Celebrate rural heritage at Clemson’s Pee Dee research center

Published: April 4, 2012

FLORENCE — Past, present and future come together April 21 when Clemson University’s Pee Dee Research and Education Center opens its doors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the 2012 Rural Heritage Celebration at the center’s Outdoor Education Trail.

In the event of adverse weather, the celebration will move to April 22.

The annual outdoor showcase — free and open to the public — features the best of South Carolina’s homegrown foods, the Pee Dee’s agribusinesses and exhibits on how the state’s rural heritage was shaped.

There will be canoes and kayaks, wagon rides and antique tractors provided by Waccamaw Tractor and Engine Club. Theres also will be birds of prey, farm animals and snakes to see.

Interactive learning centers located throughout the 1.5-mile-long trail explain the importance of natural resources found in the region's ecosystems. The trail offers information on how these resources are used and the role society has in resource conservation.

Visitprs will learn about Clemson’s research projects as they move from longleaf pine restoration to bird house row, through the corn maze and into the butterfly garden, among many other areas.

For more information and to download a map of the trail, visit http://www.clemson.edu/oet.

Clemson’s Pee Dee center is at 2200 Pocket Road in Florence, just 1.5 miles off Interstate 95, exit 169.

END