The Upstate Update: November 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.

In this time of Thanksgiving, we are grateful for your ongoing support

Because of the generosity of folks like you, this year our team...

• Finalized permanent protections on important properties like the Tyger River Confluence at Nesbitt Shoals in Spartanburg (see below) and Soapstone Baptist Church and grounds in Pickens
• Joined a coalition working to purchase and transform the inactive Saluda Grade railroad corridor into a nearly 31-mile rail trail connecting the Western Carolinas
• Worked with 40 landowners to implement water quality improvement projects in the Tyger River and Three & Twenty Creek Watersheds
• Continued to advocate for land use policies that balance economic development with other community priorities while equipping residents to participate in land planning & policy processes through our Advocacy Training and Citizens Planning Academy sessions
• Worked with partners at the Statehouse to pass eight UF-backed bills and secure an unprecedented level of state funding for water protection and land conservation tools

...plus much more! And none of this important work to protect the Upstate's critical lands, abundant waters, and unique character would be possible without your support.

From all of us at Upstate Forever and across this spectacular region we call home, thank you.

Read this month's Upstate Update

Also in this month's newsletter:

• New Upstate Advocate is here
  We're proud to share with you the latest issue of our twice-yearly print publication! This edition explores ways the Upstate can find balance between conservation and economic development in this era of robust growth, in addition to sharing the latest news and updates from our team. Read it online

• Honoring Native American Heritage Month
  The Cherokee people — who endured forced removal from their ancestral lands, which encompassed the region that is now Upstate South Carolina and much of the Southeast — had a sacred bond with this lush and abundant land. We hold dear the Cherokee tradition of land stewardship and those that continue to protect, conserve, and enhance nature's gifts.

• Share the Love this holiday season
  We are honored to have again been selected as the local beneficiary of the Fairway Subaru Share the Love campaign. Now through January 3, for those that purchase, lease, or order a new Subaru from Fairway and select Upstate Forever, we'll receive a $300 donation!

  You can also support this partnership by grabbing a grabbing a "Forester Gump" from Greenville's Double Stamp Brewery (819 Laurens Rd). This collaboration brew with Fairway Subaru is a stout with four varieties of chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and ancho chilis — and a portion of proceeds from every Forester Gump sold will be donated to UF.

And more!

Read this month's Upstate Update