Since our last update in January, we have made significant progress thanks to your continued support and the powerful community spirit surrounding the Angel Oak Preserve.
In early April, the project achieved a major milestone: the City of Charleston’s Design Review Board’s conceptual approval of the welcome center. This crucial step brings Lowcountry Land Trust closer to realizing the Angel Oak Preserve, establishing a space that invites everyone to engage with the land, learn about its history, and reflect on the majesty of the Angel Oak and its surrounding forest.
The welcome center will serve as a starting point for visitors, offering a space for orientation, reflection, and connection. It will be located only a short five-minute walk from the tree, near the Preserve’s future new entrance off Bohicket Road. This carefully selected location allows for the relocation of the existing parking area, which currently sits on top of the tree’s expansive yet sensitive root system. Moving the new welcome center, which will replace the park’s existing gift shop operations, and parking away from the tree and using permeable crushed aggregate to reduce runoff will protect the tree’s health and create an opportunity for interpretation. Visitors will be encouraged to consider what lies hidden beneath the surface–the roots, which extend well beyond the famous canopy.
Renderings left to right: View of the welcome center walking toward it from the parking area; Sea Islands map etched into the surface, centered around Johns Island; The welcome center’s threshold, with interpretive elements on the left and the gift shop on the right. Credit: Liollio Architecture.
Interpretive panels within and near the welcome center will introduce the rich layers of history, ecology, and culture that shape the Angel Oak and its surrounding Preserve. Highlights will include:
- The geologic formation of the Sea Islands
- The evolution of the oak species
- The earliest Indigenous lifeways and stewardship
- Colonial settlement, slavery on the Angel Plantation, and the Civil Rights Era
- The enduring presence and traditions of Gullah Geechee Culture and the Sea Island communities
Additional interpretive themes include exploring trees as sacred beings and showcasing the southern live oak as a keystone species. This introduction at the welcome center is just the beginning—interpretive content will continue throughout the Preserve, inviting deeper understanding and connection at every turn.
As you move through the welcome center’s threshold into the Preserve and look back toward the new building and parking area, you will no longer see any cars. The building was thoughtfully positioned and designed to let you leave the bustle behind and fully immerse yourself in nature. Glancing back, it will begin to fade into the landscape of the existing forest and native plantings. The design emphasizes a simple yet powerful idea: at the Angel Oak Preserve, nature takes center stage.
Renderings left to right: View of the welcome center from inside the Preserve, showing how it fades into the forested landscape as you walk further away. Credit: Liollio Architecture.
Green infrastructure is thoughtfully integrated throughout the Preserve to protect existing trees and the site’s delicate hydrological systems. Trails are constructed with pervious materials to prevent stormwater runoff, while features like bioretention basins, bioswales, and rain gardens help clean and slow water flow.
Later this month, Lowcountry Land Trust will continue its partnership with Brockington and Associates to conduct additional archaeological fieldwork at the site—an essential step in deepening our understanding of the land’s cultural and historical significance to ensure its stories are honored and preserved.
As the Angel Oak Preserve moves through permitting and further refinement, our partners at Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects and Liollio Architecture are developing detailed construction documents. These reflect design excellence and the expressed values shared by our community: reverence, inclusivity, and ecological stewardship.
Behind the scenes, we continue one-on-one conversations and small group sessions with neighbors, local leaders, and cultural historians to deepen our collaborative planning.
You can contribute to the design and creation of the Angel Oak Preserve by forwarding this email to your network, volunteering your time, attending Lowcountry Land Trust’s events, sharing your knowledge and skills, or making a donation to the Angel Oak Preserve. This ensures the tree and its surrounding landscape’s stories, culture, and ecosystem thrive for current and future generations.
