Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities

We’re so proud of the work of our Summer Fellows! A big thank you to our community partners for hosting them!

Shi Summer Sustainability Fellows Spread Know-How Across Region, Industries This summer, 16 students from a variety of majors worked as Shi Institute Fellows, working with community partners around the Upstate to reduce energy consumption and waste and increase efficiency.

We were happy to be part of the first Pickens County Native Plant Jubilee today at Six Mile Elementary School. We shared information about the Furman Farm and Shi Institute with new friends from across the Upstate!

We planted, we watered and we harvested during our first annual Furman Farm Day. A big thank you to our hardworking volunteers — both our Furman family and our new friends here in Greenville — for sharing their weekend with us at the Shi Institute. We’re excited to watch all the new vegetables, fruit and herbs grow in the coming weeks!

To learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities, email [email protected]

Ever considered starting your own compost pile at home? Our Farm Manager, Bruce Adams, talked to Sarah Swetlik, climate change and environmental reporter for The Greenville News, this week and shared some practical tips for getting started and finding “new life for your old food.”

Read Sarah’s composting column here: https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2024/04/23/sustainability-with-sarah-want-to-compost-in-your-backyard-heres-how-to-start/73415176007/

Have plans for the weekend? Bruce will also be leading our first Furman Farm Day event this Saturday morning at the Shi Institute from 9:30 a.m.-noon. Wear your best “farm casual” attire and spend some time gardening with us. If you’d like to volunteer, RSVP to [email protected]

Sustainability with Sarah: Want to compost in your backyard? Here's how to start In South Carolina, about 30% of waste each year comes from food. Here's how you can find new life for old food waste and create natural fertilizer.

Did you know? Your donation to helps fund our campus organic farm, student experiences, our Paladins on Bikes program, and more!

Every contribution counts! Please consider making a small donation for Dins Day. Click the link in our bio to connect to our GiveCampus page. Thank you, everyone!

We’re excited to host our first “official” Furman Farm Day from 9:30 a.m.-noon, Saturday, April 27. Please join us for a special morning with a variety of opportunities to learn about gardening with our favorite farm manager Bruce Adams. We'll also do a little work to ensure the farm has a great summer season. No farming experience necessary. Dress is farm casual; dress to get your hands dirty!

Refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.

To RSVP, contact [email protected] We look forward to seeing you there!

Join us for Furman Farm Day April 27! As part of our Earth Day celebration, we’re excited to host our first “official” Furman Farm Day from 9:30 a.m.-noon, Saturday, April 27. Please join us

Now through May 19: See the amazing artwork of 18 talented OLLI artists on display at the Shi Institute. Stop by any time weekdays from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. to see paintings and photographs with the theme, "Intersection: Man & Nature." We'll be sharing work by additional artists in the months to come.

We’re proud to collaborate with the City of Fountain Inn on this important resilience work. Read more about the project in our February newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/furman/shifeb24news

Look who's featured on Furman News today! We're proud of our Eco Reps and all their hard work on campus!

Eco Reps take sustainability education peer to peer Working with The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities, the student volunteers hope to make an upcoming women’s basketball match a Zero Waste Game Day.

Grant from Walmart funds new Furman Shi Institute climate resilience manager position https://bit.ly/3SkcaE8

Exacerbated floods, heatwaves, wildfires and other physical changes in our natural world are endangering our health and safety. Why is it happening and what can we expect in the future?

Join us for a one-hour discussion of the basic science of climate change and how it is compromising the essentials of good health. During this non-partisan, science-based presentation, we’ll also discuss how we can innovate, mitigate and adapt to a changing climate.

Kathleen Biggins, president and founder of nationally recognized C-Change Conversations, will lead the discussion (CLP pending). This event is sponsored by Furman University's Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities, the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health, OLLI, and the Biology and Earth, Environmental, and Sustainability Science departments.

For more information, contact Erikah Haavie at [email protected]

Employees, come on over to the Garden Room of the Chapel today (until 9pm) or tomorrow (9-3pm) to do some FREE shopping!

