What is Beneath the Oaks?
Beneath the Oaks is a community initiative dedicated to celebrating native plants, resilient landscapes, and environmental stewardship throughout the Lowcountry. Through education, partnerships, and community engagement, we aim to inspire a deeper connection between people and place while promoting practices that support a healthier future.
Get Involved
Thu, Oct 15Charleston MuseumExplore how ecological design, public policy, and community partnerships can reshape urban landscapes into healthier, more connected habitats. Join landscape architect Preston Montague for the keynote presentation at the 2026 Beneath the Oaks Symposium
Wed, Jun 241362 Old Towne RdHelp Shape SC Native Plant Week and the Beneath the Oaks Symposium!
Featured Keynote
Designing Urban Habitats Through Policy, Practice & Partnership
Preston Montague, Landscape Architect
Across the nation, communities are rethinking how parks, streetscapes, campuses, and public spaces can better support both people and the natural world. In this keynote, landscape architect Preston Montague will explore how thoughtful design, collaboration, and public policy can transform urban landscapes into thriving ecosystems that promote biodiversity, resilience, and a stronger connection to place.
Drawing from projects throughout the Southeast, including his work with Magnolia Plantation, Preston will share practical examples of how municipalities, designers, and community partners are creating landscapes that benefit both people and wildlife.
About the Speaker
Preston Montague is an award-winning landscape architect and artist based in Durham, North Carolina. Inspired by the natural beauty of Virginia's foothills, where he grew up, his work focuses on strengthening the relationship between people and nature through ecological design. His projects encourage healthier communities while restoring habitat and celebrating the unique character of each landscape.
Breakout Sessions
Choose from a variety of educational breakout sessions exploring native plants, resilient landscapes, ecological stewardship, and the Lowcountry's relationship with the natural world.
4:00 PM Sessions
Presented by:
Eddie Bernard, Town of Mount Pleasant & David Grant, City of CharlestonManaging trees in a growing community is about far more than planting and preservation. David Grant and Eddie Bernard offer an insider’s look at the challenges of managing Lowcountry urban forests while balancing development, public safety, infrastructure, environmental protection, and community needs.
Drawing on decades of municipal experience, they’ll explore protecting mature tree canopy, navigating growth and tree ordinances, managing risk, and planning for the urban forests future generations will inherit.
“Urban forestry is not about trees, it’s about people.” — Eddie Bernard
Presented by:
Sam Mullican, SiteOne Landscape Supply & Jim Fleming, Tropic Traditions NurseryAs demand for native plants grows, one of the biggest challenges is availability. Sam Mullican and Jim Fleming offer a behind-the-scenes look at the native plant marketplace from two perspectives: the broker and distributor connecting growers with the market, and the nurseryman deciding what can realistically be grown at scale.
Together, they’ll explore how native plants move from market demand to production to the landscape, including what makes a plant commercially viable, production timelines, sourcing and availability, and how designers, landscapers, and consumers can help encourage greater native plant production.
Presented by:
Benjamin Powell, Andrew Pierson & Charleston County Mosquito AbatementCreating a landscape that welcomes bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects doesn’t mean you have to welcome mosquitoes, too. Andrew Pierson and Benjamin Powell will explore how gardeners can support thriving pollinator and beneficial-insect habitat while taking a thoughtful approach to mosquito management.
Attendees will learn effective, eco-friendly strategies for controlling mosquitoes while minimizing harm to the beneficial species we want in our gardens—and reducing unnecessary exposure for ourselves.
Together, they’ll offer a practical look at how thoughtful habitat choices and mosquito-management practices can help create outdoor spaces that are healthier and more enjoyable for people and pollinators alike.
5:00 PM Sessions
Presented by:
Tanner Schuck, Charleston Aquatics & EnvironmentalBuilding a reliable native seed supply takes more than simply collecting seed. Tanner Schuck will share a hands-on approach to creating an on-site seed pipeline—from responsibly harvesting seed in the wild and collecting from nursery inventory to transforming overlooked spaces like fence lines, swales, and pond edges into productive seed stock beds.
Attendees will learn practical strategies for harvesting, storing, and planting native species from seed, along with how to determine the right collection and propagation approach for different species.
Warning: You may never look at a roadside or ditch the same way again!
Presented by:
Jennifaye SingletonSweetgrass and other natural materials hold an important place in Gullah Geechee culture, connecting the landscape of the Lowcountry with generations of tradition, artistry, and community. Jennifaye Singleton will explore the significance of these materials and why ensuring their continued presence matters to the people and traditions that depend on them.
Through this conversation, attendees will consider the relationship between cultural preservation and the plants that make these traditions possible. The session offers a reminder that protecting sweetgrass and other culturally significant materials is about more than preserving plants, it is also about helping sustain a living Gullah Geechee heritage for generations to come.
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Presented by:
Guinn Wallover, Mount Pleasant WaterworksUtility easements have traditionally been managed as turfgrass to protect underground infrastructure—but could these spaces also provide valuable habitat?
Guinn Wallover will share how Mount Pleasant Waterworks is addressing that question through its Pollinator-Friendly Easement Initiative, which uses community partnerships, policy updates, demonstration sites, and community-built gardens to support pollinators while protecting critical water and sewer infrastructure.
Attendees will hear lessons learned, impacts to date, and practical recommendations for utilities and public partners interested in creating more habitat-friendly managed spaces.
South Carolina Native Plant Week
October 18-24, 2026
A community-wide celebration of native plants, ecological stewardship, and the people working to create healthier landscapes across the Lowcountry. We invite organizations, businesses, schools, municipalities, and community groups to join us by hosting events that inspire others to discover, appreciate, and protect our native ecosystems.
Thank You To Our Sponsors
Signature Sponsors
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Premium Sponsors
Community Sponsors
