Eleven hardy volunteers were aided by great weather for the February Newhall Work Day! Pictured below, from left to right, are Co-Chair Jack Coleman, Committee Member David Buzzard, Karen Lucey, Jim Reynolds, Denise Prichard, Emily Anthony, Greg Riss, Vice-Chair Matt Mattoon, John Grobe and Sal Gioia. The Photographer was camera-shy Co-Chair and Fearless Leader, Bob Clemens. (We have learned to take the volunteer photo at the outset, so as to not appear too bedraggled at the conclusion of our work.)
Jim and Greg tackled a problem at the front gate, where Sea Pines Security Officers were apparently having trouble securing one wing of the gate in the open position. Problem solved! David, Emily, and Karen painted signposts throughout the preserve, although Karen claims that she got more paint on herself than on the posts (Emily and David of our paint crew are shown below).
John, Sal, and Bob installed a new “turtle log” off the pond deck, as pictured below. (A task made more complicated when Bob dropped a screwdriver into the pond, which was rescued later with a “grabber!”)
Matt and Jack cut some logs to line the Branch Wood Trail where “turtle logs“ had been relocated to the pond. They then turned on the irrigation system which had been shut off to prevent frozen pipes. (We certainly hope the groundhog was right and there will not be another big freeze!)
Denise refreshed and “turned” the compost bin, and then gathered a truckload of branches, which were taken to the collection point to be taken away by Sea Pines CSA later this month.
Our next Newhall Work Day will be in conjunction with a Rotary Service Project on Saturday, March 10 from 9 AM to 11 AM. RSVPs are helpful, but not necessary to Rclemens318@gmail.com. We will do more trail trimming and painting to spruce up the Preserve for our Spring visitors.
In other news, we have engaged a contractor to build a new “welcome kiosk“ with monies from an ATAX grant. Once the plans are finalized, they will be submitted to Sea Pines ARB and the Town for approval, and construction can begin. The new kiosk will feature four panels: three for bulletin boards and one for an enlarged trail map. We have also been awarded ATAX monies to print more trail guides to be placed at the South Carolina welcome centers on the interstates.
Finally, our “people counter” recorded 1,390 visitors in January, 275 of whom made entries on the clipboard (or 20%). The clipboard entries showed that we had visitors from 28 states and three foreign countries. At least 43 of our visitors attended bird walks, and the donation post and Venmo donations totaled $329 for the month.