The People’s Park Project: Turning Hunting Island into a classroom

Friends of Hunting Island has announced its plans to launch “The People’s Park Project”, a new initiative to strengthen Hunting Island State Park’s role in education, focusing on the Island’s natural and cultural significance.

For several years, Friends of Hunting Island has been working out ways to bring more Lowcountry children to the park.

Believe it or not, many children in the area have never seen the ocean, even though it’s right here in our backyard. Now, with support from Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina, Friends of Hunting Island will begin bringing families to Hunting Island State Park by paying their entry fees to help remedy this situation by helping to provide greater access to the park for under-served communities throughout the Lowcountry.

In a statement by the organization, Friends of Hunting Island said that it’s board and members are committed to supporting Hunting Island State Park in its mission to educate about the natural and cultural world of the island. In that regard, they have expanded their educational work to strengthen the park’s role in education.

South Carolina Parks Recreation and Tourism and the South Carolina Department of Education jointly produced a program that would get students out of the classrooms and into the parks.

Hunting Island State Park is targeted for three curriculum areas for children across the state: Sea Turtles (3rd grade); Salt Marsh Ecology (5th grade); and Barrier Island Ecology (7th grade).

Pre-School Children—Many Beaufort County children enter school without the life experiences of their peers. Few have visited Hunting Island, and some have never seen the ocean. As a result, their vocabulary is poorer than their middle-class peers, and they start their educational careers a step behind at a critical moment. Through church groups and classes, FOHI intend to get as many young students as possible in coastal South Carolina to visit Hunting Island. Friends of Hunting Island will pay entry fees and, in some cases, give students gift bags with reading materials.​

Families—Part of the FOHI mission is to encourage and support entire families to visit the island. Once a family has discovered the wild beauty of Hunting Island and the awesome power of the ocean, it is hoped that they will return regularly. FOHI is reaching out to churches and other organizations to identify families interested in participating.​

What the program offers

Once classes, families, or organizations that want to visit Hunting Island are identified, FOHI will provide the following based on the interests and needs of each participating group:​

1. Entry fees for families and groups while funds are available.

2. Lunch—for groups of children who do not visit with a school. (Students on school trips bring boxed lunches from the school.)

3. Gift bags—with environmental literature, books, and an identification guide to the flora and fauna of Hunting Island. Books for the younger children.

4. Educational moments—experts speak to small groups in the areas of sea turtles, lighthouse history, barrier island ecology, and salt marshes.

Want to participate?​

If you are interested in participating in these programs as a family, a class, or an organization, please send an email to FOHIPeoplesPark@gmail.com.

Want to donate?

To donate to the program and help bring kids and families to the park, visit this link.

Want to volunteer?

The People’s Park Project requires the help of many volunteers, but until covid-19 is under control, groups cannot be brought into the park. That may be in the fall of 2021. Some groups may be able to come out during the summer of 2021. Volunteers will be needed in these areas:​

1. Chaperones—these volunteers will be assigned to one or two small children to help them navigate the park. Chaperones will be trained in the language of the park: that is, chaperones will need to know the names of shells, birds, trees, and ecological systems. They will also learn about the park’s and the Friend’s mission to recycle, reduce and reuse plastic, and understand human impact on climate change. Training will be provided for chaperones.

2. Speakers/Educators—Several volunteers may be needed to speak to groups with deep knowledge about the island, including its history, ecology, and climate impact. We foresee having stations around the island for each topic and circulating the children, students, or families through them. Lectures will only be 5-10 minutes each with lots of time for questions. Speakers will also be trained and will need to gear lectures to each audience.

3. Food preparation and service—some visitors will be offered lunch. Volunteers will be needed to help prepare and serve the food.

4. Pre- and Post-Activities—People will be needed to meet with classroom teachers and other organizations or mentors to arrange for the trips. Some volunteers may go to the classrooms before and/or after the field trip and read or talk to the children about Hunting Island. This way we reinforce what they will or have learned through discussion and questions. Those who go to the schools will need to have background checks and complete a SLED application (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division). It’s free of charge and protects everyone.​

To volunteer in one of the above capacities, please send an email to: FOHIPeoplesPark@gmail.com

Read more about the program and all of the other wonderful things Friends of Hunting Island does here.

ExploreBeaufortSC.com supports this project, and its vital role in teaching children about the natural world that surrounds them, and we thank Friends of Hunting Island for doing everything they can for our families, our children and for our communities.

READ: Hunting Island State Park named one of best in the south