PHOTOS: SC7 visits us - our woodland adventures.
In the blink of an eye, at least on history’s timeline, South Carolina has gone from 3 Million citizens to 5 Million citizens. Now the question becomes, Where are they all going to live, and how do we protect the wonders that we have?”
Last Wednesday morning wasn’t a question-and-answer period, nor was it a time for problem-solving. It was just a time to walk.
Away from the cities. Into the woods.
The Forest of Eastern Laurens County.
“What a beautiful state we have!” enthused Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette as the Trekking on a Trail event organized by the Laurens County government took a break from walking and sat down to barbecue at the scenic Musgrove Mill Golf Club.
Laurens County Administrator Thomas Higgs gave his staff a direction, and almost no details, when he learned that his former National Guard commander and world-renowned adventurer, Tom Mullikin, would lead the South Carolina 7 expedition through Eastern Laurens County. This is the third SC 7, a 30-day excursion along the mountains-to-the-sea Palmetto Trail to unlock The Palmetto State’s hidden gems. Standing on the back porch of the Musgrove clubhouse -- looking out over greens and fareways and marsh and forests - Lt. Gov. Evette wondered aloud, “How did I not know this was here?”
With Higgs’ “guidance,” the Laurens County staff put together the event, Trekking on a Trail. Info about the event mentioned a clean-up, but the trails this group travelled that day were trash-free.
Just a few hours before their last Wednesday lunch, the SC 7 team had spent time at Barefoot Acres in Fountain Inn and at Musgrove Mill State Historic Site near Clinton - in his talk Wednesday morning, Mullikin emotionally recalled how the undermanned Patriots stood off the mighty British in this important, but sometimes overlooked, War for Independence battle site.
Mullikin has dived all the world’s five oceans and has climbed mountain ranges of the world’s seven tallest peaks. He has served as a National Geographic Expert, is a fellow in the Manhattan-based Explorer’s Club, and is a fellow in London’s Royal Geographical Society.
And HE brought US a gift, a SC 7 expedition plaque for Laurens County to display. Now, WE are in the club.
The Explorers’ Club.
“People want to be outside,” Evette said. “Our state parks set record numbers (as the Covid pandemic eased).”
“We’ve begun to make caring about the environment cool again,” Mullikin said.
So back to that question about expanding population and protecting treasures, Millikin did offer some insight. At the end of July, SC 7 with the help of universities and leading scientists is going to build a reef (think, Legos), off the South Carolina coast from North Carolina to Georgia. Its state-of-the-air technology will be linked to classrooms around the world, so we will know, What’s happening in our ocean?
https://www.southcarolina7.com
http://www.lctrails.org
https://www.facebook.com/LaurensCountyChamberofCommerce/photos/pcb.5715354671809221/5715348075143214/?type=3&theater
