The Coastal Explorations Series is a free educational program hosted by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and is open to the public. Register online at www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/NERR/seminarseries.html.

Tour the Bear Island Wildlife Management Area on March 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with an emphasis on birding. Wetland impoundments and various habitats exist within Bear Island which makes this area a bird watchers paradise. Participants will travel in hayride style as they are pulled in an open trailer with bench seating. Pete Laurie, knowledgeable birder, will narrate the tour.

Harbor Island was recently designated as part of an Important Bird Area by The Audubon Society. Join shorebird expert Nathan Dias on March 20 from noon to 4 p.m. at Harbor Island for a classroom and field session identifying winter shorebirds. Following the classroom session the group will venture to beach at beautiful Harbor Island to ID winter resident shorebirds.

This event, held March 25, 4 - 6:30 p.m. will focus on a full sun rain garden with emphasis on plants with benefits to butterflies and other forms of wildlife. Two presentations will be given before heading outdoors, one on rain garden construction and the other on planting for butterflies. A hands on demonstration will follow where the group will be lead through a step by step process in creating a rain/butterfly garden. All participants will receive a rain garden manual courtesy of The Clemson Extension project Carolina Clear.

On April 26, 9 a.m. to noon, take the boardwalk deep into Four Holes Swamp lead by Audubon experts to view resident birds and wildlife. Participants will experience old growth cypress swamp as well as some of the oldest and biggest cypress trees in the south. Some common misconceptions of swampy areas will be addressed as well as benefits these areas have to our Lowcountry.

This event will take place on May 4, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. aboard the E/V Discovery, traveling into the heart of the ACE Basin. We will deploy a trawl net, a miniature net like those used by commercial shrimpers, and participating speakers will identify estuarine animals caught in the trawl, as well as discuss various adaptations that allow these animals to survive in the estuary. We will examine the significance of the salt marsh and the important role it plays to health and safety of coastal South Carolina as well as economic benefits. The group will also travel to Otter Island, as part of the St. Helena Sound Heritage Preserve, to experience an undeveloped barrier island. At this time dune and beach habitat will be discussed in this highly erosional and dynamic section of South Carolina’s coast.

Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, an 8,000-acre tract of land managed by DNR, is home to diverse habitats including rice impoundments, longleaf pine forest and tidal marsh. This event held May 11, 5-9 p.m., will be led by Tony Mills, a herpetologist with The Lowcountry Institute, will begin with a presentation highlighting a few animals that depend and thrive upon these isolated wetlands. Participants will venture out into the evening in a wagon-style vehicle, to experience the sounds of the night. As dusk settles in, the forest will come alive showcasing an array of lightening bugs, frog sounds and more. Although this event is our latest in the day, it is one not to be missed!

On May 13, 9 a.m. to noon, explore the plethora of natural wonders that abound at Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve. A Longleaf Pine Ecosystem restoration project is currently in progress, the preserve recently planted 350 acres. Participants will learn about this forest type which once dominated the south and the characteristics that make it a unique ecosystem. We will discuss the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker while in the Longleaf, and efforts taken to assure these birds don’t go extinct. The group will also experience Carolina Bays. Lewis Ocean Bay is the highest concentration of Carolina Bays in the state, 23 in all. Discover native orchids and carnivorous plants along the way, as well as black bears.

Join naturalists and staff of the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve on May 20, 9 a.m. to noon, to identify some of the common spring wildflowers in bloom at Hobcaw Barony. Owned and operated by the Belle W. Baruch Foundation, Hobcaw Barony is an undeveloped 17,500 acre research reserve located on the Winyah Bay In Georgetown. Steeped in history and rich with wildlife and natural resources, the property is used for research and education on coastal ecosystems, and the Foundation provides programs on the historical significance of the property and the Baruch family’s influence still seen today. Participants will enjoy viewing wildflowers in a variety of habitats including pine and maritime forests, cypress swamps, and salt marsh ecosystems.