Nemours Wildlife Foundation

08/25/2026

Registration for our upcoming September public programs is now open. Whether you enjoy bird watching, taking time to document what you observe in a nature journal, or learning about butterflies and their plant hosts, Nemours has a program that is sure to interest you.

To learn more about our scheduled public programs and to register for a program, visit the link in our bio.

08/20/2026

After two years of homework, training modules, workshops, and implementation of a place-based environmental education program, our very own Heather Kraus earned the Palmetto Environmental Education Certification.

Read more at:

This August, eight South Carolina educators crossed the finish line on a two-year journey to earn their Palmetto Environmental Education Certification (PEEC) — the state's first and only certification program dedicated to building effective environmental education practices rooted in South Carolin...

08/13/2026

Nemours will be at this Saturday, 8/15, for their annual STEAM Festival.

Come check out our table, which will feature animal tracks found in South Carolina. You can even solve a few wildlife mysteries by using clues left behind by critters.

This event is perfect for the entire family. Thank you for organizing a fun event that highlights science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics!

05/30/2026

Resurrection fern, along with many other plants, has been loving the recent rainy days. At Nemours we've watched the shriveled brown fronds anchored to live oak branches uncurl, rehydrate, and turn bright green.

Resurrection fern (Pleopeltis polypodioides) gets its common name because the plant appears to come back to life after long periods of drought with a little bit of rainfall. During typical dry periods, the fern can lose about 75% of its water content and during extreme droughts, it can possibly survive losing 97% of its water content!

05/22/2026

We had an unexpected surprise when checking the Purple Martin houses this week. A rat snake climbed up a 12-foot metal pole to reach a clutch of eggs. Unfortunately, none of the eggs remained after the snake's meal and the Purple Martin parents will need to begin a new attempt.

To deter this from occurring again, Nemours installed a predator guard near the base of the pole. The predator guard makes it difficult for a snake to successfully climb up the pole to the nesting martins. This rat snake will need to find its next meal somewhere else.

05/19/2026

Last week volunteers from the Sea Island Fly Fishers joined Nemours for a workday. They spent the morning removing invasive species, including Japanese climbing fern and Chinese tallow, in a planted longleaf pine stand alongside Heather, our Education and Outreach Coordinator, and Grace, her intern.

Sea Island Fly Fishers, thank you for all your hard work improving habitat for native wildlife!

05/16/2026

Have you ever been interested in observing birds up close? Monitoring bluebird boxes provides an peek into the lives of birds. Join Nemours staff as we spend a morning checking a portion of the 19 bluebird boxes spread throughout the Foundation.

Sign up for the upcoming event at: https://nemourswildlifefoundation.org/event/nest-quest-bluebird-monitoring-edition/

05/07/2026

Look at what we spotted while monitoring bluebird nests! A beautifully colored corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) basking in the morning sunshine.

Corn snakes and other cold-blooded (ectothermic) reptiles cannot self-regulate their body temperature. Instead, they rely on external heat sources, such as the sun, to support essential bodily processes including digestion, movement, and even immune function. To maintain an optimal body temperature, snakes engage in behavioral thermoregulation, moving back and forth between sun and shade to avoid becoming too cold or too hot.

Early morning sun can be especially important to snakes. After emerging from an overnight refuge, snakes often bask directly in the sun to warm up and regulate body temperature. The big, fancy, scientific term for this phenomenon is heliothermy (literally meaning warmth from the sun).

05/05/2026

This past week, Nemours Wildlife Foundation hosted part of the first European Croc Field Workshop. The workshop, organized by Miriam Boucher, a Nemours Graduate Fellow, brought together 9 early-career professionals from Europe and 5 Clemson graduate students for a multi-day applied crocodilian field techniques workshop.

Collaborators from Clemson University, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Nemours Wildlife Foundation, and Spring Island Trust worked together to ensure the success of the workshop.

Clemson graduate students, including another Nemours Graduate Fellow, Aksh*t Suthar, led lectures on field techniques, safety, research, and drone applications. In addition, participants learned about state alligator management from Program Leader Morgan Hart, about Nemours' work and role in wildlife and habitat management, conservation, and research from our Biologist Stephen Clements, and about ethics and the implementation of international research projects from National Geographic Explorer and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Phoebe Griffith from the Liebniz Institute in Berlin, Germany.

Participants gained hands-on experience capturing, surveying, and sampling crocodilians and also had the opportunity to observe and experience the phenomenal wildlife of the South Carolina Lowcountry. At Nemours, we strive to lead research, education, and stewardship in South Carolina, and this week brought our mission to an international stage.

04/27/2026

Caught this masked critter enjoying some sun. Even nocturnal animals need a little vitamin D boost. 🦝 ☀️

Now time for some myth busting. Seeing a raccoon during the day does NOT mean the animal is sick. While racoons are primarily nocturnal, they may be out and about during the day for various reasons including foraging, caring for young, or looking for a new shelter.

Racoons are opportunistic foragers; they will take advantage of any readily available food resource, including food waste in garbage cans or small fiddler crabs in an impoundment. Pregnant or nursing raccoons need extra energy, which sometimes leads to them foraging more during daylight hours. In other cases, disturbances caused by predators scare raccoons from their den and force them to relocate to a new shelter during the day.

While daytime activity could indicate sickness, often there is another reason why the raccoon is out. Is the racoon alert, agile, and actively foraging? It’s likely healthy. In contrast, sick raccoons display signs of sluggishness, aggression, and disorientation.