SC Coastal Conservation League

This is what is at stake in the Cainhoy Peninsula. Thousands of acres of untouched habitat need your help, and we can do something to protect this land from being developed. Keep showing up. Our voices are stronger together. Join us at our Cainhoy Community Meeting on May 18th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM and sign the petition today to tell the City of Charleston that we do not want this land destroyed. Link in our bio.

We are so thankful for the amazing volunteers that came out to help us at the Manufactured Wire Reef (MWR) installation yesterday at Parris Island with our partners and friends at SCDNR's SCORE program, the Palmetto Trail, and the Sustainability Institute. Together, we helped install approximately 130 MWR units that will help restore our oyster populations and bring back lost marsh habitat. These living shorelines work as a nature-based solution to help stabilize our shorelines while enhancing the surrounding habitat. Join us for our next volunteer day on May 28th at Parris Island once more to help install MWRs and restore our oysters! Register today using the link in our bio.

Hey, folks! Our team has decided to combine our Cainhoy Community Meetings into one meeting on the 18th at Philip Simmons Elementary School on May 18th from 6-8 PM! We are so excited to have several speakers from College of Charleston, Charleston Waterkeeper and our team to discuss concerns about the Cainhoy Development plan related to wetland loss, flooding, threatened and endangered species, traffic safety and more. Come with questions and comments! As you may know, the Cainhoy Peninsula currently being threatened by a major development proposal. Nearly 30 years ago, the Guggenheim family signed a development agreement with the City of Charleston for up to 18,000 residential units and 700-900 docks. This development plan would fill 200 acres of wetland, destroy 900 acres of land, add over 30,000 daily car trips to Clements Ferry Road, and permanently change the Cainhoy community. Please use the RSVP link in our bio ahead of the meetings to reserve your spot. Your voice is needed! Help us show up for our pristine wildlife and protect the Cainhoy Peninsula!

This is the Cainhoy Peninsula. This is what we are protecting. This vast expanse of historic wetland and forest cannot be lost. Speak up. Tell the City of Charleston we want to protect this space. Show up to our Community Meetings. Sign the petition and register for a Community Meeting with the link in our bio!

Join us for an evening combining art and activism! Come see artist Mary Edna Fraser, videographer Cori McIntyre, and North Coast Office Director for the Coastal Conservation League Becky Ryon on May 14th at the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum for a special art and film presentation about the Waccamaw River and its neighboring rural and historic communities at risk from the SC-22 Extension and how you can help save them. Free with light refreshments provided! See you there!

Treat mom, or yourself, this week 💐 We built this week’s box with mom in mind, but if we’re being honest… it’s really for anyone who could use a little extra love right now 🤍 Inside you’ll find a mix of fresh local produce, plus a luffa sponge from @commonjoyluffa and handmade Orange Lavender soap from @edistogoldhoney ! Fun fact: luffa is actually part of the squash family!! Check out the slide three to see a few ways to use this versatile, eco friendly, natural sponge 🫧 Want to take things up a notch? We’re also offering local add ons that make gifting effortless!! Options include a @fraypearls Tiny Tide bracelet and a farmer’s selection bouquet from @theurbfarm filled with fresh, in season blooms 🌷🦪

Want to help restore oysters? Join the Coastal Conservation League, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources SCORE program, and the Sustainability Institute to create Oyster Reefs! This will be done through the deployment of Manufactured Wired Reefs (MWRs), that will be an alternative substrate for oyster larvae to land grow on. Volunteers will help load up MWRs on boats, deploy them onto the shoreline, and finally lock them in with rebar. We will have four days of volunteer events coming up that are open to the public! Oyster reefs are crucial to our estuaries - supporting many recreationally and commercially important fish species, birds, mammals, and, of course, humans! On top of this, one adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water in a day helping keep our waterways clean. Oyster reefs also protect our shorelines from erosion and flooding by breaking up wind and wave energy and supporting our salt marsh habitat. Come on out on: Tuesday, May 10th from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Thursday, May 28th from 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM Thursday, June 25th from 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Friday, July 10th from 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Make sure to bring some good clothes to get muddy, closed-toed shoes, sunscreen, water, and a friend! This is a great way to get outside and help keep our waterways clean and healthy! Register today with the link in our bio,

