Volunteer Spotlight - Tony & Joanne Panek...

We are graduates of the Fall 2017 Coastal Master Naturalist Course at the Caw Caw Interpretive Center. Since being introduced to all of the amazing habitats and resources in the area, we have been fortunate to volunteer for a variety of organizations with the mission to protect and preserve our natural resources. We have always enjoyed being in nature -- hiking, canoeing, camping and observing wildlife. For years birds have attracted our attention. Through CMNA Keith and Kristina have helped us improve our birding skills.

Every Spring and Fall during migration season we volunteer with non-profit Manomet to conduct the International Shorebird Survey. The program has been in existence since 1974, and we help collect data for International Shorebird Research. We conduct 2 to 3 surveys per month during the Fall and Spring migration months. We record all shorebirds observed at Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve, Folly Beach, and enter counts into eBird under the ISS filter. We have been fortunate to capture banding information on a few Piping Plovers and Wilson’s Plovers. It’s exciting when the banders respond with the bird’s banding and nesting history. There is a personal connection with the birds when we find out where and when the Piping Plovers were born. They originated in places like Newfoundland, Fire Island National Seashore New York, Cat Island near Green Bay Wisconsin, and several sites around the Great Lakes near the Michigan Upper Peninsula. The Wilson’s Plovers were all banded locally and returned to Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve during nesting season.

Audubon has a bird survey that anyone can participate in -the Audubon Bluebird Climate Watch Program. It is a long-term program to assess the impact of climate on bird populations. Twice a year we conduct a half day survey of Eastern Bluebirds at 12 locations within a 6-mile grid. We submit the data via eBird checklists.

We also enjoy participating in another long-term data collection program- the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The CBC is a full day of birdwatching with very experienced teams at great locations. We are fortunate to have been assigned to the restricted Brosnan Forest, home to the Red-cockaded Woodpecker.

The last two years we have become certified volunteers with the South Carolina Adopt- a-Stream Program and the Charleston Waterkeepers. The goal of both programs is to promoteand protect South Carolina waterways through certified volunteer water quality and ecosystem monitoring. To get started we took a hands-on course to learn the protocols for water quality testing and conducting ecosystem assessments. Rainfall, air and water temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and water transparency are the data collected. We also assess the condition of the marsh grass, any human impacts, and plants and animals present. Four sites are surveyed  along the Ashley River once a month. The data is submitted into the Adopt a Stream database, available to the public (https://scaas.app.clemson.edu/home.php).  The Waterkeepers have started a new sampling  to test for levels of microplastics in the local waterways. We collect watersamples for microplastics at the Jessen Boat Landing in Summerville.  We are encouraged by people who observe us doing the tests and ask us questions about the quality of our waterways.

An added bonus we get from volunteering is getting the opportunity to train the next generation!  Our granddaughter Claire has helped out with water quality testing every time she visits.

Since completing the Master Naturalist course, we have helped with the Audubon Shorebird Steward program at Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve.  The goal of the program is to Interacting with the public and educate them on our local nesting and migrating shorebirds. Anytime we are at the beach we also help collect data for dolphin research using the phone app to record the location, number of dolphins, their behavior and weather conditions. This is in support of the Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network.

We have found there is no shortage of organizations looking for volunteers. Once you find them, the added benefit is that you have found people who share similar interests and values - you have found your "tribe".