New Pollinator Garden @ The Farm at Middleton Place in Charleston, SC

On Saturday, July 31 Dixie Vodka sponsored the first in-person event of The Bee Cause Project since the 2020 pandemic. The event was part of the South Carolina 7 Adventure Out Weekend, an MUSC-based initiative including a year-long outdoor fitness campaign to encourage outdoor recreation. But this experience was beyond exercise, it was a chance to explore the wonderful natural resources of South Carolina and encourage stewardship and protection of the amazing seven wonders of the Palmetto State. As part of the Palmetto Trail, the seven wonders include Sassafras Mountain, Jocassee Gorges, Chattooga River, Congaree National Park, Edisto River, Ace Basin, and Bulls Island. 

The first ever Adventure Out Weekend took place in Charleston and was a culmination of this initiative across the state.  The Bee Cause Project and Dixie Vodka were excited to participate in getting South Carolinians outside again.  The Farm at Middleton Place volunteered its acreage to connect the participants with nature, agriculture, and beekeeping.  Dixie Vodka was able to donate 40 seed ball kits which allowed 25 families to create over 400 seed balls.  These seed balls were distributed with 6,000 wildflower seeds and sowed over 1 acre of land at the farm at Middleton Place.  It was a hot and humid yet beautiful day to get out and enjoy the local pollinators by adding more resources and habitats for honey bees and native bees. 

The first phase of the Pollinator Garden at The Farm is a designated 3,500-square-foot garden with a medicine wheel at its center. The outer beds were sowed by the attendees with wildflowers to attract pollinators. The Pollinator Garden includes the Hügelkultur method of building up the soil into raised beds using decaying logs and other natural debris at the core. The garden will not only create a space to establish pollinator resources, but it will also establish a permanent medicine wheel of herbs used in traditional Native-American Low Country communities.  Collectively, we are excited to be able to create sustainable habitats while beautifying spaces in the Charleston community.