FRESPACE Findings Fall Winter 2018 President’s Report remove shore bird fencing, planted vegetation to As you will see from the Park Manager and Inter- protect the dunes, assisted with the displays for the pretive Ranger reports, Edisto Beach State Park ELC, and via the Blowhards, routinely blow off the has gone through quite a few personnel changes. Park trails. As more volunteer opportunities arise, Although we will certainly miss Jon and Brandon, we will publicize them through our website, Face- we congratulate them on their promotions, wish book, and email blasts. Your support will be help- them well in their new jobs, and thank them for all ful and appreciated. they have done for the Park over the years. We are truly fortunate to have excellent replacements who FRESPACE has funded several key projects for are bringing new ideas and building on foundations the Park. Perhaps the most significant was partner- laid by their predecessors. We are excited about ing with the Park to replace the obsolete Sea Turtle working with Park Manager Kyle Bullock, Assis- cart. We also supported the new trash display and tant Park Manager Kaley Foley, and Interpretive the new alligator exhibit at the Environmental Ranger Samantha Pettit and welcome them to Learning Center and purchased a new blower for Edisto. the Blowhards’ cart. We continue to provide bird feed for the ELC bird sanctuary and membership September ended another successful turtle season. for FRESPACE/EBSP in the Edisto Chamber of Although the number of nests was fewer this year, Commerce. We anticipate more funding opportuni- it is in keeping with the cyclical nature of Logger- ties for upgrades and additions to ELC exhibits. head nesting, and we are hopeful of a rebound next year. Our Sea Turtle Specialist, Leah Our ongoing emphasis on local recruitment, solici- Schwartzentruber, our two interns, Skyler and Jill, tation of membership at Turtle Walks, and the ac- and volunteers did a terrific job caring for the tur- tive promotion of FRESPACE by the staff at the tles and educating the public through nightwalks ELC has yielded many new FRESPACE members. and nest inventories. The nightwalks were almost Currently, we have 374 members, which is an in- completely sold out, and the response from the par- crease of 118 over this time last year and 233 more ticipants was very complimentary. than two years ago! We also have 8 corporate sponsors. As a reminder, here are some of the ben- FRESPACE volunteers again sold “I Survived the efits of membership (still only $25/year!): Turtle Nightwalk” T-shirts and raised $773, plus • we have 102 shirts available for next year. Thanks Free entry to the State Park (camping not in- to all who helped in the selling and especially to cluded) those who purchased the shirts. • Free boat ramp privileges at the Live Oak Landing FRESPACE volunteers have been busy with vari- • Free use of picnic shelters, tables and grills ous projects. In addition to the support mentioned • Parking and use of restroom facilities at the above, volunteers have assisted with another well- beach attended and fun Turtle Fest, helped install and • Free admission to the Environmental Learn- ing Center (ELC) Website: www.frespace.org ; email: [email protected] ; like us on Facebook 1 • Use of Park trails for hiking and biking big shoes to fill! Jon was promoted to Lakes Re- • Membership in an organization that makes a gion Chief of the SC State Park Service. I have difference in preserving the natural beauty worked at seven different state parks in our park of Edisto Island system. My last position was Park Manager of Hamilton Branch State Park located in McCormick Communications continue to be a major emphasis County, SC. My wife, two sons, and little girl have for our organization. We currently have 3,623 fol- enjoyed our return to Edisto and look forward to lowers on Facebook and 3,527 “likes.” Both are being a part of this great community. Our Assistant substantial increases over the previous year. Our Manager, Brandon Goff, was promoted to Park email list continues to grow, and our participation Manager of Givhans Ferry State Park. He will be with the Edisto Chamber is helping communicate dearly missed, but don’t worry, he will be back to Park activities to our membership and the commu- enjoy the park and the beach. We hired Kaley Fo- nity. Currently, we are working on plans for a ley as our new Assistant Park Manager. Kaley has Business After Hours on February 5. Please check worked at numerous parks and brings a wealth of out our frequently updated website at knowledge that will help us keep moving