Columbia Green

As we slip into autumn in zones 8A and 8B the eternal question for gardeners arises whether to tidy up the garden and yard or leave it for the ecosystem you've built in your yard. Clemson weighs in on the side of leaving the leaves. see: https://hgic.clemson.edu/leave-the-leaves-revisited/

If you compost, fallen leaves are a valuable resource—so if you need to rake them off your lawn, don’t throw them away! Add them to your compost pile instead.

A good compost pile generally needs about 2–3 parts “browns” for every 1 part “greens.” Fallen leaves are an excellent source of browns, while kitchen scraps, fresh grass clippings, and garden trimmings provide greens.

This is especially helpful during the winter, when kitchen scraps continue to accumulate but fresh sources of brown material can be harder to find. Saving your fall leaves gives you a ready supply of browns all winter long.

Leave the Leaves Revisited On a recent walk through the neighborhood with our family dog, it was apparent that fall was in full swing. Except for the evergreens, fewer trees have a...

“Shaded surfaces can be 20 to 45 degrees cooler than unshaded surfaces at peak temperatures.”

Columbia, South Carolina has an increasingly prevalent problem with heat. From regular weekdays to game days, no one is safe when outdoors except for those under a tree.

Read more at the link in our bio.

✏️ Sam Cancilla Sam Cancilla
📸 Nickolas Hill

Work Day #2
WED, 8/19 @ 5:30 - 7 PM
4230 Timberlane Dr, Columbia, SC

Please volunteer with us to complete Phase One of this project: sheet mulching. Our first work day saw removal of debris and covering more than half of the lot with cardboard. Wednesday's work will focus on laying out the rest of the cardboard and covering it with a thick layer of wood chips.

All hands on deck! We'll have gloves to borrow and tools to share. Wear sturdy shoes and clothes that can get dirty and sweaty. Bring a reusable bottle and fill it with water from our cooler.

Background info/timeline:
Oct, 2015 - Devastating flood, homes & lives destroyed. This neighborhood was especially hard-hit. Most of the homes were purchased by Richland Co using disaster relief funding, allowing the residents to move to safer places. Unfortunately, an individual purchased a block of homes on this street and sold them for a profit. These homes continued to be bought and sold, mostly by folks from out of town who weren't aware that their property wasn't going to be an easy flip.

Mar, 2026 - GCWA used grant funding to buy one of the remaining homes.

Jun/Jul, 2026 - GCWA demolished the structure, removed all of the concrete footings, pads, and driveway, and recycled the masonry and concrete, thanks to our contractor, CIDS.

Aug 11, 2026 - Begin Phase 1: Work Day #1 - 18 volunteers came out after work to clear the site of debris and start laying cardboard, thanks to our friends at for donating and delivering the cardboard!

Aug 19, 2026 - Work Day #2 - See above!

Winter 2026/27 - Begin Phase 2: Planting plants! We will phase in patches of native plants to return this site back to its natural floodplain state, and include green infrastructure (like a rain garden!) to help absorb stormwater that flows in from uphill.

Future - Maintain this site as a thriving ecosystem, use it as a base from which to explore the flora and fauna of the Gills Creek wetlands, and point to it as a demonstration of how to rehabilitate the dozens of flood-damaged lots across our watershed (and beyond!) for community greenspace, responsible stormwater management, flood mitigation, and habitat restoration.