Carolina Wildlife Garden offers outdoor education at SC State Museum

Have you ever stopped to watch a butterfly or bee perched on a flower feasting on the nectar and then followed it as it flew to another flower? If so, you witnessed pollination in action.

This essential exchange is the attraction of the new Carolina Wildlife Garden now open at the South Carolina State Museum.

An official ribbon cutting held Aug. 29 publicly launched this new educational garden envisioned and brought to life by Planting South Carolina Roots, an initiative of a spring 2026 class cohort of the Riley Institute’s Diversity Leaders Initiative, in partnership with the State Museum and the South Carolina Wildlife Federation.

This garden grew out of our desire to create a permanent native habitat that would welcome visitors to the State Museum and educate them about plants native to South Carolina that support pollination and wildlife.

Our hope is that the garden inspires those who experience it to cultivate a greater diversity of native plants in their own gardens.

Lisa Kershaw, owner and operator of Joyful Souls Nursey and the Grow Farm, designed the garden with native plants like coneflower, goldenrod, and trumpet creeper to attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

We planted milkweed, the monarch butterfly host plant, specifically to provide food for this globally endangered species, and a variety of other plants that produce seeds and berries, like American beautyberry and Indiangrass, to supply food for birds.

The garden was planted in May with the help of Girl Scout Troop 1630 and the Future Farmers of America chapter at Lexington-Richland 5 school district with financial support from Skyla Credit Union and Elrod Pope Law Firm.

It serves as a free, outdoor classroom providing the opportunity for visitors to engage in the exploration of conservation, biodiversity, and environmental stewardship.

As part of our efforts to encourage young gardeners to create their own wildlife habitat, Planting South Carolina Roots provided seeds and planting kits to the 300 participants in the State Museum’s summer camps.

With ongoing financial support, school groups visiting the museum will continue to receive seeds and planting kits to encourage curiosity, responsibility and a lasting appreciation of South Carolina’s unique natural heritage.

We are proud the South Carolina Wildlife Federation designated our Carolina Wildlife Garden as a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

And, you can get that recognition for your own garden, too.

All you need to create your own wildlife habitat garden is food, water, and native plants that provide cover to make the garden safe for the creatures who come there and raise their young.

Our Carolina Wildlife Garden at the State Museum is already doing just that.

Museum staff have documented at least 31 species of insects in this garden, and those are just the ones that we’ve seen!

This exciting garden, which sits at the property’s entrance, is an important gateway for educational opportunities for residents and visitors to Richland County.

There is EdVenture for young people and the young at heart, and there is the State Museum for learners of all ages.

This outdoor native garden and wildlife habitat gives visitors another learning opportunity at no charge.

I think Richland County Council Chairwoman Jesica Mackey said it best before she officially cut the ribbon.

“This Carolina Wildlife Garden embodies the spirit of the community coming together to plant living and lasting roots that will continue to grow and flourish for all of us to enjoy and learn from for many years to come,” she said.

We invite all South Carolina residents to visit and learn about wildlife habitat gardening.

It is our hope you will be inspired to create a similar habitat in your own yards and communities.