Andrews Library teams up with Black River State Park to get kids excited about nature

The new Black River State Park is still years from completion, but its partnership with the Andrews branch library is already shaping how the park hopes to serve the community in the years to come.

Black River State Park, the newest addition to South Carolina's state park system, follows the Black River through Williamsburg and Georgetown counties. Its an exciting new addition for the Andrews community, and it has found an early and enthusiastic partner in the Andrews branch of the Georgetown County Library. The two recently launched Reading with a Ranger, a program that pairs the library's existing storytime audience with visits from Black River's park rangers — and both sides say it's just the beginning.

A Strong First Step

The inaugural Reading with a Ranger session took place on June 16, led by Park Ranger Jamie Cannon, an Andrews native. Andrews Library Branch Manager Hailey Davis said the turnout exceeded expectations for a first-time event, with roughly 26 children attending.

"That was just to test the waters, and so far it's done well," Davis said.

Park Manager Jayson Sellers said both rangers currently on staff at Black River grew up in Georgetown County and in Andrews specifically — a detail he considers central to the park's mission.

"One of the primary goals for us is to educate folks on the new park and to engage them, educate them, not just on the new park but what it is a park ranger does," Sellers said.

The next Reading with a Ranger program is scheduled for Tuesday, July 21, at 10:30 a.m. at the library, located at 105 N. Morgan Avenue. It’s recommended for kids in kindergarten through 5th grade. The program is free, but registration is requested.

Built Around Access, Economy and Conservation

Sellers said the park's work, including the library partnership, ties back to three core goals: expanding public access to land that's historically been off-limits to local residents, generating ecotourism that can help revitalize communities affected by the loss of textile, steel and paper mills, and protecting the Black River itself — one of only10 state-designated scenic waterways in South Carolina.

"For so many years, access for the local community has been denied or just hasn't been there," Sellers said. "[This is] our mission ... to create that public access and become the economic engine for these underserved communities."

Andrews is positioned to be a hub for that effort. The park's largest tract and main offices will be based in the community, which Sellers said is already known locally as "the heart of the Black River." Officials have discussed the future possibility of a bike trail connecting the park directly to the Town.

Growing a Local Workforce, One Classroom at a Time

The partnership with the library is part of a broader educational push. Sellers said the park is working with Georgetown County Schools on a long-term initiative — the Black River Educational Initiative — to build a natural and cultural resource management curriculum at Andrews High School. The committee, which includes school administrators, Black River Cypress Preserve, South Carolina State Parks, the Yawkey Wildlife Center and the Open Space Institute just to name a few partners, is laying the groundwork, with hopes of having a course in place within the next year.

The goal, Sellers said, is to create a pipeline that starts with programs like Reading with a Ranger and ends with local residents working at the park itself.

"We want folks from the local community to work at Black River State Park," he said. "We want to one day say, hey, this manager that's managing Black River State Park participated in this Reading with a Ranger program, and that's where that spark started."

How the Partnership Came Together

The collaboration grew out of a chance conversation. John Collins Sr., president of the Friends of the Andrews Library, said he connected with Sellers after attending a presentation at the Georgetown library and learning the new park needed meeting space and was looking to partner with groups in the community.

"As soon as I talked to him and told him who I was and what I would love to do, his eyes just lit up," Collins said. "We've been talking about this. We want to do something. We want to collaborate with the libraries."

What's Next for the Park

Black River State Park will eventually include 11 separate tracts, though only the Meadows Tract near Kingstree is currently open, under a soft-opening schedule of three days a week. It started welcoming visitors in April. Sellers said the park aims to open at least two more tracts, by the end of the year, with the Narrows, off Gapway Road near Puncheon Creek, likely opening sometime next year. Phase 1 at the Narrows  is expected to include overnight accommodations, a small campground and support facilities to include a maintenance shop and welcome station.

Looking further ahead, the High Bluffs tract near Browns Ferry will eventually offer cabins built on movable RV frames — a design chosen deliberately, Sellers said, after lessons learned from recent floods.

"We didn't want to put something really close to the river [where], when it floods, it ends up in the river," Sellers said. The cabins, sited on a high riverbank with overlooking decks, can be hitched and moved away from the water ahead of major storms.

What's Next for the Partnership

Library and park staff say they're still early in exploring what the partnership could become. Ideas on the table include:

• Continuing Reading with a Ranger on a quarterly basis, with hopes of monthly programming next summer and additional age groups beyond the current kindergarten and elementary range.
• A ranger-guided canoe trip as an incentive for summer reading program participants.
• A Little Free Library-style book box, built and donated by the Friends of the Andrews Library, planned for installation at The Narrows once that tract opens.
• Nature-based programming such as scavenger hunts and kayaking once park infrastructure allows.
• Coordination with the YMCA's Rising Gents teen mentoring program to get more teenagers involved outdoors.

BoReath Sellers and Collins acknowledged that transportation remains one of the biggest hurdles to getting more children physically out to the park, and said they're continuing to explore options, including community partnerships and grant funding, to help close that gap.

"There's so much that we could potentially do," Sellers said.

For more information on Black River State Park or upcoming Reading with a Ranger sessions, contact the Andrews Branch Library or visit southcarolinaparks.com/black-river.