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| ACSEC E-Newsletter |
November/December 2011
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For More Information on Consortium Related Activities, Don't Forget to Follow Us on Facebook!
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CLICK THE DROPS BELOW FOR MORE INFO
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Programs and Resources
 | | Create Your Own Carolina Yard |
 | | Rain Garden Manual |
 | | New! Residential Rainwater Harvesting Manual |
| | Coastal Friendly Living Guide and Links to other SC Sea Grant Publications |
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This booklet explores tidal creek ecosystems and the various threats to the valuable services they provide
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Guide for Community Associations
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Home and Garden Information Center  | | Certified Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control Inspector |
Free for Teachers: New SC Standards-Based Watershed Lessons and Interactive Whiteboard Activities SC Green Steps Program Disposing of Household Waste County Solid Waste and Recycling Center Info Berkeley County Charleston County Dorchester County Interactive Maps SC Watershed Stewardship Map SC NEMO LID Atlas  | | SC Coastal Information Network Website Search for Training Opportunities |
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Volunteer Opportunities
Litter Sweeps
 | | KAB Affiliates |
Storm Drain Marking
 | Mark Storm Drains In Your Neighborhood and Promote Awareness that Storm Drains and Ditches Connect to SC's Waterways
Email Angela Crouch |
Oyster Reef Restoration and Water Quality Monitoring
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SCORE Program
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Our Second Drop Has Landed!
Welcome to the second edition of the Ripple Effect, the new Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium (ACSEC) E-newsletter! Our goal is to provide awareness of consortium-related activities, including current, recent and upcoming events, as well as provide information and resources to help foster good stewardship practices. Like ripples on the water, we hope you will pass on your knowledge, and this newsletter, to others.
Thank You! for protecting SC's water resources!
 | | Storm Drains and Ditches Lead to SC Waterways |
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Tip of the Month
This fall, use fallen leaves and pine needles as mulch under trees and shrubs and keep this material out of storm drains. Fallen leaves and pine needles are an excellent source of organic material, make an attractive natural mulch and are free! They also make a great addition to a compost pile. |
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Keep an Eye out for ACSEC Billboards!
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The Thank You! logo can be seen on three billboards in the Tri-County area, officially launching the new ACSEC Thank You! campaign. Two billboards emphasize that proper disposal of wastes protects SC's waterways. A third ACSEC billboard highlights that storm drains and ditches lead to SC's waterways. Keep an eye out for these billboards as they rotate and change locations on a regular basis. We'll be implementing the Thank You! graphic in many ways to bring awareness and offer thanks for good stewardship.
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Thank You! Pet Waste Billboard on I-26 |
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Join Us at the Coastal Carolina Fair
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Join us at the Coastal Carolina Fair from October 27th to November 5th. The Carolina Yards and Neighborhoods (CYN) demonstration area can be found adjacent to the live animal barn. The area is home to, among other things, a rain barrel/rainwater harvesting model, rain garden, pervious pavers, native plant highlights for the home landscape, and a stormwater educational display. Plus a Clemson Extension Master Gardener will be there to answer all of your gardening questions. A big Thank You! to the Master Gardeners for all their hard work to make the CYN living classroom at the fairgrounds a reality!
CYN living classroom at the Coastal Carolina Fair
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Alston Middle School; Creating a Model for Community Involvement and Schoolyard Stewardship
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| | Raised beds at Alston Middle School are irrigated with rain barrels and a drip irrigation system |
Summerville's Alston Middle School is a recipient of a FarmToSchool Grant which aids inclusion of local produce into the school; providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers. As part of this effort, a raised bed school garden was installed and includes collards, herbs and other winter crops. The ACSEC has donated rain barrels which are being utilized on the school grounds to collect water and distribute via a drip irrigation system. The project continues to grow with a master plan that includes rain gardens, native plants, butterfly garden, and a larger rainwater harvesting cistern. Stay tuned for the official "ribbon cutting" ceremony and celebratory event scheduled for this spring. Many organizations and groups from the local community have been involved including Clemson Extension Master Gardeners, The H.E.N. project, Leadership Dorchester, and Trident Technical College. |
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Welcome Our New Student Intern: CofC Masters of Environmental Studies Candidate
Sarah Rollins
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| | Sarah Rollins, College of Charleston Masters of Environmental Studies Candidate and ACSEC Student Intern |
Sarah Rollins is a Master's of Environmental Studies candidate at the College of Charleston. She will be working with the Clemson Cooperative Extension office to characterize stormwater ponds in the Tri-County area in a comprehensive database. With this information, she will help the ACSEC to develop an outreach program on stormwater pond maintenance for homeowners' associations. Sarah is a native of Virginia Beach and received her BS in Geology at the College of Charleston. |
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Jenny Craft helping at
the Charleston Green Fair
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Saturday, October 1, 2011
An estimated 5000 attendees participated in this years Charleston Green Fair at Marion Square. A big Thank You! to Charleston Water Systems, Surfrider Foundation, and Keep Charleston Beautiful for sharing the water resources tent with Clemson's Carolina Clear Program. The Water Resources Tent provided information to attendees pertaining to stormwater; including rainwater harvesting, storm drain marking, litter prevention, and other water quality stewardship related topics.
