Past Projects

National land trust accreditation

Upstate Forever became the first land trust in SC to achieve accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, in 2008.

Past Projects

Greenville County Historic & Natural Resources Trust

Upstate Forever joined hundreds of dedicated conservationists to establish, support, and fund this key conservation tool in rapidly growing Greenville County.

Past Projects

The Saluda Grade Rail Trail

Upstate Forever played an important role in the first phase of engaging elected officials, raising acquisition funds, and securing land for a new 30-mile rail trail.

Paddle SC

Upstate Forever the creation of the interactive online map on gopaddlesc.com, a website connecting blueways across the state.

GVL2040 and Greenville Development Code

Our team advocated for important tools to guide the growth of the city over the next two decades: GVL2040 and the GVL Development Code.

Past Projects

Kinder Morgan Pipeline Spill

Upstate Forever, alongside Savannah Riverkeeper and SELC, filed a Clean Water Act suit over a 2014 rupture of Kinder Morgan’s Plantation Pipeline, which spilled over 369,000 gallons of gasoline and polluted local waterways.

Past Projects

Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail

In 1998 we launched a campaign urging Greenville County to acquire a rail line that had recently gone on the market and convert it to a trail through the Rails-to-Trails process.

Electric Vehicle Equity Roundtable

Upstate Forever & Sustaining Way hosted experts, community leaders, and Upstate residents to discuss Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption and equitable mobility options.

Saving Lake Greenwood

Since 2003, Upstate Forever has been dedicated to improving the health of the Saluda-Reedy Watershed, which culminates in Lake Greenwood.

Blueway Mapping

Upstate Forever mapped blueways throughout the Upstate to provide paddlers the information needed to plan a fun river adventure.

Twelve Mile River Restoration

For years, Upstate Forever diligently worked to ensure that the EPA Superfund cleanup of PCBs from the Twelve Mile River was successful.

SC Adopt-a-Stream

Upstate Forever worked with partner organizations to bring the Adopt-A-Stream program from Georgia to the Upstate and later across SC.