Upstate Forever

Upstate Forever is a membership-based, nonprofit organization that promotes sensible growth and the protection of special places in the 10-county Upstate region of South Carolina that includes Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, and Union counties. Upstate Forever has four basic areas of programming - 1) Sustainable Communities which promotes economically, socially, and environmentally sound growth by supporting green development, parks and natural areas, active living initiatives, land use and infrastructure planning, and adaptive reuse and revitalization of existing communities; 2) Clean Water works to protect and improve the quality of the rivers, streams and lakes in the Upstate; 3) Land Trust which works with landowners to protect significant properties and resources in the region, primarily through conservation agreements; and 4) Clean Air, Energy and Climate Change which covers air quality, energy efficiency and greenhouse gases issues. In this video, Upstate Forever Executive Director Brad Wyche shows viewers the green renovated offices of Upstate Forever on Pettigru Street in Greenville, SC. Upstate Forever followed three basic principles in renovating the house built in 1916 reusing everything from the original structure that could be used, recycling components that had to be removed, and using the most sustainable, environmentally friendly new products available. New products shown include a sun tunnel, recycled shelves made from wheat and sunflower products, reclaimed heart of pine flooring from three Upstate area textile mills, solar panels, permeable pavement, and rain collection barrels.