Dr. Buz Kloot and Ron Walrath apply much needed muscle to church grounds. Photo contributed by Buz Kloot
St. Andrews Lutheran Church (SALC) on Broad River Road has been dealing with a landscaping problem for a while. About two acres of its grounds didn’t have a purpose— just sitting there getting mowed regularly. A wooded section along Atlantic Drive was being used as the temporary home of some people in need of a place to spend occasional nights.
When those occasional nights began corresponding with theft incidents at a church building, volunteers developed a plan, organized a work force, and began acting on that plan. Late last summer these folks decided to cut the trees and reclaim the half acre as an eventual community food source.
Dr. Buz Kloot is a scientist with an interest in creating native habitat in urban areas. He works with Soil Health Labs in the environmental health sciences department in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. He has also achieved a reputation for returning degraded parcels of soil to a more natural state across America. He’s a member of SALC, along with Ron Walrath.
Ron grew up in a Marine family, moving from base to base along the Southeastern Coast. He followed his wife to St. Andrews Lutheran Church in the mid 1990s when she joined the music ministry staff. He volunteered to help care for the surrounding grounds.
Ron says, “The grounds team consists of 99.9 percent volunteers. I’ve been on the team for as long as I can remember and agreed to coordinate the team’s efforts a couple years ago.”
He was a major contributor to the revitalization plan for the original half acre adjacent to Atlantic Drive. When asked why he felt a wildflower garden was the answer he said, “I love bees and butterflies for their innate beauty and for what they do for creation as pollinators. I don’t know anyone whose mood is not lifted by the sight of a wildflower plot in general and in the presence of butterflies in particular. Wildflowers seemed to be a low-cost, low-maintenance effort that would beautify church property, provide a place of wonder for children and adults, and benefit the neighborhood.”
When Buz heard Ron’s suggestion for the space, he replied, “That’s a good idea, but what if we do something bigger?”
Introducing wildflowers and native plants to the site would be part of the plan, as would using plants that will develop fertile soil and return the space to an active ecosystem. By also planting fruit trees and berry bushes, a food forest can eventually be located on the property.
According to Ron, “What we hope will be a community resource where folks, as they walk through, will stop and harvest and eat. It’s not designed for the members of St. Andrews in any way, shape, or form. It’s designed for the community to come and gather.”
In October 2024, after removing trees and clearing the space of invasive and nonnative plants, the volunteers began spreading wood chips in spirals to create paths, retain water, and reduce soil erosion. The wood chips will also eventually add to the ecosystem being developed.
Figs, blueberries, and elderberries, along with native plants and grasses have been planted. Some of the native grasses were grown from seeds Buz had on hand. Bitterweed and Pokeweed have been allowed to flourish, at least for now, because they feature deep roots that will help unpack the soil and cover the ground.
As is the case in most places, deer came out of the woods sensing something edible was growing. There is scant evidence of deer habitat to anyone driving along Broad River Road, but when the plants began to grow, deer appeared and began feasting on the newly developed project.
So far a fence designed by need and making use of existing material has at least delayed the local deer from jumping the fence and eating their fill. This particular fence is similar to a YouTube video using fishing monofilament as fencing because it’s invisible to the deer. A second line fence to confuse the deer has been added. This seems to be working better—at least for now.
Sulphur cosmos is springing up along with Indian paint brush, black eyed susan, and wallflower, with coreopsis and purple coneflower waiting in the wings to bloom. SALC has helped fund this project with purchases of seeds and fencing. A grant application is in progress for the other available space in need of adjustment. Plans won’t be completed until the grant is approved.
The plants are growing, along with the volunteer workforce, nicknamed the Mountain Movers. Walrath offers a personal vision that sounds mighty good. “Imagine once refugees are allowed back in this country, arriving in the United States, don’t speak any English, don’t know anybody. Somebody’s just brought you to this place and in the back yard there are things that might be familiar. Figs, berries—that’s what I imagine for this place. Just a place of tremendous welcome.”
This sounds a lot like what church property is supposed to strive for.
Buz Kloot’s Facebook page features updates on SALC’s progress as it happens.
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