Green space, business take center stage

It’s Earth Day, a time to celebrate our planet and recognize efforts to protect it.

Across the Upstate, nature lovers spent the weekend outside in the sun in anticipation of Earth Day on Monday. People from counties across the region organized plant sales and swaps, educational events, festivals and a myriad of litter sweeps, all with the goal of helping those around them connect with the earth.

Spartanburg Area Conservancy kicked festivities off by hosting families and vendors at Glendale Shoals Preserve to commemorate their 35th anniversary at the SPACE Birthday Earth Day Bash on Saturday morning. While the nonprofit organization has existed since 1989, this year marked their inaugural Earth Day festival.

The organization, commonly known as SPACE, is a conservation group dedicated to preserving and protecting natural spaces. Currently, they are working to permanently preserve nearly 1,000 undeveloped acres next to Glendale Shoals Preserve as a public green space and park for residents. Last week, Spartanburg County Council approved $2 million in funding for the $25 million project.

Groups like the Watershed Ecology Center and Spartanburg Science Center provided learning opportunities and hands-on activities. At other tents, vendors like Carolina Bamboo sold handmade, natural and recycled items to attendees. The Spartanburg Creative Art Reuse Project (SCRAP) gave kids the opportunity to make their own necklaces from painted Styrofoam and cardboard.

Jessie Stevens, a teacher from Boiling Springs, couldn’t wait to bring her daughters Georgia Kate, 6, and Maggie, 5, to the SPACE event. Stevens has been taking Georgia Kate to the preserve since she was a newborn. She said she loves the impact SPACE has on the Spartanburg community, especially when it comes to helping kids understand why conservation matters.

“Their local efforts at conservation and just environmental awareness are spectacular. Their events are always very child friendly,” Stevens said. “They work really hard in the community to involve

Spartanburg Area Conservancy (SPACE) 35th Earth Day Birthday Bash was held at the Glendale Shoals Preserve in Spartanburg on Saturday. With their parents near the water, Ayden, 13, left, and his brother Harper, 10, explored the waters at the Glendale Shoals Preserve. The McCarthy brothers parents were vendors at the event.