Community Work Day #2 - Floodplain Restoration

Work Day #2 for Phase 1 of this restoration project is coming up:

WEDNESDAY, Aug 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 the completion of removal of debris from the demolition site and covering more than half of the lot with cardboard. Work Day #2 will focus on laying out the rest of the cardboard and covering all of that with a thick layer of wood chips.

All hands on deck! You don't need tools or special skills to contribute - we'll have gloves for you 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 ice cold water from our cooler. Park along the road, but don't block traffic.

Background info/timeline (if you're interested):

Oct, 2015 - Devastating flood, homes & lives destroyed. This section of Timberlane Drive was especially hard-hit, and most of the homes were purchased by Richland County using disaster relief funding, allowing the residents to move to safer places. Unfortunately, a private individual purchased a block of homes within this neighborhood and sold them off individually for a profit. These homes continued to be bought and sold, mostly by individuals from out of town who weren't aware that their property wasn't going to be an easy flip or a safe place to live.

Mar, 2026 - Gills Creek Watershed Association used floodplain preservation grant funding to purchase 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 Demolition & Abatement Services.

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

Aug 19, 2026 - Community Work Day #2 - Help us finish sheet mulching - covering the whole site with cardboard layered with wood chips to reduce erosion and smother weeds. This buys us time so we can start planting this winter.

Winter 2026/27 - Begin Phase 2: Planting plants! The shorter, cooler days of our SC winter present the perfect time to plant. We will phase in patches of native plants to eventually 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.

2027/28 and beyond - Maintain this site as a thriving ecosystem, use it as a starting point to engage our community in exploring the flora and fauna of the adjacent 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.