Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
JOHNS ISLAND — The Kiawah Conservancy is taking steps to preserve roughly 100 acres of land along Betsy Kerrison Parkway, a corridor that has faced development pressures in recent years. Since 2022, the conservancy has worked on the Betsy Kerrison Nature Trail Project, which comprises 100 acres of trails, boardwalks and land preserved for wildlife. Charleston County Council unanimously voted to approve $1.6 million in greenbelt funds for the conservancy’s purchase of the last 10.7 acres needed for the project at their Nov. 6 finance committee meeting. The Kiawah Conservancy first started branching out of Kiawah Island in 2019. In 2021 the organization acquired their first tract of land on Johns Island, said Collie Farah, conservancy land preservation specialist. He said it was important for them to not exclusively preserve land on Kiawah because the Sea Islands — Johns Island, Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island and Wadmalaw Island — are all connected by wildlife, which doesn’t know boundaries. As development expands outside of Charleston and creeps toward southern Johns Island, Theresa Termine, the conservancy's advancement and advocacy specialist, said wildlife has been pushed to the sea islands. “If we don’t keep nature preserved here, wildlife has no other place to go,” she said. The Betsy Kerrison Nature Trail Project is part of that effort. Since 2022, the conservancy has been working to purchase and preserve 100 acres of land and will have used nearly $4.8 million in county greenbelt funds and grants from the state Conservation Bank once all land purchases are complete, Farah said. On top of building a trail system and boardwalks, the conservancy plans on growing and harvesting sweetgrass, and setting up sweetgrass stands for basketweavers to make and sell their creations, Termine said. The conservancy has partnered with the Gullah Geechee community to grow and harvest sweetgrass on Johns Island as development has made it more difficult to find sweetgrass grown naturally. The conservancy hopes to finish construction of trails, boardwalks and sweetgrass stands around the end of 2026 and open the land to the public shortly after. Development on Betsy Kerrison Parkway has been a recurring issue for Johns Island residents as a proposed rezoning for a planned medical village previously made its way to County Council twice. On 17 acres, developer John Skerchek planned to build the Island Park Place Health and Wellness Village, which included medical offices, retail space, outpatient services, a restaurant, multifamily housing, a residential care center and a community health clinic. Johns Island residents showed up in droves to protest the development, concerned about the environmental impact on wetlands that would be filled, and fears the infrastructure wouldn’t support the village. County Council narrowly rejected the proposed rezoning in 2024, and Skerchek withdrew his application earlier this year after the planning and public works committee voted to recommend denying the rezoning again at a March meeting. County Councilman Joe Boykin, whose district encompasses Johns Island, told The Post and Courier that he supports any efforts of preserving land along Betsy Kerrison Parkway. “I’m happy to see Kiawah pursuing this type of conservation beyond the gates,” Boykin said. County Council will give final approval to the conservancy purchasing the property at their Nov. 11 meeting.
