What it does
To protect land and water forever, nurture relationships between people and place, and connect conservation to community.
Land protection: during fy25, lowcountry land trust participated in fifteen conservation transactions. This includes ten new conservation easements protecting 1,295 acres, four fee-simple purchases protecting 146 acres, and one deed restriction on a .7-acre property. Fy25 land protection projects expanded across coastal south carolina, from the ace basin to the santee basin. On the outskirts of walterboro, a 561- acre tract was placed under a conservation easement, demonstrating the commitment of private landowners, nonprofits, and state government agencies to preserving cultural history and natural resources. The project helped create a contiguous protected landscape in colleton county, contributing to the quickly growing area's ecological integrity and aligning with lowcountry land trust's recently identified high-resilience zone near cottageville. In addition to acquiring 94 acres of vital farmland on johns island that will soon become publicly accessible via walking trails, field trips, farm stands, and educational programs about sustainable farming practices and land stewardship, lowcountry land trust bought, protected, and transferred three properties for community use and benefit. In partnership with charleston county park and recreation commission, a 35-acre tract in ravenel will serve as an official addition to caw caw interpretive center. In collaboration with the barrier islands little league, a 40-acre landmark project on johns island ensures that a vital green space will remain undeveloped, providing both active and passive recreational opportunities for the community. In partnership with the phillips community association and its residents, a .7 acre site will be transformed into a publicly accessible green space, with the preserved rutledge tomb at its centerpiece, providing a vital link to the area's plantation history and honoring the settlement community's relationship with the land. Lowcountry land trust also helped the red top improvement associa
Land stewardship: in fy25, lowcountry land trust monitored 100% of its over 550 protected properties, including conservation easements, deed restrictions, and fee simple projects. Lowcountry land trust staff utilizes various monitoring methods, including on-the-ground, drone, satellite, and aerial monitoring, to meet its stewardship obligations. Lowcountry land trust staff continue to communicate with landowners and property managers during monitoring visits as well as throughout the year to maintain strong working relationships and provide them with relevant educational, land management, and conservation easement resources.
Community outreach: lowcountry land trust, as part of its soul of the lowcountry program, hosted a series of community outreach events in fy25 that encouraged all ages of environmental enthusiasts to engage in conservation. Free opportunities to immerse oneself in nature and learn about the importance of land protection and stewardship included events such as cleanups and yoga at the future angel oak preserve, wildlife samplings and oyster reef builds with the scdnr, nature walks and birding outings on protected and stewarded sites, and a kayak cleanup along the banks of the land trust's first-ever protected property. The organization also convened over 50 local conservation partners to host its third-annual lowcountry earth month, raising awareness about the various conservation initiatives/methods in the region.