February 2022 Keeper’s Report
Welcome to your February 2022 Keeper’s Report! Things are humming along at Charleston Waterkeeper and we are very excited to share all the latest action for clean water!
- Our volunteers have planted over 15,000 Spartina seedlings already this year and the number continues to grow! That’s what we call great news for your beautiful marsh!
- We are working to hold state elected leaders accountable for passing the nurdle bill that will protect your waterways and beaches from plastic nurdle pollution. You can help by taking action below!
- We organized and completed 3 cleanups and removed more than 1 ton of debris from local waterways.
- Cheryl, Harriott, and Andrew hit the water last week and successfully installed 20 passive samplers for our research project with NOAA testing pesticides and hydrocarbons in your waterways.
- Cheryl and intern Gabbie are busy re-certifying our Creek Watcher volunteers so they can continue to test water quality and monitor local habitat quality for marine life!
All of this protects and restores your beautiful waterways and ensures that our data is accessible to you, your elected leaders, and ultimately drives awareness and change for clean water.
Finally, the weather is looking just right for a spectacular time at SEWE this weekend! Come see us at Marion Square in the conservation tent. The crew will be on hand and is always ready to talk clean water. We have some great Charleston Waterkeeper gear for sale.
We cannot do this important and impactful work without your support. Thank you for standing up and showing up for clean water!!!
News
12 Black leaders to know
Shout out to Board Member Omar Muhammad for being recognized as one of Charleston’s 12 Black Leaders to Know for his work with Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities!
Post & Courier: Read more
The nurdle bill needs to pass
Yes it does! And, hear why directly from your Charleston Waterkeeper when he was in Columbia at the South Carolina Statehouse to testify before the House Environmental Affairs Subcommittee.
ABC NEWS 4: Watch today!
Public access and clean water
We teamed up with Lowcountry Lowline and SOA Charleston to clean up the headwaters of Newmarket Creek and the site of the planned Lowline Park. And we filled an entire Big Red Box Dumpster with debris!
Live5 News: Watch today!
There’s a new nurdle in town
And nobody invited it. We’re finding three new plastic nurdle shapes in our sampling. That means spills are ongoing and local transloaders are not doing enough to keep plastic nurdle pollution out of your waterways.
Learn more: ABC News 4
Member Spotlight
Michael Blalock
We caught up with one of our most reliable and hard working volunteers, Michael Blalock!
Michael has been volunteering with us for over 5 years and continues to make a positive impact for clean water. You can see him pictured here at one of our latest cleanups in the Francis Marion National Forest and often seen going the extra mile and making a difference every time he participates in our critical work. Read Michael’s interview!
Take Action
We need your help! This week the House Environmental Affairs Subcommittee voted to adjourn debate on the nurdle bill which will help protect your waterways from plastic nurdle pollution. That means the bill is stalled and will be scheduled for another hearing sometime in the future.
After passing the SC Senate last year by a vote of 40-1, a few lobbyists and special interests groups are stalling and trying to put the breaks on progress in the House. The longer the nurdle bill is stalled, the more plastic nurdle pollution you get in your waterways and on your beaches. That’s not right and you can do something about it right now.
Take action today to make sure your favorite waterway or beach is nurdle free!
Clean Water Updates
Magnolia Plantation/Ashley River Cleanup
That was beautiful, fun, and rewarding! We removed over 700 lbs of debris from the Ashley River!
How many seedlings?!?1
Thanks to SCDNR SCORE, our devoted crew of weekday volunteers, and Free Fly we planted over 15,000 seedlings of Spartina grass to date in 2022!
Charleston Waterkeeper + Filbin Friends
All ages are welcome to join us Saturday, February 26, 10am – Noon for a cleanup of Filbin Creek!
#ChasWaterkeeper
DIY Cleanups are awesome!
We loved seeing the crew from FLYWAY out at No Name Beach standing up for clean water and doing a DIY clean up! Be like Flyway and get your DIY kit today!
Let’s Get Social
Don’t miss any of the action for clean water: especially the weekly restoration events! Be sure to follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and now LinkedIn!
