7. Faculty and Student Research: Feature Story | Specific Initiatives | Sustainability in Action
Feature Story: The River Basins Research Iniative and the Saluda-Reedy Watershed Consortium
River Basins Research Initiative
In 1996, the departments of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Biology and Chemistry launched the River Basins Research Initiative, a research project studying the impact of urbanization in the Upstate on stream systems in the Lower Broad River Basin. The RBRI has evolved into the largest single research project in Furman’s history.
This multidisciplinary project has involved eleven faculty from seven departments (Biology, Chemistry, EES, Sociology, Political Science, Economics and Philosophy). Furman also works with Universidad Metropolitana in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to ensure participation of underrepresented groups in the summer research program. Findings from the research are shared with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and will eventually be shared with public agencies that develop land use laws.
To date the project has received more than $1.8 million in grants from the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, Rockefeller Brothers Foundation and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. The RBRI is beginning a collaboration with Vassar College and Middlebury College to develop parallel studies of watersheds in the northeast and southeast.
Saluda-Reedy Watershed Consortium
Furman is a partner in the Saluda-Reedy Watershed Consortium, a collaborative effort by organizations and individuals concerned about the impact of changing land use on the purity and abundance of water in the Saluda-Reedy River basin.
The consortium oversees research and educational efforts concerning the negative impacts of development—such as runoff and pollution—on this Greenville watershed. The consortium was sparked by public concern over the deteriorating water quality in Lake Greenwood linked to upstream contamination and land use. Both the Reedy and Saluda empty into Lake Greenwood.
The consortium received initial funding of $1 million (over two years) from the V. Kan Rasmussen Foundation and $500,000 from Fuji Corporation. A portion of this grant went to Furman to fund an environmental history of the Reedy and Saluda rivers, which is being written by history professor Stephen O’Neill.
According to O’Neill, “The book will describe the dynamic relationship between nature and culture and how values about nature have shaped other decisions.” It will explore how human settlement patterns, agriculture and commercial enterprise altered the region’s landscape and created “one of the most badly eroded areas in the eastern United States.” With the support of the Furman Advantage program, a number of student interns have assisted O’Neill in his research.
Specific Initiatives: How we're making a difference
Committment to Sustainability Research
Every year, students and Faculty from across campus conduct research
aimed at improving environmental conditions at Furman, in the Greenville Community,
and in larger communities abroad. Furman is a partner in the Saluda-Reedy Watershed
Consortium, which oversees research and educational efforts concerning the negative
impacts of development—such as runoff and pollution. Furman's River Basin
Research Initiative - which combines seven of Furman's academic departments
and is the school's largest single research project - is another example of
research aimed at bolstering sustainability at Furman and abroad.
Sustainability in Action: Images of Campus Involvement: Research
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