Stono Preserve

On October 22, 2022, we joined Matt Rutter, a professor in the Department of Biology at the College of Charleston and Academic Director of Stono Preserve, on a tour of the preserve. In 1707, a portion of the preserve included St. Paul’s Parish Church and parsonage, and later became a working plantation. In the twentieth century Dixie Plantation as it was known, was acquired by William K. Dick and Madeline Force Astor Dick as a vacation property. Their son, John Henry Dick, a naturalist and wildlife artist inherited the property and worked with the Lowcountry Land Trust to place it under a conservation easement ultimately entrusting it to the College of Charleston Foundation. Dick’s vision for the property included its use to educate others about the importance of environmental protection and conservation. C of C’s mission for the Preserve is educational programs for several of it’s departments, conservation and research.

We started our tour at the “Barn” a large facility for meetings and special events next to the Stono River marshlands and followed a nature trail through a variety of habitats including cultivated fields, wetland impoundment ponds, bottomland hardwood and pine forest and pine savannas which are fire managed. The ponds support resident and migrating wading birds and waterfowl. Longleaf pine is being reintroduced to a section of the property and a section of the hardwoods has been included in DNR’s program to control the Asian Longhorn Beetle. An inordinate amount of time was spent inspecting a park bench covered in a variety of mosses, lichens and harvestmen.

We also toured the ruins of St. Paul’s Church including the remaining graveyard and a historic Live Oak Allee.

Matt told us that they welcome volunteer support to help maintain the property and assist in research and he indicated that CMNA members are welcome to visit with advance approval.