Congaree Nature Fest 2011

Between hitches we are able to participate in events at Congaree like this one.

April 16th, 2011, a great day for the earth, historians would call it a turning point, the day when climate change lost, a day when invasive species were brought under control, and a day when all garbage was disposed of properly. Some would call this a miracle, we, however, call it Nature Fest. As stewards of the earth our tri-fold poster was a beacon of hope which served to correct the errors of our neighbors’ landscaping ways and educate the general public. We also were invited to partake in a variety of other activities including gathering macro-invertebrates from Congaree’s Weston Lake, observing how water travels through different sediment types, learning how to control forest fires, making bracelets depicting the function of the water cycle, and observing solar flares through a telescope. Unfortunately, there was a tremendous thunderstorm that forced us into the Visitor Center, however, this allowed us to attended an interesting astronomy presentation by a local club. When the weather cleared up, we took a guided tour of the upper boardwalk trail entitled “Gaps and Saps” which dealt with succession in bottomland, old growth, hardwood forests of South Carolina. Our final activity of the day was a presentation on birds of prey, particularly raptors, and several rescued birds were brought out for the show including a red tailed hawk, a barn owl, and a screech owl. What a magnificent day for enlightening the public and in turn, learning a little bit ourselves.