South of the Crosstown in Charleston sits a vibrant neighborhood called Elliotborough.  Traditional churches and barbershops rub shoulders with college bars and trendy new eateries.  Just about every demographic in the city currently calls this place home. 

Elliotborough’s park, which borders the Crosstown, is used for community gardening and neighborhood gatherings.  Still, it hasn’t been living up to its full potential.  So in 2016 it became the focus of brainstorming by Audubon’s Charleston Chapter, landscape designer Erin Stevens of Surculus, neighborhood residents, the City of Charleston, the Charleston Parks Conservancy, and Audubon South Carolina.

Thanks to a grant from the Hollomon Price Foundation, the park’s now getting a bird-friendly spin.  A native pollinator garden is in the works.  So is a mural that shows how the Atlantic Flyway connects this spot of green to landscapes a hemisphere away.

The Charleston Audubon Chapter, the driving force behind this project, has also asked Audubon South Carolina to help with an environmental internship program for African-American teens, as well as a Folly Beach pollinator garden that supports migrating monarch butterflies.  We adore state/local teamwork!

PROJECT CONTACT:  Matt Johnson, mgjohnson@audugon.org.