New memorial honors Greenville conservation pioneer Tommy Wyche
A memorial honoring the life and legacy of Greenville conservation pioneer Tommy Wyche was officially unveiled May 23 during a gathering of family, friends and fellow conservationists at River Lodge in Falls Park.
The stone marker overlooks the park behind the United Community headquarters building at 220 E. Camperdown Way and was dedicated by the Wyche family, Naturaland Trust and the Wyche law firm.
Living legacy
A Greenville native and attorney, Wyche founded Naturaland Trust in 1973 and worked relentlessly over decades to protect more than 100,000 acres of land along South Carolina’s Blue Ridge escarpment.
Wyche and his family were also instrumental in developing the vision of a revitalized, vibrant downtown Greenville and played a significant role in the establishment and expansion of Falls Park.
Tommy’s son, Brad, said his father was equally passionate about transforming his hometown into a safe and thriving community and protecting the mountains that rim the city to the north.”He loved Greenville and he loved the mountains,” Wyche said.
Naturaland Trust President Frank Holleman said it was fitting a stone marker honoring Tommy Wyche’s legacy be located downtown near where he practiced law and helped galvanize the conservation movement in the Upstate.
But, Holleman said, the true memorial to his work is “the beauty and the glory of the natural world that surrounds this city.”
“Tommy’s conservation memorial is living and growing,” he said. “His conservation work has created old-growth forests in our lifetime.”
Naturaland Trust treasurer and Wyche law firm colleague Carry Hall said he joined the firm in 1975 when downtown Greenville was “still toxic.” He said Wyche believed attorneys had a duty and obligation to be actively involved in their communities and take part in efforts to make the community better.
He said that legacy of working to make the community better has blossomed and helped propel Greenville and the natural beauty that surrounds it into one of the country’s premier destinations to visit and where an increasing number of those visitors choose to settle down.
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