Charleston Natural History Society

10/14/2026

Native Plant Week is in full swing, tickets are going fast for tomorrow!

Native plants can help Lowcountry gardens weather wet and dry conditions and support wildlife. SC Native Plant Week from Oct. 18-24 offers ways to learn more.

10/10/2026

Native plant postponed!

10/04/2026

Reminder!!

10/03/2026

One of the best parts of the Charleston Natural History Society is seeing our members out in the community, getting people outdoors and excited about birds and the natural world.

A special thank you to Scott and Julie Glass, Sabrina Cobb and Andrew Rohrmam for sharing their knowledge, enthusiasm, and time while engaging with the public and helping more people discover the incredible birdlife of the Lowcountry at Dill Sanctuary Community Day!!

This is what community is all about.
Connecting people with nature and inspiring curiosity about the world around us.

10/01/2026

October lecture!!!!

Pollinators & Native Plants with Sharleen Johnson

Monday October 5th
6-8pm
James Island City Hall
1122 Dills Bluff Rd,
James Island, SC, 29412

What’s good for pollinators is good for birds:
Native plants and practices to support wildlife in your home landscape

It takes more to support pollinators than a garden full of flowers, and it takes more to support songbirds than hanging bird feeders and bird houses.

In this talk Sharleen will share specific native plant species and practices that you can incorporate into your home landscape to help support the full life cycles and year-round needs of bees, butterflies, other beneficial insects, hummingbirds, songbirds, and woodpeckers. We’ll dive into the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat program and how to apply its guidelines here in Charleston.

Sharleen will share a set of native plants to provide almost year-round pollen and nectar resources for pollinators and leaves for caterpillars and fruits and shelter for birds.

We’ll discuss the value of “soft landings” habitats under keystone trees to support ground-nesting bees, moth pupae, spiders, and ground-foraging birds and how to establish them. And explore ways to keep your yard looking reasonably “tidy” while retaining snags, stumps, brush piles, seedheads, stems, and other biomass on site to support all sorts of wildlife.

Finally, we’ll touch on sustainable practices to reduce the impacts of invasive species, disruptive light pollution, and insecticide use.

Bio:
Formally trained as an ecologist and science educator, Sharleen is passionate about helping people learn about and actively engage with the natural world through presentations about native plants and wildlife, pollinator ecology, and sustainable landscaping. One of her primary missions through her business, Native Plants to the People (NPTTP), is to increase the local availability of diverse native plants, with an emphasis on cost-effective plugs and smaller pot sizes. Prior to launching NPTTP, Sharleen worked as a marine ecologist for the SC Dept of Natural Resources, in non-profit medical research, and as a high school science teacher.

09/28/2026

Presented by BirdStory, join National Audubon for three short film screenings and panel discussion on Saturday, October 3rd from 4 PM - 6 PM at the Lowcountry Center for Conservation at Lowcountry Land Trust.

Films: | A Black Rail's Tale | Stories to Save Us: The Saltmarsh Sparrow | Deveaux Bank: Reflections of a Cultural Ornithologist
Followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with the filmmakers including: Dr. J. Drew Lanham, Matt Aeberhard, Andy Johnson (Audubon), Melanie Finn, and Felicia Sanders.

Limited seating - RSVP Required:

https://www.mobilize.us/audubon-sc/event/1045902/

Address: Lowcountry Center for Conservation, 1362 Old Towne Rd, Charleston, SC 29407

In partnership with Lowcountry Land Trust, National Audubon Society, Ducks Unlimited, and American Bird Conservancy.

Presented by BirdStory, join us for three short film screenings and panel discussion on October 3rd from 4 PM - 6 PM at the Lowcountry Center for Conservation at Lowcountry Land Trust. Films: | A Black Rail's Tale | Stories to Save Us: The Saltmarsh Sparrow | Deveaux Bank: Reflections of a Cultural....

09/06/2026

Reminder: MONDAY NIGHT

SEPTEMBER LECTURE:

Folly Beach Turtle Watch

Monday September 7th
6-8pm
James Island City Hall
1122 Dills Bluff Rd,
James Island, SC, 29412

Sea Turtles: A Remarkable Journey

For 100 million years, sea turtles flourished. But as human populations grew and spread, sea turtles encountered their greatest threat. For centuries, sea turtles were hunted for food, harvested for their eggs and shells, and even pursued for sport. Today, they are among our coast’s most beloved and carefully protected wildlife.

Join Dave Miller of the Folly Beach Turtle Watch (FBTW) as he shares what he has learned during 11 years on the turtle team. Using historic and local photographs, diagrams, a few videos—and, he promises, only a couple of graphs—Dave will take you through a season on Folly Beach, from investigating nesting crawls and protecting nests to rescuing hatchlings and conducting nest inventories. And yes, he’ll show a nest boil!

Along the way, Dave will explore our changing relationship with sea turtles, the threats that nearly overwhelmed them, the conservation efforts that helped turn the tide, and what decades of nesting records and modern DNA research are revealing about these extraordinary animals.

