Sandy Island, South Carolina

Sandy Island is a small unincorporated community in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States, and a larger island between the Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers that has been preserved as a refuge and nature center.

The island itself is about 9,000 acres (36 km²) of a prehistoric sand dune bounded east and west by the rivers, on the north by Bull Creek, and on the south by Thoroughfare Creek.

The northern part of the island is higher and is mostly a longleaf pine forest, which provides a refuge for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker and numerous other species of plants and animals. About 9,000 acres (36 km²) of the island has been purchased by The Nature Conservancy for permanent protection from development.

On the southern, lower end of the island are the remnants of old rice plantations, with the watergates and canals that previously managed the water supply. A small community exists there also, which consists of a few families that are descendants of former slaves that once worked the rice fields. Since there is no bridge to the island, workers and school children have to go by boat each morning to the mainland for work and school.

The island is also visited by naturalists, archaeologists, and geologists because of the resources it provides. Daily scenic boat rides are a feature of Brookgreen Gardens which is across the Waccamaw from Sandy Island.

External links

* [http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/southcarolina/preserves/art1635.html Nature Conservancy's page on Sandy Island]
* [http://www.myetv.org/television/productions/carolina_stories/sandyisland/ Saving Sandy Island - an ETV film project]