We’re excited to partner with the Geos Institute and the Bluffton, Charleston, North Charleston and Myrtle Beach communities on this important climate resilience work. Learn more here: https://www.furman.edu/news/2023/11/30/furman-set-to-assist-at-risk-communities-in-building-climate-natural-disaster-resilience/

Furman set to assist at-risk communities in building climate, natural disaster resilience An initiative led by Oregon-based Geos Institute enables The Shi Institute to partner with SC coastal communities to mitigate impacts of extreme climate events.

Check out the Furman Bee Club, helping winterize our hives!

Stop by the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities and the Furman Farm this month! Organic collard greens, kale, Swiss chard, tender greens & sweet potatoes will be available for sale.

While supplies last!
20% discount for Furman faculty, staff, and students

So proud of this climate resilience work!

How cities can push back against climate change Local governments can blunt some of the effects of climate change by making their communities more resilient, according to Geoffrey Habron, a professor of sustainability sciences at Furman. He and a group of students worked with the City of Fountain Inn to incorporate climate resilience measures in....

Excited about this partnership!

Southeast Navigator Network - Geos Institute Navigators provide climate and disaster resilience support to communities with CDRZ designations in FL, GA, NC, and SC.

Great day catching up with Shi Fellows alums at Homecoming!

Hope y'all can stop by and visit with us at the Shi Institute tent at Homecoming this year! We'll be sharing tent #3 with the Communication Studies department on the Rugby Field, not far from the co****le boards. Look forward to seeing you!

Online registration for Homecoming and Reunion Weekend closes in a week on Wednesday, October 25. Hurry up and register now! We hope to see you there! Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/3fvYNBa

Former Furman President and institute namesake, Dr. David Shi ‘73, has just committed $1,000,000 in support of The Shi Institute’s endowment. Thank you, David, for your leadership and for continuing to believe in the work of the Institute!
https://www.furman.edu/news/2023/08/08/shis-1-million-gift-builds-on-a-legacy-of-sustainability/

https://www.furman.edu/news/2023/08/22/zane-newells-sustainability-internship-helps-greenville-transit/

Zane Newell's sustainability internship helps Greenville transit An internship is a win-win for all parties involved. Zane Newell served as The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities' Public Transit and Pedestrian Connectivity Fellow.

Colin McBride ’25 recently shared some of his experiences as the first-ever Shi Institute Sustainability Communications and Engagement Fellow for Milliken & Company in Spartanburg. As a Summer Fellow, he worked with members of the company’s corporate sustainability team who are pursuing Milliken’s immediate 2030 sustainability targets and long-term initiatives. He looked at ways Milliken could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and used his skills as an economics major to develop a plan and cost benefits for the possible use of solar technology at 13 Milliken locations. Milliken’s Liv Gamble, Josh Riggs, and Emily Skaggs joined Colin at the Shi Institute to celebrate his work. Learn more here: https://furmangreenscene.wordpress.com/2023/07/31/corporate-contributions-to-sustainability/

We were excited to celebrate our Summer Fellows during a special reception at the Shi Institute yesterday. Thank you to our fellows for their hard work this summer and to all of our community partners who attended and showed their support!

Citizens Planning Academy Upstate Forever’s Citizens Planning Academy is an interactive four-session course designed to help Greenville residents, business owners, and neighborhood leaders become more effective and influenti

Interested in being a more engaged citizen and learning about public processes related to planning? Check out this amazing opportunity below.

Citizens Planning Academy Upstate Forever’s Citizens Planning Academy is an interactive four-session course designed to help Greenville residents, business owners, and neighborhood leaders become more effective and influenti

Alexa Valdovinos ‘25 is the Shi Institute’s Conservation Education Fellow at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, N.C. As part of her work with Education Coordinator Ginger Hollingsworth, Alexa might be teaching a workshop for children about pollinators or introducing the summer productions of Carl Sandburg’s fairy tales, “Rootabaga Stories,” to families visiting the site. Alexa, a sustainability science and music major from East Flat Rock, N.C., also presented at the Latinos in Conservation Week: Environmental Education webinar in July with the National Park Service, offering her perspective on how sustainability and conservation education can be better tailored to reach the Latino community. Read the Furman news article about Alexa’s journey here: https://www.furman.edu/news/2023/08/08/alexandra-valdovinos-25-seeks-to-bridge-sustainability-and-latino-community/