Within the Francis Beidler Forest is the Four Holes Swamp. An 11,000-acre ancient preserve lined with thousand year-old tupelo gum and bald cypress trees. Never timbered, it is one of only two such areas in the state. “This forest deserves the highest level of protection we can provide,” says Norman Brunsweig, Executive Director of the South Carolina Audubon Sanctuary at Beidler.

We could not agree more. Grants from CCF’s Public Trust Fund help the staff at Beidler Forest host 3,000 school children and adults annually. Also, low-interest, interim loans through CCF’s Lowcountry Conservation Loan Fund have helped preserve 1,000 additional acres of valuable habitat.

Other Dorchester Country organizations supported by CCF and its donors include Outward Bound, Lowcountry Open Land Trust, Carolina Medical Assesment Center and Lowcountry Food Bank.