New Community Centerpiece: Reedy River Meadow

NEW COMMUNITY CENTERPIECE: REEDY RIVER MEADOW

 The Reedy River has been a huge economic, environmental, and social driver at the heart of downtown Greenville, especially in the last decade of immense growth and revitalization. Friends of the Reedy River (FoRR) is the nonprofit dedicated to advocating for important environmental issues, providing water science educational opportunities, and quite simply keeping it clean. You have probably seen their devoted volunteers gathering tires and plastic during their semiannual (and hugely popular) litter sweeps on the Reedy. Or maybe you noticed their board members wearing blue at a County council meeting expertly advocating for the Upstate’s environmental well-being. This Spring, they are taking all of their knowledge and experience and implementing it into a new community centerpiece: Reedy River Meadow.

A Pipe Dream

Reedy River Meadow started as a pipe dream for FoRR’s board president, Scott Butler, a few years ago. Frequently walking the Swamp Rabbit Trail (SRT) from beautiful Falls Park to Unity Park, he noticed a large area overtaken with weeds, bad sight lines, and a general unkempt look. With an estimated 2.37 million SRT visitors a year, FoRR board members and the property owners, Naturaland Trust, jumped at the opportunity to transform this 1.83 acres of vacant land near Linky Stone Park into a meadowlike landscape. And just like that, Greenville’s finest environmental minds formed the Reedy River Meadow Steering Committee: FoRR, Naturaland Trust (the property owner), Trees Upstate, Reedy River Water Quality Group (RRWQG), Greenville County Soil & Water Conservation District (GCSWCD), Earth Design Landscape Architecture & Environmental Design, City of Greenville Parks, Recreation & Tourism, and Greenville County Parks, Recreation & Tourism.

The Plan

FoRR chose one of the Upstate’s most reputable and knowledgeable landscape architecture and environmental design firms, Earth Design Landscape Architecture & Environmental Design, to create the blueprint. Earth Design’s founder, Rick Huffman, is not only a FoRR Emeritus board member but also started the South Carolina Native Plant Society. Their experts created a two-year proposal that divides the space into four zones, each with a specific development plan. This $204,000 overall strategy is to remove invasive species, install flowering native plants, create a trail and naturalized river edge with a viewing area of the Reedy, and implement a certified Monarch Butterfly Waystation. Reedy River Meadow will also function as a testing ground to gauge the effectiveness of different meadow establishment methods in various test plots. Students from local schools and citizen scientists will help FoRR monitor these test plots by regularly evaluating the health of the plants and the soil. FoRR will use the professional services of Raven Invasive Plant Management to remove some of the most egregious non-native plants. They will also organize several volunteer plant-pull work days over the next two years that will be open to the public.

More than Meets the Eye

Reedy River Meadow is more than just a pretty offshoot of the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The invasive plants will make way for flowering and pollinating natives to help with bank stabilization and reduced runoff pollution, especially during heavy storms. Runoff occurs when excessive rainwater does not have a way to slowly filter into the ground. It passes over land carrying contaminants like oil and fertilizers straight into the river which poses many threats to the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. This uncontrolled runoff can also cause flooding and erosion over time. FoRR will incorporate educational signage with integrated QR codes that visitors can quickly link to for more information about stormwater management and plants that are native to this area.  Reedy River Meadow will showcase a certified Monarch Butterfly waystation, a designated habitat for this endangered population to breed, migrate, and thrive.

A Community Centerpiece

As mentioned, rehabilitating this neglected area will provide several environmental benefits, but it also opens the door to so many opportunities to engage with the community. FoRR has already established relationships with local schools like A.J. Whittenberg Elementary and the new Reedy Laurel Elementary (opening this August). Josie Newton, FoRR’s Watershed Scientist Project Coordinator, will lead educational outings with those students to showcase the benefits of native plants in our local watershed. Volunteers will have the opportunity to participate in several hands-on projects such as removing invasive species and installing beautiful pollinators. Citizen scientists can get certified through the South Carolina Adopt-a-Stream program to gather samples from the Reedy for water quality monitoring. And, last but certainly not least, locals and visitors will enjoy this first-of-its-kind recreation space conveniently located on the very popular Swamp Rabbit Trail. Trail counter data shows that there were over 700,000 visits on the SRT in 2022, over one million in 2023, and 2.3 million in 2024. Since Reedy River Meadow will be located between Falls Park and Unity Park, it will serve as a thriving and beautiful connector for tourists and locals to enjoy as they attend events and explore the many downtown restaurants and shops. The meadow will showcase colorful plants, a lovely view of the Reedy, and the opportunity for some serenity in a bustling area. 

Saturday, March 29 is the very first volunteer work day. Volunteers will gather in the morning, plant identifying lists in hand, to pull weeds to make way for the beautiful native plants that will be installed in the Fall of 2025. This particular project is already at capacity, but please visit www.friendsofthereedyriver.org to stay updated with events.