It’s the remarkable story of where sea turtles have been, how far they’ve come, and the challenges that remain.

Dave Miller
Dave spent 40 years in transfusion medicine – 23 years on active duty in the Army running blood centers and hospital blood banks; and then 18 years in the American Red Cross as the director of the Charlotte National Testing Lab. Dave and his wife Kathy retired in 2016 and built their forever home on Folly Beach. Dave has been a member of the Folly Beach Turtle Watch team for 10 years and is the current Folly Beach SCDNR permit holder. Since retiring Dave has sponsored 37 consecutive quarterly Folly Beach blood drives collecting over 1,500 pints of blood. Next blood drive is October 14

And we can’t wait to share this year’s banner results!! 🎉🎉🎉

09/01/2026

SEPTEMBER LECTURE:

Folly Beach Turtle Watch

Monday September 7th
6-8pm
James Island City Hall
1122 Dills Bluff Rd,
James Island, SC, 29412

Sea Turtles: A Remarkable Journey

For 100 million years, sea turtles flourished. But as human populations grew and spread, sea turtles encountered their greatest threat. For centuries, sea turtles were hunted for food, harvested for their eggs and shells, and even pursued for sport. Today, they are among our coast’s most beloved and carefully protected wildlife.

Join Dave Miller of the Folly Beach Turtle Watch (FBTW) as he shares what he has learned during 11 years on the turtle team. Using historic and local photographs, diagrams, a few videos—and, he promises, only a couple of graphs—Dave will take you through a season on Folly Beach, from investigating nesting crawls and protecting nests to rescuing hatchlings and conducting nest inventories. And yes, he’ll show a nest boil!

Along the way, Dave will explore our changing relationship with sea turtles, the threats that nearly overwhelmed them, the conservation efforts that helped turn the tide, and what decades of nesting records and modern DNA research are revealing about these extraordinary animals.

It’s the remarkable story of where sea turtles have been, how far they’ve come, and the challenges that remain.

Dave Miller
Dave spent 40 years in transfusion medicine – 23 years on active duty in the Army running blood centers and hospital blood banks; and then 18 years in the American Red Cross as the director of the Charlotte National Testing Lab. Dave and his wife Kathy retired in 2016 and built their forever home on Folly Beach. Dave has been a member of the Folly Beach Turtle Watch team for 10 years and is the current Folly Beach SCDNR permit holder. Since retiring Dave has sponsored 37 consecutive quarterly Folly Beach blood drives collecting over 1,500 pints of blood. Next blood drive is October 14

And we can’t wait to share this year’s banner results!! 🎉🎉🎉

05/18/2026

Jenny McCarthey Tyrrell with Audubon South Carolina is looking for help monitoring Painted Buntings and Eastern Bluebirds this spring for the Climate Watch survey!!!

Go to Audubon.org/community-science/climate-watch to learn how to participate!

https://vimeo.com/268020183

This is "Audubon: Climate Watch 2018" by Audubon.org on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

05/12/2026

Still a few spaces left in our May monthly walk!

On Saturday, May 16 Nicole Marie Pettinelli will lead us on a birding walk at the Edisto Nature Trail in Jacksonboro, SC. This is a 1.5-mile, easy loop on property that is owned and managed by Smurfit Westrock. The trail winds through areas of mature pine, mixed hardwoods, and cypress/tupelo forest. Several interesting historic landmarks are identified along the trail, including the King’s Highway, an old railroad tram and the site of a phosphate mining operation. There is also a short spur trail, the Pon Pon Spur, which takes visitors to an overlook on the Edisto River.

Spring migration should be well underway by the time of our trip. The Edisto Nature Trail is one of the best places in the Lowcountry to see and hear Kentucky and Swainson’s Warblers, and if we’re lucky, we may observe one or
both species. We should also see (and hear) a variety of other songbirds, including Veery and Hooded, Northern Parula, Prothonotary, Worm-Eating, and Yellow-throated Warblers. There is a chance we may see White Ibis, Wood
Storks or even a Swallow-tailed or Mississippi Kite circling overhead. Broad-winged Hawks are sometimes seen or heard here, too.

This trip is limited to 20 participants. If you feel unwell, or are experiencing symptoms such as coughing, loss of smell or taste, or fever, PLEASE STAY HOME! Bring food and water, your birding gear, and dress for
the weather (insect repellant is also recommended). The trail has numerous board walks to assist in traversing potentially wet areas. Footwear appropriate for wet locale hiking is recommended.

For those who wish to carpool, we’ll meet at 7:30 AM in the Food Lion parking lot at the intersection of US Hwy 17 South and SC 165 in Ravenel, SC (6323 Savannah Hwy, Ravenel SC 29470). Otherwise, you are welcome to meet
the group at 8:00 AM at the trailhead parking lot (17038 Ace Basin Pkwy, Jacksonboro SC 29452).
This will probably be a half day trip, but participants are welcome to stay longer if they wish. If you plan to attend, please register with Nicole Marie prior to May 16 at [email protected] .