Native Planting Day 2023

We broke new ground, literally and figuratively, bringing together new and old friends to help plant native goodness.🐛

In a beautiful display of community spirit and environmental stewardship, volunteers came out and dedicated their afternoon to planting natives for their neighbors. From Piedmont to 6th Ave, all along Gordon street and Halsey Creek, we were delighted to find the neighborhood getting to work on the first chapter of a revitalized ecological corridor. Prior to the event we hosted a signup sheet for our neighbors living along the marsh and asked them to rank which plants they’d love to host permanently in their yards. The list included some of our Charleston favorites: Seaside Goldenrod, Stokes Aster, Dune Sunflower, Muhly Grass (Sweetgrass), and Wax Myrtle to name a few.

With the help of Carolina Ocean Alliance and Community Hydrology we were able to give away over 160 native plants that were acquired from our friends at Roots and Shoots and Native Plants to the People!

Shout out to Edmund’s Oast for covering our beer tab at the end of the day as we reflected on the importance of small actions in our neighborhood! :)

Shortly after this event the Carolina Ocean Alliance adopted us into their programming and The M.A.R.S.H. Project became an official program of their 501(c)3 nonprofit.

Not only did our team get to work on planting natives, but several naturalists took to digging up invasive species we found along the way.

We removed several Chinese Tallow saplings, also known as Popcorn Tree, which is highly invasive in the Charleston-area. Native to eastern Asia, this tree spreads rapidly with a high output of seeds and has allelopathic properties. This means it can release chemicals into the soil that inhibit the growth of nearby plants.