forward. www.frespace.org , to “like” us on Facebook at She previously served as Senior Ranger at Santee www.facebook.com/frespace , and to contact us at State Park. [email protected] . This past season we have accomplished a lot to- Sam, Brendon, and Pat comprise an effective and gether. The Turtle Patrol received a new gas- friendly Environmental Learning Center staff. powered utility cart to replace our aging one. A big They are doing a terrific job in developing pro- thanks to FRESPACE for assisting in the cost of grams that inform and entertain on lowcountry the cart. It is greatly appreciated! Speaking of tur- ecology, fauna, and flora. Come by and visit one of tles, the park alone had 109 nests. Though this Edisto’s treasures. They are open five days a week number is down from previous years, we feel con- (Tuesday through Saturday). Thanks to each of you fident the numbers will increase with each passing for your support. Together, we are making a differ- year. Nests began hatching in August, and our pub- ence. lic inventories had great numbers of visitors enjoy- Bill Andrews, FRESPACE President ing the experience. Park Manager’s Report The dune revegetation project was completed with Greetings FRESPACE Members, the help of Volvo, FRESPACE, and park staff. This project was essential to ensure our dune sys- It has been a tem stays in place. With the help of FRESPACE great season! and park staff, we were able to complete our new Thanks to Alligator Exhibit at the Environmental Learning mostly coop- Center. If you get a chance, please come by to erative check it out and some of our new programs weather, the planned for this upcoming season. park has been full, and we This upcoming fall/winter we will work on some have enjoyed projects to finish up our recent storm recovery. We thousands of will remodel the day-use restroom to give it the visitors tak- facelift it deserves. Trail work will continue as ing ad- park staff perform annual removal of hazardous vantage of our beautiful park. We have some staff trees. Throughout this off season, park staff will changes to report. I, Kyle Bullock, am replacing perform various projects to maintain and enhance Jon Greider as Park Manager. I know I have some facilities as the opportunities arise. Website: www.frespace.org ; email: [email protected] ; like us on Facebook 2 left, they finished their Trash Awareness Legacy As always, thank y’all for your continued support project, another new addition to ELC. They did an of the park and making my transition as smooth as awesome job! Henry Tindall, a FRESPACE volun- possible. We look forward to seeing you out in our teer, installed it. Thank you to FRESPACE for great community and the park. funding this project. It is an educational display Kyle Bullock, Park Manager I’m proud to have up on ELC’s walls. Next time you’re here, come check it out! We also said good- Interpretive Ranger’s Report bye to our educational intern, Lucas. He was an Hey FRESPACE! incredible help with day to day operations and with programs. I wish them the best on their senior For those of you years and on their future endeavors. who don’t know me, I’m Sam We have a few new programs on our schedule and Pettit, the new a few more in the making. Be on the lookout for interpretive “Gators of the Lowcountry” and “Off the Hook ranger. I started Fishing” on the program schedules. Stay tuned for in May, just in new programs this fall and new videos to be shown time for the in our movie theater. Also, we have new and im- summer season. proved Ultimate Outsider books on display I moved to South throughout the park. It’s a great way to explore the Carolina in 2012 beauty of South Carolina. Pick one up and start where I went to exploring! See you around. school at USC Beaufort. I graduated in 2015 with a Sam Pettit, Interpretive Ranger bachelor’s degree in Biology and a concentration in Coastal Ecology and Conservation. Since gradu- In Memorial – We are sad to inform FRESPACE ation, I have worked at Hunting Island State Park members that Don Tipton passed away May 2 of as the Nature Center Specialist. Some of my re- this year. Don and Damaris Cardisco were respon- sponsibilities included animal care and interpre- sible for establishing FRESPACE in 2002, and Don tive/outreach programs. Over the years, I have de- was the first vice president and the second presi- veloped an appreciation and love for all reptiles. dent of the organization. He was heavily involved Be sure to check out one of our programs featuring in FRESPACE for years and a member the rest of some of our local reptiles here at the center! his life.