{"id":844,"date":"2023-09-29T00:55:23","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T00:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/servicestories\/?p=844"},"modified":"2024-04-22T18:07:20","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T18:07:20","slug":"engaging-green-with-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/servicestories\/engaging-green-with-space\/","title":{"rendered":"ENGAGE GREEN with SPACE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Last Friday, over 30 students<\/strong>, faculty, and staff gathered at the Upper Chinquapin Greenway in Spartanburg, only a mile from campus, to kick off Upstate\u2019s first ever ENGAGE GREEN Greenway Cleanup day in partnership with Spartanburg Area Conservancy (SPACE)<\/a>. The foundational effort of a multi-year revitalization project, this semester over 11 general education teachers will lead 14 different clean-up events at the greenway and will also guide their students to work on related service endeavors for a total of over 1,200 service hours, with an estimated value of nearly $40,000 contributed to our community.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Pictured above are some students from two classes of Introduction to Criminal Justice with Drs. MacDonald and Woodard. Students spent 2 hours clearing the Greenway of invasive species that have overtaken its understory, which have caused the health of the Greenway’s urban forest to decline and has made it less welcoming for both visitors and native wildlife.  Through the course of the fall, over 300 students from 6 unique General Education courses and 16 separate sections will participate in this conservation effort, then reflectively connect their experience with course content. For more details, check out the student-centered Engage Green Webpage<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Please join us to learn even more as we welcome SPACE’s Executive Director Sam Parrot to campus this Tuesday, October 3rd, <\/strong>from 1:30-2:30 <\/strong>in Admin 327. <\/strong>Sam will be speaking about our partnership, about SPACE’s mission and our shared dreams for continued collaboration as well as about the importance of invasive species removal. Dave Marlow will tie this to Service Learning and Community Engagement and suggest ways we could consider partnering with key players in education, health, and other domains. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

SPACE manages several publicly accessible green spaces in Spartanburg, including the Edwin M. Griffin Nature Preserve, home to Spartanburg\u2019s much-loved Cottonwood Trail, which receives over 100,000 visitors each year. In the video linked below, you can learn more about the current revitalization project and the vision for Upper Chinquapin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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