Sunday March 19th The Old Home Place:

Old Home Place. 1-2 miles and2-3 hours of easy to moderate walking with multiple paths available. Walkers will get a glimpse of life in the 19th century at the Dart-McCutcheon property off Holbert Cove road seeing an old homestead, fields, streams and a water cascade. Stories from the past abound. This walk requires specific permission and is not generally open to the public.

Sunday April 2nd Twin Bridges:

This is not a long walk but more of a meander of 1-2 hours. We will walk among a huge population of spring wildflowers located at Twin Bridges over the Pacolet River on US-176 south of Saluda.

Sunday April 16th Wild Flower Walk:

Walkers will be led down a privately owned path down to the Pacolet River. This higher elevation start should still have the earlier ephemeral wildflowers still in bloom.

Call ahead to determine whether the hike will welcome four-footed companions.

For more information contact Terri Arrington at

the SCLT office (828) 749-1560

info@saludaclt.org

Save THE DATE…Thursday April 27th..Annual Meeting

Details forthcoming

The Old Home Place...a view of the 19th Century

Recently SCLT finalized a "Forever Wild" conservation easement with the McCutcheon family who have owned and cared for their property in Holbert Cover for over 40 years. Historically, this property is often referred to as The Old Homeplace--the site on which one of the oldest cabins in Polk County still stands. (While this property is not open to the public, it is on the Walks in the Woods calendar for March 19. This is an opportunity not to be missed.)

This easement of 303 acres will protect not only 17,000 linear feet of streams flowing through the Green River Gamelands, but will also continue to provide shelter for all types of wildlife forever. The owners' desire to ensure that their land stays in its beautiful, wild state for years to come is a gift to our community, and we are excited to be in partnership with the McCutcheon family.

Due largely to the generosity of the McCutcheons, 2022 was a red-letter year for SCLT in preserving farm and forestland around Saluda. SCLT began last year with 238 acres under easement and ended with 641 acres of protected and preserved forever. That's a gain of 403 acres, a169% increase.

A very special thanks to the McCutcheons and to all of the Saluda property owners who have entrusted SCLT with their land.

Introducing....

I am so excited to be serving as the Office Administrator for SCLT! My husband and I have been living fully in Saluda since 1996, raising our children, Lee, Candace, and Shane, and being involved with our community. I retired from a 34-year career in local and state public health wearing many hats including grant and program management, accreditation, community activation, and emergency preparedness and management. While retirement to many means slowing down, I am now in a unique position to become more involved with my community and hopefully give back a little to a place that has been so good to me and my family. You may have seen me at Saluda and Columbus Tailgate markets, where I have helped with special events promoting farming and our vendor's local products. While conservation work may be new, I feel my eclectic background and love for my community will be a good match for SCLT. I love being outside, whether it's hiking, biking, kayaking, gardening, or napping on my front porch swing.