THE PEE DEE PROGRESS PAGE 2

THE PEE DEE PROGRESS PAGE 3

Pee Dee Regional Urban 

Arbor Day at St. John's Elementary School Nature Center 

Thompson Creek 

Forestry Awareness  

The Pee Dee RC&D has assisted the Darlington Soil and Water Conservation District in obtaining an Urban and 

Water Quality Assessment 

Community Forestry Grant from the South Carolina Forestry Commission. This grant is being used to establish a 

The Pee Dee RC&D has received a grant from the 

nature center at the St. John's School in Darlington.  The 2002 Arbor Day program at St. John's was conducted as 

Urban and Community Forestry Program of the 

a component of this project. The program, moderated by Principal Jean Taylor, included a presentation by the 6 th

The final set of water samples from the five 

South Carolina Forestry Commission for a regional 

grade chorus, a dramatic reading of the History and Origins of Arbor Day, a poetry reading, and a rap session by 

monitoring sites have been collected and analyzed 

urban forestry awareness project. The Pee Dee 

Mr. Tommy Taylor. The Arbor Day event concluded with a tree planting ceremony. A Darlington Oak was 

to determine the level of nitrates, phosphorus, fecal 

Regional Urban & Community Forestry Public 

planted on the school lawn honoring Senator Strom Thurmond's 100th  birthday. The event was attended by 300 

coliform, total suspended solids and fixed 

Awareness Project will create public awareness of 

students and local citizens from the Darlington County area. 

suspended solids. This data is now being modeled 

the Pee Dee Urban and Community Forestry 

to predict the sources of contaminants and to 

Projects established during the past eleven years. 

Other components of this project include the establishment of a nature trail with tree identification signage, 

determine the best approach for restoring the water 

Signage will be placed in project areas and along the 

planting an arboretum, construction of a pavilion, development of a website for the nature center, development of 

quality in Thompson Creek to acceptable levels. A 

trails identifying the existing and established native 

a nature center curriculum, and publishing an informational brochure. 

project stakeholder meeting is planned for early 

trees and explaining the environmental benefits of 

next year to present finding and remediation 

green space in an urban setting, riparian protection, 

For more information visit the project website which is  under construction  at: 

scenarios to the Chesterfield Community. This 

urban carbon sequestration with trees, etc. The 

http://stjohnselementary.tripod.com

Project supports SC efforts to develop a TMDL for 

native tree identification signs will include species 

the Thompson Creek watershed above highway S 

information as well as traditional uses, etc.  Visit the 

13 243 in Chesterfield County. A TMDL (Total 

project website at: 

Maximum Daily Load) establishes the maximum 

http://peedeeurbanforestry.tripod.com

allowable pollutant loading for a water body and 

This project will develop a public awareness & 

provides a basis for taking actions needed to 

information campaign including a regional website. 

restore water quality. The Pee Dee RC&D  will 

The citizens of the Pee Dee Region and students in 

develop a water quality practice implementation 

the local school systems will be made aware of the 

plan based on this project's results and public 

environmental issues to which the Urban Forestry 

comment from the planned stakeholder meeting. 

Program is dedicated, including: native tree 

Funding for this project is from the SC Department 

identification, green space in an urban setting, 

of Health and Environmental Control through the 

riparian protection, urban carbon sequestration with 

US Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water 

trees, etc. The impact of this project will be to 

Act Section 319. 

enhance awareness of the benefits of urban forestry 

by the citizens of the Pee Dee Area. 

The  Tree Planting Crew  received instructional 

Students shared in the 

Mr. Taylor provided 

SC Historical Markers of the Pee Dee Region 

supervision in proper planting technique from Mr. 

work, everyone had their 

the student body with 

Tommy Taylor (back left with hat). 

turn with the shovel. 

tree facts about the 

The Pee Dee RC&D with permission from the SC Department of Archives and History is developing an 

 Darlington Oak . 

internet website providing the location and text of all the roadside historical markers in the five county RC&D 

area. The website, when completed, will include an interactive road map of each county with the marker 

locations and links to information and photos concerning the marker subject. This project relates to the cultural 

Current Efforts of the Pee Dee RC&D 

heritage initiative of the RC&D Council. Visit the site at:     

www.peedee.org/heritage.html

  Soil Surveys on  Compact Disk   Digital soil surveys in an easily accessible user friendly format    Ongoing 

  St. John's School Nature Trail (Darlington)   Urban Forestry Grant requesting funding for an outdoor classroom   In Progress 

  Pee Dee Urban Forestry Awareness Project   Currently in progress 

Digital County Road Maps on Compact Disk 

  McColl Elementary School Nature Center   Planning underway. 

  POWER for Wildlife   Five FY 2002 Applications approved. 

The Pee Dee RC&D is developing fully self contained compact disks with digital road maps suitable for the 

  Rural Fire Protection Water Storage Tanks (Dillon)   Tanks being installed and fitted with hydrant heads. 

  Dry Fire Hydrants (Darlington)   Additional hydrants being installed in the Hartsville area. 

non Geographic Information System (GIS) user.  Road mapping with new road names are overlaid onto 1999 

  Thompson Creek TMDL Project (Chesterfield)   Collection and analysis of water samples and WS characterization completed.    

aerial photography and then converted to Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf). The data is available in two

  Trail and tree identification signs   Signs are being produced for projects across the state. 84 signs produced for Playcard Center in Loris.

files, one with names and one with road numbers which can be zoomed, from the entire county down to a view 

  Pee Dee Geographic Information   Current Emphasis is on developing an comprehensive Water Quality Plan for the Pee Dee.. 

of one inch equaling six hundred feet of ground surface. Each compact disk is self contained, not requiring that 

  Cheraw Intermediate School     Assisting the Chesterfield County School District with development of an outdoor classroom. 

any software be installed on your computer. The shareware, Adobe Acrobat Reader, is installed on each disk 

The Pee Dee Regional Trails Plan Implementation   The plan was recently presented to the public and is available on the internet at: 

and automatically opens when the CD is placed into your computer's CD ROM. The disk when inserted opens 

http://www.palmettoconservation.org/pee_dee_trail_plan.html

   (all spaces in the URL are underscores).

to an interactive page with the same characteristics as an internet web page. The user may select the file of 

choice from this opening page. Copies may be obtained for a small duplication fee by the Pee Dee RC&D.