Master Naturalist Week 1

MN Week 1
Camp Discovery - Blythewood

Not during our class but peach trees are starting to bloom!

This past week, I began the Midlands Master Naturalist Program with the South Carolina Wildlife Federation and Clemson University. 

“The Midlands Master Naturalist course is part of a statewide Master Naturalist Program coordinated by Clemson University.  The mission of the program is to create a corps of citizen volunteers well-trained in the fundamentals of natural history, nature interpretation, and the interface of humans and nature in order to empower them to contribute their time and talents to responsible, science-based environmental stewardship.  The Midlands course is hosted by the SCWF and taught by experts in the fields of natural history, botany, biology, forestry, and geology.” (from their website)

I have heard about this program for a few years. Both of my parents participated in the Upstate class and have stayed involved with the program. Classes are offered across the state and focus on the different biomes that make up South Carolina. For some of the classes, there is a wait list to sign up. I was able to sign up for this when they opened the registration in November. But the class only has 20 students so it fills up quickly. 

Each week we will go visit a different location in the midlands area and learn about different parts of nature. I thought I would share with you some of what I learned and the interesting sights along the way. 

This first class was mainly an introduction to the class and what to expect. We met at a camp in Blythewood, Camp Discovery. If you’re a parent or teacher, I recommend checking this camp out for field trips and summer camp activities. They have a nice location and are passionate about teaching kids about the outdoors.

Our speakers included the Director of the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, a professor from USC Sumter, and a representative from the Richland County Soil & Water Conservation District. After we got to know one another and did some activities learning about identifying plants and animals, we took a short walk around the camp to see what we could find. We were turning over logs to find bugs underneath, searching for new growth from plants on the ground, and listening for birds in the air.

Here are a few things we found:

We dug up a wireworm that he showed us. They are actually the larvae of a beetle. I didn't take a pic but it was pretty bright orange. Here’s an example of what one looks like. 

We found some Crane Fly Orchid leaves. They have a purple underside. But he said they'll lose their leaves before they bloom. 

There were a lot of comfrey leaves in one area. They will have blooms. 

The group was excited to find some preying mantis egg cases. There were a few in one area.