North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years
The perfect mix of local collaborators succeeded in a project designed to “Remember, Educate and Celebrate”. The Yaupon Garden Club, North Myrtle Beach Parks and Rec Department, North Myrtle Beach Tree Board, South Carolina Native Plant Society and North Myrtle Beach Historic Preservation Society were all represented on Friday, December 5, 2025, at the Arbor Day celebration and dedication. The impetus for this event was begun by Yaupon Garden Club members Phyllis Green and Phillis Newman, residents of the Belle Park neighborhood who often met to walk the nearby trail surrounding a stormwater drainage pond. It is located off Highway 17 South and left/right onto Ninth Avenue left on Bell Street.
Along the way, the women noticed the egrets, birds as well as neighbors, both young and old, enjoying the environment. However, there was something missing: trees and bird houses to make a better home for the flora and fauna. Four bird houses were built and installed by Yaupon Garden Club member Bette Hurt and her husband, Gary. Club president Phillis Newman and her husband, Herb, installed the posts.
Yaupon Garden Club member and local historian, Susan Platt, no stranger to environmental problem solving, suggested that the YGC collaborate with the city’s Memorial Tree Program to honor others who also had the vision to renourish the environment. Funding for the five trees was provided by the Yaupon Garden Club, S.C. Native Plant Society and North Myrtle Beach Historical Preservation Society. Subsequently five trees: two Eastern Red Cedars, two Bald Cypress and a Sycamore were planted at the Bell Park trail. The individuals for whom a tree was planted included: Tommy Samaha, Michele Washburn and Margie Livington, sponsored by the NMB Historic Preservation Society and Jeanette Prichard and Eileen Fox, stalwart members of the YGC. A touching ceremony took place on Friday, December 5, Arbor Day, at the newly dedicated and christened “Red Wing” Trail, paying homage to the first bird of spring. Following introductory remarks by Jolene Puffer and Susan Platt, Mayor J Baldwin, Matt Gibbons and Jim Granger, directors of the Parks and Recreation Department, family members of those honored and collaborating partners watched the educational marker unveiling telling the story of the various species observable at the Red Wing Trail.
The ceremony was truly an occasion to “Remember, Educate the Community and Celebrate” the success of a private/city collaborative transforming a stormwater drainage pond to an environmentally welcoming refuge for all to enjoy.
