Sanctuary at Boyd Island open on Saluda Riverwalk in Columbia

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — City officials along with members of the River Alliance and The Darnall W. & Susan F. Boyd Foundation held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Sanctuary at Boyd Island, located just across a scenic footbridge on the Saluda Riverwalk.

Susan Boyd says the project first came about nearly ten years ago, when she and her husband were invited to take a canoe to the island with a member of the River Alliance.

“What really got me going was when I had to cross the water with my feet. And Donnie told me what this was going to be and I looked at him and I thought he was crazy! But as things moved along, they became more real,” says Boyd.

The seven-acre island showcases views of the headwaters of the Congaree River from its observation deck and winding foot trail.

A large pavilion, designed and installed by the Stuyck Company, and picnic tables now share space on the island with over 75 different species of plants.

As guests make their way through the sanctuary also be on the lookout for four animal sculptures by artist Renee Bemis.

“I love sculpting, I get to create. I have fun. My standing line is ‘I get to play in the clay,’ and that’s really what it’s about,” says Bemis.

Her animal sculptures, including an otter reaching for fish, took nearly two and a half years to complete.

“We have a bobcat, and it’s on one side of the path, and it’s looking at the other sculpture on the other side of the path, which is a broken down tree that’s got a squirrel and an owl and a snake. So he’s kind of coming down looking at that. And then we have this one which is our heron — a great blue heron. And there’s sort of an abstract element with the water, as there’s holes in the water and he’s looking down through the hole at the fish,” says Bemis.

John McArthur with the River Alliance says phase two of the project will include paths and bridges that connect the Saluda Riverwalk to the Canalside Riverwalk.

The sanctuary is accessible from the northern end of the Saluda Riverwalk.