SURGE: The Lowcountry Climate Magazine, Issue 7

The Lowcountry

EcoQuest

Our carrier butterflies wish to bring you fresh tidings! For each Instagram you follow, collect +1 to start your garden.

Belvin is the co-founder & Director of the Charleston Climate Coalition. His background is in creative writing & he believes in bringing vision-making & art to climate work.

Hailey “Pell” is a Charleston native, poet, & swamp-trekker. You can find her work in The Birmingham Poetry Review & Tupelo Press’s June 2023 30/30, amongst others. @pellwrites Belvin

@belvinolasov

Sydney (she/her) is a writer & editor affiliated with Surge & The Changing Times. She aims to connect communities to climate action through narrative & collaborative storytelling. @sydboll

Blake is a graphic designer with a focus on branding & illustration. He is a co-founder of The Marsh Project & he works out of a room that looks out on a little meadow he is planting with his two kids. @blakefilisuarez

Charleston Climate Coalition

The Charlestowne Climate Coalition, that merry band of climate activists, work to craft a Charlestowne area that leads on climate action. That means changing policy to support green buildings, walk, bike and public transportation infrastructure, composting, nature preservation, clean energy, and more! The CCC believes in a grassroots, joyful, and justice-centered approach to mending our heating world.

VOLUNTEER PERSONAL ADVOCACY

Take your food waste to the many free compost dropoff sites around the Charlestowne area (or backyard it yourself) to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.

Dominion Energy wants to build a massive gas plant on the shores of the Edisto. Its methane pollution and harm to the Edisto watershed would be unacceptable. Fight back!

On the last week of every month, CCC convenes a get-together full of updates from our climate action partner groups and actions to take collectively. Join us!

The Marsh Appreciation and Restoration Society for Happiness Project has taken on the quest to restore our beloved marshlands to their former biodiverse glory!

Ecological revitalization of their neighborhoods is possible only with valiant volunteer efforts, such as planting native plant species, cleaning up litter and debris, citizen-science monitoring of their flagship creek, and educational outreach.

Purchase five (or 25) plants native to the Lowcountry and plant them in your yard! TMP loves buying from Roots and Shoots Nursery and Native Plants to the People.

@friendsofgadsdencreek tirelessly fight to protect Gadsden Creek from being filled. Speak up to decisonmakers and urge them to work for the creek’s protection.

Every year The Marsh Project hosts a good number of cleanups and planting days. Follow on Instagram to learn more and sign up to volunteer for an event!

Creek Watcher Stop the Septic Clean or Build

Volunteer to sample water quality at a site of your choosing! You’ll be trained to join the science-based water quality monitoring program and take your own measurements once a month. Reach out to Cheryl cheryl@charlestonwaterkeeper.org to join a workshop.

Contact your legislators about the issue of septic tank reliance in coastal areas. Potential pollution from large developments threaten our recreational activities, fishing, and commercial oystering.

The sunkissed boaters of Charlestowne Waterkeeper work to protect and restore Charlestowne’s waterways. From rivers Cooper to Ashley to Wando to Stono, they collect water quality data and keep vigilant for leaks and spills. Wicked hexes of bacteria and plastics endanger the peace of our kingdom – the Waterkeepers stand as vanguards against those threats.

Waterkeepers are always teaming up with other groups to keep our waterways clean and build out marsh grass and oyster beds. Join the next volunteer opportunity!

HAPPY EARTH WEEK!

From our peaceful salt marshes to our stately Grand Oaks, we celebrate the beauty and bounty of the South Carolina coast.

This Earth Week, help protect the natural resources we all love. Scan here to give

Hordes of litter goblins bedevil our creeks and shores! Clean them out with:

SC

Join the SI Trademen and the CCL Knights in repopulating the Oyster Queen’s loyal servants, who then heal the marshlands.

Conservation

Join the Ride of Silence, May 15 across the North Bridge, honoring those who lost their life to the lack of walk and bike infrastructure and demonstrating the need for change. If thou readst this past May 15, volunteer with the Riders of Charlestowne Moves.

In November, Charlestowne County shall hold a referendum on a new tax to fund the highway expansion of 526.

The Knights of the Conservation League fear the massive funds required would be wasted –that traffic would not actually be alleviated, and that there are much less environmentally destructive ways of assisting the villagers of Johns Island. Sign on to their quest!

Aquarium CHS Surfriders

League Sustainability Institute

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