PRSF Installs New Greenhouse Thanks to State 2% ATAX Grant from Beaufort County
June 1, 2025
In April 2024, the Port Royal Sound Foundation was awarded a State 2% Accommodations Tax (ATAX) grant from Beaufort County in the amount of $20,000 for native gardens and a greenhouse. ATAX funds are intended to increase tourism to Beaufort County and enhance the experience of visitors who are here. The greenhouse and native garden exhibits attract guests, expand educational opportunities, and beautify the campus of the Maritime Center museum and aquarium, which welcomes over 28,000 guests every year.
Installation of the greenhouse was complete in spring 2025, and PRSF set to work growing spartina, sunflowers, coral bean, and more. The plants grown in this greenhouse will be added to the native garden displays all around the Maritime Center, which give visitors a chance to appreciate the beauty and diversity of Lowcountry plants. We were especially excited that over 100 stalks of spartina grass could be used to supplement areas in need of more living shorelines, which is a program we will continue to contribute to and that will benefit Beaufort County far into the future. We are eager for the upcoming fall/winter growing season, when we will grow seeds gathered from our own plants to add to the gardens next spring. PRSF also hosted its first Native Plant Sale on April 12, 2025. This event was incredibly successful, and we plan to continue and expand it for the future, which is another initiative that the new greenhouse will support.
PRSF has always been proud to connect people with the natural environment of Beaufort County. Guests enjoy exploring the salt marsh, hiking through a maritime forest, and kayaking the Chechessee River with PRSF naturalists. These opportunities inspire an appreciation of the unique Port Royal Sound ecosystem and foster environmental stewardship in locals and visitors alike. The expansion of our native gardens makes these environmental connections even more accessible. Guests to the free Maritime Center regularly stop to admire the abundance of plants in the gardens, reading about different native species and inquiring about how to establish pollinator gardens in their own yards.
PRSF is grateful to Beaufort County for its continued support of our initiatives to conserve the environment that makes this area so unique and welcoming to visitors. Funds from the State 2% ATAX program give PRSF the opportunity to creatively expand and adapt our work to reach more tourists and engage with people in new and exciting ways. We look forward to continuing this important work for the betterment of Beaufort County for years to come.
