Summers Corner is a Climate Resilient and Bird Friendly Community

The birds are singing today at Summers Corner – and so are we! We’ve been recognized by Audubon South Carolina (ASC) as a Climate Resilient and Bird Friendly Community! This recognition celebrates a commitment to going beyond the typical habitat focused programs.

Homes for people and birds

If you’ve visited Summers Corner, you may have noticed we’re BIG on birds. Blue bird boxes are scattered across the property, and you can find us happily distracted watching Mom and Dad bluebird out the windows of the Corner House. We’re counting down the days until we see fuzzy babies happily emerge from their cozy nest.

Titmouses have taken up residence in the gourds hung from the trees outside Corner House Cafe, too, and there’s a mockingbird we lovingly named Oregano that sings to us each afternoon from atop a tree in The Commons. We recently saw her and a partner building a nest,  and can’t wait to hear the chirp of mini-Oreganos a few weeks from now – perhaps a Dill, Sage, and Sorrel?

Often, our hanging baskets get mistaken for perfect nesting places for Carolina Wrens. If you see a mismatched basket filled with droopy flowers, know that we’re not neglecting the blooms, but protecting a budding family.

In our parks, we’ve installed a few more elaborate bird homes that are art installations in their own right. We worked with sculpturist Tom Holmes and Two Forks Collective to install four bird house sculptures. The sculptures are designed and inspired by Summers Corner’s natural habitat and are a stunning blend of form and function. And Hummingbird Park has been planted so that its tiny namesake birds will have plenty of nectar to choose from when it bursts into bloom.

Our penchant for winged-creatures is also apparent at Buffalo Lake. Duck boxes dot the waters edge, and our bat house is one of our favorite conversation topics. Inside, dozens of chambers act as rooms of sorts for more than 6,000 bats that spend their days resting comfortably beside the lake. As the sun sets each evening, a flurry of tiny bats head out to do hard night’s work, acting as a natural way to address the pesky mosquitoes who also share a fondness for the Lowcountry.

As you can see, we take our commitment to building homes for people and birds quite seriously, and we couldn’t be more delighted to be recognized by the Audubon South Carolina.

Keeping the climate in mind

The Climate Resilient and Bird Friendly Recognition Program also focuses on other important aspects, like the incorporation of native plants, and water, energy, waste, and outreach practices designed to create a resilient South Carolina.

Our pollinator garden goes a long way in keeping our community healthy, and homeowners are encouraged to have their yards Carolina Yards certified, a Clemson University-certified program that seeks to work with residents to create healthy, watershed-friendly landscapes. Overall, our goal is to have 85% of plantings classified as native. The idea is simple, really: use simple and effective gardening methods that allow the homeowner to work with nature, rather than against it.

Summers Corner is one of only three designated Climate Resilient and Bird-friendly communities in South Carolina.

For more information on Climate Resilient and Bird Friendly Recognition Program, please visit http://sc.audubon.org/conservation/community-partners-cl. And to see our program in action, plan your visit to our blooming new home community in Summerville, SC today!