The Reedy Recap

Friends of the Reedy River

Upcoming Events & Volunteer Opportunities

Water Quality Monitoring Outings: TBD

The Greenville and Simpsonville water quality monitoring teams will head to the river in mid-March. Updates will be announced on our social media and in our Monitoring Team Email. Contact us if you are interested in joining either group and Jo in Our Monitoring Team to receive future updates!

Volunteer Recertification for SC Adopt-a-Stream Volunteers: March 1 - 17

If you are a certified volunteer through the SC AAS program and need to recertify, be sure to do so online by March 17! Find more info here.

Greenville Jewish Film Festival: March 9

The Greenville Jewish Film Festival kicks off SpringFest on March 9 with "The Dead Sea Guardians" - an enthralling documentary featuring three historic enemies that join forces on a heroic journey to stop an environmental catastrophe and save the Dead Sea from disappearing.

Friends of the Reedy River, Save Our Saluda, and Upstate Forever are participating in this annual event to share what we are doing in our conservation efforts on the local level.

Visit greenvillejewishfilmfestival.com for more information and to purchase tickets. ($30 for a single day ticket, or $75 for the SpringFest 3-day pass)

FoRR's Spring River Cleanup: April 1

Save the date for our Spring Cleanup! Registration opens March 8 and will close on March 26. See below for more details!

The Children's Museum of the Upstate Spring & Sprout : April 7

FoRR is participating in the TCMU Spring & Sprout event on Friday, April 7. This is a fun and educational opportunity for families to celebrate the spring season with special themed programming around earth and water conservation, museum play, and of course - a visit from the Easter Bunny! We are looking forward to making new connections with the next generation of conservationists and helping to teach them all about how to keep our watershed healthy and clean.

See the latest water quality data HERE!

2023 Spring Cleanup News

Registration Opens in 1 Week!

2023 Spring River Cleanup

FoRR’s 2023 Spring River Cleanup is just one month away! Join FoRR on Saturday, April 1 from 8:30 am - 11:30 am as we make an immediate impact in the health of the Reedy River watershed by removing litter and other debris from the river and its banks. Registration for the Cleanup opens next Wednesday, March 8!

Cleanup Site Locations for this year’s Spring Cleanup:

Trailblazer Park in Travelers Rest
Riverside Apartments (near Swamp Rabbit Cafe)
South Hudson Street (near Unity Park)
Cancer Survivors Park
Woodland Way Corridor (near First Baptist Greenville)
Log Shoals Road
Laurens County Site

Don’t forget, in order to ensure that everyone can register for your group’s preferred site, groups of larger than 10 people are advised to register before Wednesday, March 15 (one week after registration opens!).

Find more information about each location and about group registrations on our website. We can’t wait to see everyone at the river in just one month!

February In Review...

February 23 - ongoing

Help FoRR Fight Fig Buttercup

On February 16, FORR rolled out our fig buttercup removal campaign. This campaign is ongoing and we need your help!

Fig buttercup is an invasive species found along the banks of the Reedy River and in Lake Conestee. Each year, Friends of the Reedy River partners with The South Carolina Native Plants Society to raise and donate $1,200 to fund one full day of professional invasive plant spraying to eradicate Fig Buttercup in the Upstate.

But we need YOUR generous support to help fight fig buttercup. Can we count on you? Click on our DONATE button below, and visit our website to learn more about this invasive species.

February 24

Cleveland Park Stables Invasive Plant Pull

Thank you to the awesome group of volunteers who came out to help at our Cleveland Park Stables Invasive Plant Pull the morning of Friday, February 24!

Together with the City of Greenville Department of Parks and Recreation, we identified and removed invasive, non-native, and undesirable plant species to prepare the area for new native plants. We had great volunteer turnout and appreciate folks showing up to improve our watershed. We could not do this without you!

February 24

Furman University Eco-Fair

Friends of the Reedy River was able to join Furman University's first-ever Eco-Fair. Thank you to the Furman Team for inviting us to be a part of your sustainability event. We loved connecting with current students and professors and look forward to continuing to build these community partnerships!

Board Member Highlight

Katherine Amidon, Secretary

Katherine is a Senior Environmental Planner for Bolton & Menk, a multidisciplinary firm offering a wide array of services to accomplish the goal that all people should live in safe, sustainable, and beautiful communities. Her recent projects have focused on planning for sewer infrastructure, park redesign, land use/water quality research and assessment, Brownfields redevelopment, carbon footprint analysis, and streetscape planning.

Katherine is a hands-on project manager who prefers a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to planning. She likes to include key stakeholders in every step of a project — from onset through conclusion. She also strives to make the technical components of a project more approachable while assisting clients in decisions about resource allocation, timelines, budgeting, and more.

Katherine holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Organic Chemistry from Bates College in Maine and a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Clemson University. Katherine is a member of both the American Planning Association and the South Carolina state chapter and is an American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). She previously participated on the public outreach committee for the Reedy River Water Quality Group (2017-2020) and is excited about assisting FoRR in its mission to restore and conserve the local watershed. Katherine is also a current member of the Saluda River Basin Council.

Katherine is passionate about equitable access to nature, continual improvement of water quality, and ongoing education. She considers herself a “forever sponge” — there is always more to learn. Outside of work, you can find Katherine running the Swamp Rabbit Trail, exploring back roads on her bike, backpacking, cooking and baking and both practicing and teaching yoga.

Q: What is the best piece of advice for taking care of the Reedy River?

A: Everyone can be an advocate for our Reedy River. From picking up trash, to educating a friend or family member about good watershed practices, to donating your time by participating in one of our many events. We all can find ways to contribute to a healthier Reedy River.

Q: Do you have any hidden talents or hobbies?

A: I used to work in the wine industry and love hosting wine tastings. I nerd out on pairing food with wine and love tasting new grapes and wine making styles.

Q: What's your favorite thing about the Reedy?

A: The Swamp Rabbit Trail! I am so grateful for the easy access to the river and enjoy weekly runs that pass Falls Park. On any given day you can see dozens of people from 0-99 enjoying one of the most cherished assets we have in Greenville and that is a beautiful sight to behold!

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