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Committee readies Green Crescent Trail proposal and Berkeley Orchard habitat concept for Council review
Summary
The committee discussed a previously passed motion to connect parks via the Green Crescent Trail, said members will present the motion and map to City Council, and reviewed a related Berkeley Orchard habitat/pollinator demonstration project developed with Clemson students.
Committee members reviewed a motion passed at a prior meeting to extend and connect segments of the Green Crescent Trail, showed a route map with numbered waypoints (including Nettles Park, Gateway Park, Clemson Park and the Botanical Garden) and said committee members Chad Carson and another member plan to bring the motion and supporting paperwork to City Council.
The motion aims to create two loops connecting city parks and the botanical garden; committee members emphasized the need for a prepared packet for Council when motions are forwarded. “If you pass a motion here to take something to city council, there’s a process…we have a motion, but we need a piece of paper to take to City Council,” one member said.
Related property and habitat project: Committee staff and members described Berkeley Orchard, a city-owned parcel purchased with South Carolina Conservation Land Bank assistance, as a demonstration site for pollinator meadows, pocket prairies and low-intervention habitat. The proposal drew on designs from Clemson University landscape-architecture students; committee members cautioned that parts of the site are floodplain and a blue-line stream is regulated, limiting grading but allowing trails and stream-maintenance work.
Why it matters: The trail connections and Berkeley Orchard project are intended to expand public access, create demonstration habitat, and link multiple parks and the Botanical Garden. Committee members discussed sequencing — presenting a clear packet to Council before asking for formal project approval — and noted stormwater and stream-restoration constraints for the Berkeley Orchard site.
Next steps: Chad Carson and others will schedule a City Council appearance to present the Green Crescent mapping and loop proposal; staff will prepare the supporting paperwork and map annotations the committee requested. Stormwater staff and university hydrology students plan additional assessments of the Berkeley Orchard stream to inform restoration options.
Ending: Committee members urged finalizing the Council packet and coordinating engineering/stormwater input before the Council submittal.
