After 3 decades of preserving 1 million trees in the Upstate, it was time to come out of the trenches and share what we had learned. Despite battling illness through the long, hot summer, interviewing many people, and taking countless photos, I met an educated couple admiring Greenville’s proposed development as the sun set. I remarked, “There’s something missing.”
In the autumn of 1996, I arrived in Greenville, South Carolina, carrying little more than a vision, and a resolve to redefine stewardship. I had come to abandon my tree removal ways, trading it for the refined science …
In the relentless hustle of modern life—where deadlines dominate, screens consume our attention, and the noise of progress drowns out quieter truths—we’ve forgotten something vital.
Hurricane Helene, a monstrous Category 4 storm, carved a path of unprecedented destruction across the southeastern U.S. in late September 2024. With 140 mph winds at landfall and torrential rains…