Hi everyone, we are hoping that you all are doing great and getting ready for your summer! We have had a very busy month. To start Mellow Mushroom held two fund raisers for LEEP. Both turned out really great. Then Fuel (a new restaurant located at 211 Rutledge) held a fund raiser for us as well. This was a huge success for both Fuel and for LEEP. We would like to thank both restaurants and their managers for thinking about LEEP.
We have also been able to use the LEEP bio-bus more and more towards the end of the school year. Please keep in mind that even though there is no school our bus is available for special occasions or events for groups and camps. Just call 800.732.9625 and ask for the LEEP bio-bus.
LEEP has been busy with various events as well. We have partnered with Earthforce to assist with their Earthforce Summit Day.  We also assisted with the EEINSC Conference on June 6 and 7th.
Right now we are gearing up for our summer camps and classes. Ian will be teaching at College of Charlestons Upward Bound program for the next four weeks. This is a new program for LEEP and we are pleased to be able to assist CofC.
We are also gearing up for the WOW DVD Promotions coming this fall. Ian and the team are setting dates for this exciting promotional tour. We would like to again thank Organic Process Productions, ETV, and the SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism and the US Department of Interior for all of their support with Project WOW. Stay tuned for more info as time goes on.
LEEP is continually seeking volunteers to assist with various jobs such as grant writing, editing, data input, naturalist and more. We also have a new program we are working on “Leave No Child Inside”. If you would like more info on either volunteering or our new project please contact us at 800.732.9625
We hope you have a great time during this summer…please keep coming back to check on what is going on with LEEP.

Hi all

It is time to catch up with whats been going on with LEEP. I am sure you all know that we have completed our WOW expedition. Ian and the crew finished up on April 1st. This year we teamed up with OPP and SCETV. We were awarded a grant from the Heritage Corridor and the SC Department of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and the US Department of Interior to complete this WOW trip. This year we completed a video of the entire trip complete with schools, beautiful pictures of nature and interviews with many specialists. We are now putting together the first WOW DVD! You can see the webisodes at www.scleep.org or at www.riverventure.org.
We are now getting ready for something new with LEEP. We are having summer camps with various organizations and school programs throughout the summer. We are looking for people to assist with these classes, so if you are interested please give Diana a call at 800.732.9625.
The LEEP bus is getting around more these days. We are booking various trips with organizations as well as school trips all over Charleston. So be on the look out for that huge blue LEEP Bio-diesel bus around town.
LEEP has also ventured into another program. We have been the first to launch Leave No Child Inside in the state of SC We are very excited and ready to get this rolling. We help our first community event at Park Circle on Earthday. We were also at Earthfare that following week. If you are interested in finding out more please go to www.scnaturekids.com.
We have had a few fund raisers by businesses in the community. In March we had “Move for a Change” host an event at The Village Tavern in Mt.Pleasant. That was a great crowd. We also had the Mellow Mushroom host and art show for LEEP. Tomorrow is another event held by Mellow Mushroom for LEEP which is a boat cruise. Proceeds from these events went to LEEP.
Ian continues to teach classes along with our wonderful Naturalists. I will be posting pictures of some of these classes soon.
We continue to seek volunteers to assist with grant writing, editing, entering data base info and event help. If you are looking for something to do this summer just call us at 800.732.9625 and I am sure we can help you!
Until next time please have a safe spring!!

As we traveled away from the Fall line and down the Congaree river toward Charleston we entered South Carolina’s only national park and explored the coastal flood plains. We spent time with an archaeologist in the Congaree, saw some amazing wildlife and learned a lot about the eco-systems of the swamp. We also got a further education about the role of the American Indian in SC history as we followed the river down to Santee National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is an important part of maintaining habitat for local animal species.

Think about these questions as you watch the Webisode:

We saw a number of different types of trees as we paddled through the Congaree. One of those trees was the Red Maple. Can you describe the life cycle of a Red Maple tree?

