Committee gives favorable report to South Carolina Conservation Education Act (S.165) after broad testimony

The Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee unanimously voted to give a favorable report to S.165, the South Carolina Conservation Education Act, following testimony from conservation educators, school officials and former campers who described educational and health benefits of outdoor, hands-on programs for children.

David Walicki (Walicki), CEO and founder of the South Carolina Waterfowl Association, told the committee that the organization operates the nation’s largest wildlife conservation education center and operates Camp Leopold, a school-year program aimed at fourth graders. He framed the bill as addressing mental and physical health, cognitive development and environmental literacy: "Children who participate in this have a 55 percent lower risk of developing mental health disorders," Walicki said, and he cited studies showing improved test scores and retention from outdoor learning.

Walicki told senators there are roughly 64,000 fourth graders in South Carolina and estimated that sending each child to a one- to three-day conservation education program statewide would cost about $13 million per year to cover tuition and transportation. He said Camp Leopold can accommodate about 13,500 youth annually for overnight programs and that other partners such as Clemson’s Learning Institute and the Interlake and Wildlife Foundation could expand capacity.

Steven Lance, executive director of the Learning Institute at Clemson, and Richard Rankin, director of the Interlake and Wildlife Center, described long-running programs that deliver multi-day, hands-on conservation education. Rankin described a fishing program at Interlake that brought virtually all fourth graders from two Calhoun County schools to a 2,200-acre site; volunteers helped 60 students at a time and 75% of participants had never caught a fish before.

Several senators raised administration and equity questions, asking who would administer the funding and how the program would remain nonpartisan. Walicki said details about administration and oversight are matters for the legislature to decide and suggested programs would compete for funding and be held to educational standards; DNR or the Conservation Bank were mentioned as possible administrators. Senators also stressed equitable access and the need to ensure the program reaches students statewide, including those with limited school resources.

Teachers and administrators from First Baptist School of Charleston and Spartanburg District 3 described student benefits, including reduced anxiety and improved executive-function skills after outdoor programs. Alex Cockrell, a former camper and current college student, described the camps’ influence on her decision to study biology.

With a motion, second and voice vote, the committee recorded a favorable report on S.165. The chair noted that the committee controls substance but not the appropriation; funding would be decided by the finance and ways-and-means committees.

The committee’s action advances S.165 to the Senate floor; transcript excerpts show the vote was unanimous and proxies voted in favor.