MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) — The Town of Mount Pleasant’s Green Commission is sounding the alarm, saying the town needs to do more to protect and enhance green spaces, the environment, ecology and natural resources in the town.

From wetlands to our tree canopy, there are many pressing issues facing the town of Mount Pleasant, and the commission’s findings show there’s a gap in how the town protects the surrounding environment.

“Nature can’t speak for itself other than giving us clues as to how it’s doing, and so it’s important for us to speak up for nature when you have other interests speaking up. Someone needs to be a voice for the trees and the birds and all the things that make the Lowcountry beautiful,” David Quick, chairman of the Town of Mount Pleasant Green Commission, said.

The Green Commission took a deep dive into the progress they are making in water quality and habitat restoration, but members say the work is far from finished.

“We had a pilot program called canopy restoration and it went out to the public and they identified places for trees. But that was only a monthlong and it was very limited. What I’d like to see is that be expanded and have more time for people to weigh in and for us to develop a more extensive plan,” Quick said.

The commission found that there is a disconnect in their communication from environmental and community concerns to effective action.

“When we’re talking about environmental issues, especially in such an environmentally sensitive area as the Lowcountry, where you do really have to consider water and you do really have to consider the land together, it’s really like holistic or perish,” Torrey Sanders, conservation programs manager at the Coastal Conservation League, said.

This raised questions about whether the town is doing enough to grow these initiatives.

“I think it’s important with our tree canopy that we as a town and as a community, uh, we practice what we preach,” Mount Pleasant Town Council member Mike Tinkey said.

And with the town’s proposed wetland ordinance, some believe more fine-tuning needs to be made before it can be truly effective.

“What would make something like this so successful in Mount Pleasant is making sure that there aren’t exceptions for things like pools, sheds, driveways. And then also looking at what ways the town itself can hold itself to those standards,” Sanders said.

Some frustrations also included collaboration with the commission and the town itself.

“With issues like the sports complex at Rifle Range Road and the decision to put artificial turf down, that was an issue that wasn’t brought to us,” Quick said.

Conservationists say the time to act is now, to help protect the way of life in the Lowcountry as we know it.

“I would just like to see a recommitment by the town to seek advice from us and to really consider the environment and everything that they do,” Quick said.

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