The Upstate Update: August 2022

The Upstate Update is a digital newsletter curated and shared each month that offers insights into Upstate Forever's recent work, highlights upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, and shares other conservation and advocacy news.

We post the Upstate Update here on the Upstate Forever blog each month. If you would like to receive the Upstate Update directly in your email inbox, please sign up for the mailing list.

Thank you, Mast General Store!

Each summer, Mast General Stores host Land Trust Day, an unofficial holiday that celebrates the work of land trusts like Upstate Forever. This year, we were honored to receive 20% of Mast General's Greenville store's sales on June 4, which resulted in a donation of more than $9,200 to Upstate Forever.

We are blown away by the generosity of Mast General Greenville and shoppers! This gift will enable our land trust team to continue to permanently protect the Upstate's farmlands, forests, and natural areas for future generations to enjoy.

Read this month's Upstate Update

Also in this month's newsletter:

• Citizens Planning Academy returns
  Our interactive, introductory land use planning course for Greenville-area residents is returning to its roots with 4 in-person sessions this September-October. Participants will learn from guest speakers and interactive exercise facilitators about community planning, smart growth principles, equity in planning, and more. Hurry, applications are due by the end of the month! Learn more & apply now

• Saluda Grade Rail Trail
  In case you missed the recent announcement, UF is working with PAL and Conserving Carolina to purchase the inactive Saluda Grade railroad corridor for a new approximately 31-mile rail trail from Inman, SC to Zirconia, NC. To learn more about this project and view responses to frequently asked questions, visit upstateforever.org/saluda-grade. To sign up to receive dedicated Saluda Grade trail updates, please click here.

• $1.5m in grant funding available for water quality projects
  Upstate Forever is a member of the Anderson County Watershed Protection Council, which is seeking grant applications for projects that will protect or restore water quality in areas of the Savannah River watershed impacted by Kinder Morgan’s 2014 petroleum pipeline spill. Education and outreach grants, as well as funds for site remediation and land protection, are available. Learn more

And more!

Read this month's Upstate Update