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SC Native Plants Society, Native Plants Sale
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| | Use of Native Plants is considered a best management practice for protecting water quality. Compared to non-native species, native plants require less fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation. |
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Lowcountry Chapter of the SC Native Plant Society, in partnership with Charles Towne Landing, held a Native Plant Sale on Saturday, October 22 from 9 am to 12 pm in the parking lot of Charles Towne Landing. Admission to the plant sale was free and allowed an opportunity to learn about and purchase plants native to Lowcountry landscapes. Sale included perennials, trees, ferns, vines and native grass species all recommended for the home garden. The event was organized and staffed by SCNPS volunteers.
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CofC Students participated in Dash for Trash and collected hundres of pounds of litter
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Saturday, October 22, 2011
Keep Charleston Beautiful teamed up with College of Charleston to host Dash for Trash! The cleanup took place in downtown Charleston with 100 plus College of Charleston Students. Teams collected litter from the Eastside and brought it back in shopping carts for points. Extra points were given to groups who collected cigarette butts and dog waste. Groups removed hundreds of pounds of litter and thousands of cigarette butts as part of Dash for Trash. The event was sponsored by numerous local businesses and organizations, including the SC Aquarium.
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Great Oyster Point Runoff Event
November 5
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Saturday November 5th, 2011
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Click Here to learn more
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Join us at Charleston Water Keeper's Great Oyster Point Runoff Event! Colonial Lake will be transformed into a fun, festive site for kayakers, canoers, home-made boat enthusiasts and water-lovers galore. The event will include land-based water workshops and clubs and organizations on hand to talk about fun ways to get on, in and around water. The main event will be a boat parade around Colonial Lake to celebrate clean water. The event is Free and open to the public. All proceeds will be used to support Charleston Waterkeeper water quality monitoring program.
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Tidal Creeks Summit
December 5-6
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December 5-6, 2011
Southeastern communities face similar issues with respect to understanding and managing impacts on tidal creek systems. To begin a discussion on these issues, the Tidal Creeks Summit is scheduled for December 5-6 in downtown Charleston. This meeting seeks to convene researchers, resource managers, regulators, conservation groups and other non-governent organizations. Scientists, natural resources managers, conservationists and the ecological restoration community are encouraged to attend the summit and share experiences, network with collegues and become involved in shaping the future of tidal creeks in the Southeast. This event has been organized by the Sea Grant programs of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, NC State University's Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department and Clemson University's Belle W. Baruch Insitute of Coastal Ecoogy and Forest Science. For more information and online registration please click Here
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Carolina Yards and Neighborhoods Event Series
January 17 and January 21, 2012
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Tuesday, January 17th
and Saturday January 21st
Carolina Yards and Neighborhoods (CYN) is a Clemson Extension Education Program that
focuses on environmentally friendly home landscaping practices through implementation
of nine guiding principles. Clemson Extension
and Trident Technical College are partnering to pilot the CYN Event Series, in which the nine principles are used as guidance for seasonal
training opportunities. Each course is a half day session and will include a suite of 3-4 topics
offered twice in fall, spring, and winter. The first
of the series is to take place January 2012 and will focus on nutrient management, tree/shrub care, rainscaping and shorescaping. Registration will be available online via Trident Technical College.
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New Resources and Opportunities for
Pond Management Education
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Save The Date! Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 The Lowcountry Pond Conference will take place at Trident Technical College. This one-day event will provide a variety of educational opportunities for pond owners and managers to learn more about the current issues, maintenance techniques, and resources
for managing ponds. On behalf of the ACSEC, Clemson's Carolina Clear Program and the SC Department of Natural Resources are teaming up to provide this opportunity. The format of the conference will include a plenary session with keynote address, followed by concurrent sessions separated into three tracks including a Pond Dynamics, Pond Maintenance, and Pond Administration and Outreach. Additional information to follow as the time nears, in the mean time, please Save The Date and inform others that may be interested!
In response to an increasing number of requests from citizens looking for solutions, Clemson University Extension has launched a stormwater pond management website to help communities manage their stormwater ponds. Stormwater retention ponds have become common features in urban and suburban landscapes. Driven, in part, by regulations that require structural controls that prevent flooding and protect water quality in downstream rivers and estuaries, they have become one of the most popular stormwater controls for residential and commercial developments. Many pond owners and managers, including businesses and home owners associations, have had limited guidance on how to maintain these important features. The new pond management website provides a valuable resource for those responsible for ponds in South Carolina. |
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For Protecting South Carolina's Waterways
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THE ACSEC MISSON
The ACSEC is a regional partnership between counties, municipalities, universities, state and local agencies, non-profits and other organizations in the Tri-County region. The ACSEC mission:
Improve water quality within the Ashley and Cooper River basins by providing educational opportunities on
stormwater impacts and our community roles in supporting healthy, fishable, and swimmable waterways
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Have a workshop or event request, or just want to know more, please contact us!
Natural Resources Agent
Natural Resources Agent
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