Brown Bag Outings
We offer some of the best nature outings in town! As a benefit of membership, we hold quarterly, members-only guided outings to beautiful nature destinations and historic properties throughout the Midlands. These outings often include tours of private properties and sites that are not open to the general public.
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September 2011 Granite Hill
CLT Board Member Moffatt Burriss was our host as we visited his property in Fairfield County, we enjoyed learning about the history of the area, as well as the management plan that is in place for the property. We saw several buildings built in the early 30’s, built of granite mined from the Anderson Quarry. We also saw a section of the Rockton and Rion Railroad which was used to deliver the granite that was mined. We were joined on our walk by a very friendly doe, “Mamma Deer”, who stayed with us for a great deal of our walk.
CLT member Luther Wannamaker was our host as we visited his 305 acre preserve in Calhoun county that is both an historic Revolutionary War site and an exemplary nature preserve with incredible views overlooking the Congaree National Park. We saw wild turkeys, painted buntings, as well as other wildlife.
Following our visit to the Preserve, we enjoyed our brown bag lunches at Singleton Farm, home of CLT members Ann Nolte and Hank Stallworth as well as home to a wide variety of beautiful birds including the painted bunting which many of us saw, some for the very first time! We had a lovely time touring the fabulously restored farm house and Ann’s lovely gardens. After rescheduling due to bad weather, we were treated to a beautiful spring-like day in late February for a hike at Poinsett State Park in the High Hills of Santee in Sumter County. This unique park offers a mix of steep hills and bluffs, pine and hardwood forests and Lowcountry swamp with a wide range of plant and animal life.
This 30-acre green space in Lexington county was donated to CLT by retired professor Dr. L. H. Buff. This tract has hardwood ravines reminiscent of the mountains and foot hills featuring various oaks, hickories, and beech as well as a headwater stream of the Saluda River that runs through it. The group enjoyed a slow, leisurely walk through the woods then a tail-gating picnic in the parking lot! CLT members Pat and Jane Dorn welcomed us to their beautiful home and property along Cedar Creek in upper Richland county. The enthusiastic group, led by CLT member and photographer Don Wouri, had a great time taking photos in and around the creek! Our group braved the cool, windy morning for an insider’s tour by refuge biologist Haven Barnhill. John Cely, our Land Protection Director, considers Sparkleberry Swamp one of the best paddling sites in all of South Carolina. Led by Sumter historian Charles Broadwell, we were able to tour Bloom Hill Cemetery in the High Hills of the Santee, private land not ordinarily open to the public. 
May 2011 Wannamaker Peterkin Nature Preserve
May 2011 Brown Bag Lunch at Singleton Farm
February 2011 Poinsett State Park
October 2010 A Walk in the Woods at CLT-owned Buff Property
May 2010 Nature Photography Outing on Cedar Creek
February 2010 Santee National Wildlife Refuge
October 2009 Paddling at Sparkleberry Swamp
June 2009 Historic Cemetery Tour