The Rotary Club of Hilton Head Lowcountry Environmental Club
The Rotary Club of Hilton Head Island Lowcountry Environmental Club was formed in 2023. We are a part of the main Rotary Club on our island with a specific mission of protecting the environment.
Through education, advocacy, and collaboration, we address environmental issues facing Hilton Head to inspire an ecologically sound future here. In our club we bring together like-minded individuals passionate about our environment, and other nonprofits as in Sea Turtle Patrol, Outside Foundation, Hilton Head Audubon, Port Royal Sound Foundation to form a co-op as a stronger voice together.
The Quench Buggy
During 2024 and 2025, The Lowcountry Environmental Club raised $72,000 to purchase a mobile water station known as the Quench Buggy. It was purchased through fundraising initially with ATAX money from the Town of Hilton Head, the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, the Rotary of Hilton Head and the Nature Conservancy. About $30,000 was raised by other nonprofits and corporations.
The 300-gallon water trailer carries filtered and cooled potable water to festivals, running events, community gatherings, and beachgoers for use with refillable water containers. With 6 dispensers on each side, tourists, visitors. residents are encouraged to refill a water bottle rather than contribute to the overwhelming amount of plastic water bottles littering our island. Although these can be recycled, it is quite an effort to collect, transport, and process. Plastic does not have a realistic recycling future.
It is costly because of the many types of plastics that can't be mixed and the toxins that are released. Aluminum and stainless steel are 'infinitely recyclable'.
This initiative is the first of many steps we plan to take to reduce the use of single-use plastics on Hilton Head, which is crucial for protecting our environment. This includes mitigating the impact of microplastics on both our marine life and human populations, while also ensuring adequate hydration, which is essential for the well-being of our island community.
We are also partnered with End Plastic Soup campaign, to showcase an international initiative that Rotary International supports worldwide. Information about that can be found here: https://endplasticsoup.org/
Promoting World Ocean Day, Earth Day and other global environmental events to bring awareness of the need to protect water and our other natural resources on our beautiful island. Our initiatives to support the eco-tourism programs of both the Town of Hilton Head and the Hilton Head/Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.
