Wateree riverbank gets a clean sweep

Congaree Land Trust and PalmettoPride held the first COWASEE Clean the end of last month as volunteers patrolled the COWASSEE Basin near U.S. 378 and the Wateree River.

Fifteen volunteers took part in the inaugural trash pickup as they collected 66 bags of litter along the Wateree Riverfront and surrounding roadways.

“It was a fun morning of fellowship for a great cause,” said Stuart White, executive director of Congaree Land Trust. “The COWASSEE Basin is one of our main focus areas for land protection, and picking up litter is just one additional way we can help protect this precious resource.”

The COWASEE Basin focus area includes the waters of the Congaree, Wateree and Upper Santee Rivers as well as the floodplains nourished by them. The basin includes 28 sites on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Congaree Land Trust partners with other conservation organizations that make up the COWASEE Basin Task Force to protect wildlife habitat, wetlands and water quality, while maintaining the rural traditions and working farms and forests of the 315,000-acre area.

Field day and dancing

ATO fraternity and ADPi sorority at the University of South Carolina will host a field day Saturday for special needs children on the USC campus at part of Autism Awareness Month.

The event will run 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Strom Fields at Assembly and Blossom streets and will feature water balloons, face-painting and other activities.

Later that evening, the groups will hold a prom/formal at the Lourie Center, where children with autism will be their “dates” for a night of dinner, dancing, a photo booth and live music.

For more information or to sign up a child, call Jeff Blethen at (224) 330-7364 or email jblethen@email.sc.edu.

Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer orientation

Big Brothers Big Sisters will hold a volunteer orientation 6-7 p.m. Tuesday at its office at 4300 North Main St., Columbia.

The orientation will present information about the organization and about becoming a mentor to a young child.

Research has shown that children in the program who have mentors are less likely to begin using illegal drugs or alcohol and are less likely to skip school.

The program enrolls children ages 6-13 throughout Richland and Lexington counties. Volunteers are asked to commit to four to six hours a month.

For more information about volunteering, visit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia’s website atwww.bbbsgc.org or call (803) 691-5700.

This story was originally published April 5, 2015 at 7:26 PM with the headline "Wateree riverbank gets a clean sweep."