As we pass the Fall line and head toward the coast we can see the effects of erosion and deposition. What are erosion and deposition and how do they shape the waterways?

Limestone was formed by the skeletons of ancient sea creatures.  Why can limestone be found in the coastal plains?

Fossils of Sharks Mastadon teeth and Trilobites can be found through out the coastal plain.  What are trace, cast, mold, petrified, and preserved fossils?

What is the difference between a park and a wildlife refuge?

Who was Francis Beidler and why is he important in our history?

Web of Water Webisode 3: In the Sandhills from Web of Water on Vimeo.

Please visit all the sites along the SC National Heritage Corridor. They’re rich in history, culture, and beautiful nature destinations.

Our WOW Expedition travels through every region of the corridor. Learn about each one by VISITING THEIR SITE HERE.

SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism and the US Department of Interior

I would like to thank some very special people that have supported me through out this journey.
First and foremost is my wife, Lucy. Thank you for being there and giving me the time to complete this journey. I could not do this without your love or support. I would also like to thank my daughter Isabella. Thank you for allowing me to take time away from you to teach other children such as yourself.
I would also like to give a huge thank you to Ian aka “Wizard” Downie. Wizard has been by my side through all the planning stages of WOW. The Wizard has also been my ground support through this expedition. He has brought warm clothes, maps, food and a great heart along with him. He has also introduced some new friends to me such as Hodge Harmon up in Lake Murray.
Thanks also goes to Mitchell Davis and Farrah Hoffmire at Organic Process Productions for taking this project on. We could not have done this without you believing in LEEP and your continued support.
I cannot forget David “Pops” Downie. Pops was gracious enough to provide lodging while we were in Columbia. He also provided great conversation and music as he played his dulcimer on a daily basis. Pops always had a smile and a kind word for us as we entered and left his home.
Without all of you that I have mentioned, I could not have made this trip possible. I thank you all again from my heart.
Much love to all
Ian

3.6.08The symphony of sounds in a swamp at night can only be rivaled by those of the sunrise. This is what I have been waiting for: to watch and listen to the swamp awaken from the water. I am up just before the night sky begins to show its first shades of daylight. The familiar morning mist is floating over the water, this morning it is a thick fog that rises high above the trees. I launch and let the river take me only gently paddling so I can hear the echos of the swamp uninterrupted. The fog creates mystical shadows of trees and the calls of crepuscular creatures rise through out the forest. I hear the barred owls calling one another just as John Rood had discribed the day before. The sun finally sends its first beams of light to be difused by the mist and create a mystical ambience. The fog puts up a good fight but it is no match for the suns power that eventually pulls down the curtain of steam to reveal the true colors of the landscape around me. Gray deciduos trees, crowned with green pines and splashed with red and purple from the budding trees climb up layered sediments of clay and granite that sometimes rise hundreds of feet in the air. On each winding turn the willows reach into the river from the inside bank and while hardwoods tower from the eroded shelf of the outside bank. The weather radio is calling for 100% chance of rain this evening once again ruining my plans of staying several relaxing days in the forest. Now I must cover the entire 3 day paddle I had planned in one afternoon. I know that my crew will soon get worried if I do not check in as planned so I paddle with urgency towards the next state park. After several hours, the Wateree joins the Congaree to form the Santee and I find myself at the beginning of Lake Marion. A loud splash startles me from the shore and then another one shortly afterwards. I begin paying closer attention to the shoreline and discover the source of the commotion….aligators! I stop counting after 20 as I pass one aligator after another, sunning themselves on the shore, some more than 10feet long. I have never seen aligators on this part of the Santee in previous scouting trips and never so many! I am used to aligators and know that attacks are extremely rare but my pace increases anyway as I make it across a shallow, drought beaten, Lake Marion to Santee State park by the afternoon. At the park, I upgrade my campsite to a cabin, secure my gear, and settle in to prepare for the incoming storms. I still find time to go on a nature walk in order to take advantage of the short term good weather before turning in for the evening.