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C.E. (Chip) Smith is the voice of the natural world in Murrells Inlet, renowned for his striking black-and-white photography and evocative essays on the “pocket wild.” His writings, which evolved from articles in his weekly newspapers, The Inlet Image and Barefoot Messenger, as well as the beloved Lowcountry Companion, have captured the hearts of many. Revered by local scientists for his thoughtful analysis of environmental data and its implications for the future, Chip doesn’t just talk the talk—he actively champions the cause.
Reading Chip will send you marsh side to explore for yourself . . . or get you googling to learn more. Whether you’re a “been-yere” or a “come-yere,” you will find new knowledge, new understanding, and new feelings of protectiveness for this “pocket wild” from a prose poet who loves the place, learns all he can, and shares it with you.
About the Speaker:
Writer, photographer, and saltmarsh conservationist C.E. “Chip” Smith lives by the saltmarsh in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. A graduate of the University of North Carolina in geology and physical anthropology, he founded and led the first Spring Tide community cleanup of the Inlet. This effort began in the wake of Hurricane Hugo and gathered between 70 and 140 tons of marine litter and storm debris in a single day, and has led it―working now with the Murrells Inlet 2020 community group―every year since. He also conceived the Plus-One Boating anti-marine litter ethic and practice, for which Mickey Spillane served as spokesman, and the Strip It, Don’t Flip It ethic, speaking to what were at the time his fellow benighted smokers. For his environmental work, Smith has been honored by the South Carolina Legislature and the South Carolina chapter of the National Wildlife Federation.