Group tours the Backyard Habitat learning center at Pee Dee REC.

DATE: 5/12/2006

CONTACT: Dr. Jim Frederick, (843) 662-3526, ext. 228; jfrdrck@clemson.edu

WRITER: Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343, ext. 241; tlollis@clemson.edu

Pee Dee REC classroom is ‘as big as all outdoors’

FLORENCE – The newest classroom at Clemson University’s Pee Dee Research and Education Center is as big as all outdoors.

It’s known as the Outdoor Education Trail, and it offers visitors a chance to get in touch with the natural resources of South Carolina’s Pee Dee region and learn how to be good stewards of the environment.

“We have approximately 2,300 acres here at the Pee Dee REC, and it contains a wealth of ecosystems which our increasingly urban society needs to stay in touch with, ranging from agricultural lands to forests, wetlands and lake environments,” said Jim Frederick, Clemson University agronomist.

He expects the trail to be open to the general public by next fall. Right now groups can tour the mile-long trail by appointment only.

“We’ve been working on this since last summer, and groups that we invited in for a preview this spring have been amazed at what we’re trying to do,” said Frederick. “I think they were expecting just a small foot trail.”

Instead, educators, businessmen, government officials and news media were treated to a tour of 20 different learning centers, some offering sturdy information kiosks and other areas still in development.

The tour groups saw centers devoted to innovative cropping systems, wildlife management on the farm, longleaf pines, crops and crop products, fallow field management, forest resources, American Indian culture, plants for the home and garden, and more.

One of the highlights was a stop for lunch at a picnic area beside Dargan’s Pond, a 150-acre body of water which is managed as habitat for waterfowl.

“Our long-range plans include construction of an outdoor learning classroom on a hill beside the pond,” said Frederick. “It will be a screened, roofed facility which will give groups a place to conduct educational programs, even when the weather is unfavorable. Agricultural, forestry and wildlife research at the Pee Dee REC will be highlighted.”

The classroom cost will probably run in excess of $100,000, and Frederick said that construction will probably have to await either grant funds or a generous donor interested in environmental education.

One of the main stops is an area where visitors can see what works to attract wildlife to a backyard. Created by Clemson wildlife biologist T. J. Savereno, the stop demonstrates what types of plants will attract various types of wildlife, how to make feeders, and the benefits of shelter areas such as stone walls and brush piles. Clemson sociologist Brenda Vander Mey is also developing plans to use the stop for statewide teacher training on creating wildlife habitat in the schoolyard.

Nearby are gardens that change with the seasons and the Robinson Activity Center, named for Sue Robinson, research technology specialist at the Pee Dee REC and co-planner for the trail.

The area has work stations and a small outdoor classroom available to groups for crafting and other education activities, such as showing youngsters how to make castings of animal tracks.

Work has started on a Birdhouse Row, which will feature all types of houses for placement on field edges, in the woods, and on or near water for waterfowl.

“We feel that Birdhouse Row and other parts of the trail would make good Boy Scout projects, and we are talking to the organization about getting some started,” Frederick said.

He said that wildflowers native to South Carolina have been planted in areas along the trail, and development has begun on a learning center near a wetlands area. A hiking trail around Dargan’s Pond is being cut, and an area is being prepared for a future primitive campground.

Several “Learn More” kiosks will be centered on specific types of wildlife. In addition to the educational information they are preparing, Frederick wants visitors to see all that nature has to offer.

“We may have a sign that says, ‘Look up!’, and it will direct you to a squirrel’s nest, for example,” he said.

A Home and Garden center will feature five subcenters – organic gardening and composting, poisonous and medicinal plants, seasonal gardening, pest management, and energy sources.

Within the coming year Frederick hopes work can begin on the Outdoor Learning Classroom, a fisheries learning center, a forest ecosystems area, and centers highlighting nutrition and healthy lifestyles, types of pine trees and their uses, longleaf pine restoration, and soils and soil conservation. A Clemson Pavilion will highlight all the research areas that Clemson University is involved in around the state.

One of Pee Dee REC’s partners in the Outdoor Education Trail is Naturally Outdoors Outfitters, who will work with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources on potential sites for a canoe trail on Dargan’s Pond, adding another dimension to the Education Trail concept.

“The Outdoor Trail is a new approach to education which we feel will be a great asset to the Pee Dee region and of interest to everyone,” notes Laurie Lawson, assistant to the vice president for public service at Clemson University.

Other partners involved in the effort include: Clemson University’s Landscapes for Learning Program, the S.C. Alliance 2020 Program, Wildlife Action, the S.C. Forestry Commission, the U.S. Forest Service, Clemson’s Integrated Pest Management Program, the Pee Dee Sierra Club, USDA-NRCS, the S.C. Wildlife Federation, Monsanto, the S.C. Soybean Board, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of America and Science South.

Frederick said that several tours have been scheduled for the coming months for public and private schools and the Boys and Girls Club of the Pee Dee.

“If anyone would like to get involved in this educational effort or become a sponsor for one of the educational centers, they can get in touch with me at the Pee Dee REC,” said Frederick. His phone number is (843) 662-3526, ext. 228. His e-mail address is jfrdrck@clemson.edu.

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