Heron Park . Our ninth annual Earth Day Celebration was a huge success and we estimated a crowd of over 400 people ! Face painters , glitter tattoo artists , crafts , music , food trucks , and many live animals were enjoyed by all throughout the afternoon . There were also several local environmental organizations and educators available to share information about the work that they do and volunteer opportunities . We look forward to an even bigger and better celebration next year !
To round out our busy spring season , we participated in the first annual Sea Islands Shorebird Festival . This two-day festival celebrated the critically important sites of Seabrook Island and Kiawah Island for shorebirds , notably the federally threatened red knot . The festival offered a variety of speaking events , including a Red Knot Reception , hosted by the Kiawah Conservancy that featured wildlife photographer Benjamin Clock ’ s new short-film documentary about red knots and the ongoing conservation efforts in the Southeast . Several guided walks were also offered throughout the two days . The event culminated with a Feather Fest gathering at Town Hall to educate and build awareness about these magnificent shorebirds !
Our summer season of programming started with a Rain Garden Workshop hosted by the Kiawah Conservancy , Clemson Extension , Weston + Sampson Engineers , and Town of Kiawah Island . After a presentation , volunteers got their hands dirty and helped with the installation of the garden at the Town ’ s Municipal Center site . Be sure to check it out next time you ’ re there ! Throughout the summer we also hosted a variety of nature photography walks , a Cocktails and Conservation event at the Sandcastle to share the important work we ’ re doing ,
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