Resident BotanistEnough Pie Staff
Celie Dailey has been working on the Butterfly Book Nook since 2017. She is a botanist with a passion for wild spaces that has led her to work with property owners in the city on small urban plots, as well as large conservation sites in rural areas of South Carolina. She is currently conducting floral surveys on the Black River near Andrews, SC for the Butler Conservation Fund and supported by a grant from the Garden Club of America.
She has been documenting populations of the at-risk species Macbridea caroliniana for the last three summers, supported by a grant from the US Fish & Wildlife Service. She also obtained DHEC certification as a mushroom forager in 2016, and collects and uses a variety of wild foods. Species identification and educating the public is at the forefront of her environmental work.
Celie graduates with a Master’s degree in Biology, The Citadel, 2021. She obtained a BFA (Photography & Filmmaking) and BA (Philosophy) from Virginia Commonwealth University, 2007. She was born in Charleston, SC and returned shortly after graduation to her hometown. Her approach to life is deeply interdisciplinary.
Her background in art has provided her with a strong visual memory and ability to observe, which are helpful skills in her botanical work that set her apart in the world of science. As an artist, she enjoys painting and drawing as a means to process difficult emotions and delve into her imagination. She is a musician whose primary instrument is the trumpet, and records original music.
She authored a book published by USC Press, The Batik Art of Mary Edna Fraser, 2019, after managing Fraser’s studio for a decade. She is part of the archival team working to preserve and exhibit the huge body of work of her dear friend and collaborator Charlie McAlister, who died unexpectedly in 2018.