We have an exciting event coming to you! Join the Coastal Conservation League, Friends of Lewis Ocean Bay, and Horry County Parks & Rec for a 3-day flytrap festival celebrating South Carolina's state carnivorous plant. We have so many activities planned for all ages to celebrate one of the most unique species in the country! The festival begins with a Flytrap Social on Thursday, May 7th from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM at Bonfire in Conway - right on the Waccamaw River. Then, register for the first Flytrap 5K on Saturday May 9th at 8am at 101 Environmental Parkway, followed by a conservation fair, music, and food trucks. Finally, on Sunday May 10th, join the SC Department of Natural Resources for a free tour of Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve from 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM! We hope to see you there! Come celebrate conservation with us!

Are you concerned about the development of Cainhoy? Our team at the Coastal Conservation League is hosting two community forums to discuss the Cainhoy Development Plan. Join us for two community meetings on May 11th and May 18th to discuss the potential development of Cainhoy and what we can do to address it. We will have a panel of guest speakers and talk about how we can show use our voice and tell the City of Charleston the community is opposed to this proposed development. We will be highlighting concerns related to wetland loss, flooding, threatened and endangered species, traffic safety and more. Come with questions and comments! As you may know, the Cainhoy Peninsula currently being threatened by a major development proposal. Nearly 30 years ago, the Guggenheim family signed a development agreement with the City of Charleston for up to 18,000 residential units and 700-900 docks. This development plan would fill 200 acres of wetland, destroy 9,000 acres of land, add over 30,000 daily car trips to Clements Ferry Road, and permanently change the Cainhoy community. Please use the RSVP link in our bio ahead of the meetings to reserve your spot. We will have limited spots for May 11th meeting due to space limitations, so if you can't make it, please join us for our meeting on May 18th, which will have a much larger capacity. Your voice is needed! Help us show up for our pristine wildlife and protect the Cainhoy Peninsula!

This is what we are fighting for. Cainhoy needs your help. Sign the petition in our bio.

Some important developments occurred last week that address data centers in South Carolina. Regulating data centers is a top priority for the Coastal Conservation League and our state. Here’s what you need to know and what else we can do. The League worked with Senator Sutton during the SC Senate budget debate to uncover state incentives for data center projects. Sen. Sutton proposed and passed an amendment which stops Department of Commerce incentives for data center projects for the next fiscal year. This ensures no more taxpayer funded grants are directed to data centers. Senator Campsen sponsored and passed an amendment that requires the Department of Revenue to report the utilization of the sales and use tax exemption available to data centers for computer equipment and electricity. The report must contain the total amount of the tax exemption claimed and the number of entities benefiting from the tax break. Finally, Senator Blackmon successfully passed an amendment that requires data centers using more than 3 million gallons of water a month to report their water usage to the Department of Environmental Services. The report would be publicly available and provides for fines and penalties if the report is filed late and/or has misleading or false information. These steps are important for opening the conversation on stronger regulations for data centers, and we are thankful for Senators Sutton, Campsen, and Blackmon’s leadership on the issue during the budget process. Budget amendments are a stop-gap measure in the absence of permanent data center regulation, but they will provide important protections until we work to pass permanent and comprehensive data center legislation next year. We need your help getting these passed. Next up, the House will have the chance to agree to the Senate budget amendments. If you don’t know where your House member stands on data center regulations, please reach out to them today and ask them to adopt the data center provisions in the Senate version of the budget. Use the link in our bio to find your representatives and tell them that we need stronger regulations on data centers in our state.

Get your bikes and join us and @holycityspin on Wednesday, April 29th at 6:30 PM at Sugey's on King Street for their weekly critical mass ride. Bring your bike, a friend, and hang out with us as we do an easy paced ride around Charleston's downtown peninsula. The ride out starts at 7:00 PM. See you there!