By HEATHER RUPPE
Kayakers and environmental supporters of the Edisto River took the local waters on Saturday for the first time in two years, all as part of an effort to bring back awareness on how to keep Colleton’s rivers pristine.
“Smoke on the Water” happened on Saturday for the first time in two years. As part of this event, 50 people paddled along the Edisto River from a spot known as “the Zig Zag Landing,” the furthest upstream public access along the Edisto River near Highways 78 and 61.
This event hasn’t occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our events are a combination of outreach and membership building,” said Hugo Krispyn, a director of the Friends of the Edisto River (FRED). Krispyn also works with state agencies from a legislative side to help keep the state’s waters clean as part of a statewide water plan.
In 2022, and in coming years, Krispyn said FRED events need to be more deliberate in their mission to keep the Edisto River clean and preserved, as part of its affiliated group, Waterkeeper Alliance. FRED are the stewardship organization for the Edisto Watershed: the group began in 1988 on the recommendation of a task force study.
“We want to keep drinkable, swimmable and fishable waters,” he said. “We want it to be as clean and pristine as it can be.”
In coming months, FRED will be hosting Stewardship Day, which typically is combined with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s beach and river sweep events. The group will also have an annual membership event in September, which is yet to be announced.
The group has also previously sponsored events at Givhans State Park and they have also been routine sponsors of the Black Water Boogie Event, which is slated to occur in October of 2022.
Friends of the Edisto, Inc. (FRED), is a non-profit educational and advocacy organization that was established in 1998 as a way to support “sustainable economic development within the Edisto River Basin in South Carolina,” according to the group’s resources. The mission of the group is also to educate people on how to keep the Edisto River clean and pristine: the Edisto River Basin contains the longest free-flowing blackwater river in America and encompasses 12 counties, including much of the Midlands and Lowcountry areas of South Carolina. The Edisto is in Colleton County and flows into the ACE Basin, which represents the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers. The ACE Basin itself is listed as one of the most pristine and environmentally-rich places in the nation.
For more information on FRED, or to see their upcoming events along the Edisto River, go to www.edistofriends.org.
