Nature at Work

08/04/2026

July was an incredible month for Nature at Work!

Through SC7, we had the opportunity to bring our mission to life across South Carolina—hosting Trail Talks, Team Engagement Days, Blue Mind Yoga, and partnering with Founding Members and organizations that are helping create healthier people, healthier places, and stronger communities.

Our July edition of The Landing Post looks back on this remarkable journey, celebrates the partners who made it possible, welcomes new Founding Members, and shares what's next as we continue growing the Nature at Work movement.

Thank you to everyone who joined us along the way. We're excited to keep the momentum going.

Read the July edition here:

July was a remarkable month for Nature at Work as we joined partners across South Carolina for SC7, bringing our mission to life through Trail Talks, Team Engagement Days, Blue Mind experiences, and meaningful conversations about the connection between nature, health, wellbeing, and community.

08/03/2026

So true!!

08/02/2026

Please join us in welcoming Mosaic Color & Additives as a new Founding Member of Nature at Work.

As a Greenville-based company, Mosaic represents the kind of private-sector innovation that helps create healthier people and healthier places. Through sustainable materials, polymer innovation, compostable product solutions, and practical alternatives that reduce environmental impact, Mosaic demonstrates how business can play an important role in environmental stewardship.

We're excited to welcome Mike Haubert and the Mosaic team to our growing network of organizations committed to advancing health, wellbeing, sustainability, and community resilience across South Carolina.

Mosaic's work reflects many of the same values that inspire the Nature at Work movement: the belief that innovation, environmental stewardship, and healthy communities go hand in hand.

We look forward to collaborating with Mosaic as we continue building a statewide movement connecting nature, health, business, and community.

Welcome to Nature at Work!

08/02/2026

What happens when we begin the day surrounded by water, movement, and wonder?

Our Nature at Work + SC7 Blue Mind Yoga experience at the South Carolina Aquarium was a beautiful reminder that wellbeing does not always require something complicated. Sometimes it begins with a quiet morning, intentional movement, and a few moments to pause beside the water.

Hosted in front of the Aquarium’s Great Ocean Tank, the experience invited participants to slow down, breathe, move, and reconnect with the calming power of blue spaces.

This gathering was part of our Nature at Work + SC7 programming, highlighting the connection between water, wellbeing, restoration, and community. It also brought the The Blue Mind Movement conversation to life in a way that was simple, accessible, and deeply meaningful.

Thank you to the South Carolina Aquarium for hosting us and for their leadership as a founding member of Nature at Work. We are especially grateful to Brian Thill for helping champion this work and for continuing to elevate the connection between water, health, conservation, and wellbeing.

Thank you also to South Carolina 7 and the South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition for partnering with us throughout this series.

This is the work Nature at Work was created to support: helping people and organizations experience the power of nature, not only as something to visit, but as something that can support healthier lives, stronger communities, and more connected workplaces.

07/31/2026

What does it take to create places where the healthy choice becomes the easy choice?

Our final Nature at Work + SC7 Trail Talk brought that question to life in Mount Pleasant through a conversation about healthy places, healthy people, nature, community, and workplace wellbeing.

Hosted at The Harbor Entrepreneur Center, the program explored how the places where we live, work, gather, and build community can shape health, connection, resilience, and quality of life.

The conversation highlighted the power of place, from access to greenspace and trees to thoughtful planning, resilient infrastructure, clean energy, sustainable construction, entrepreneurship, workplace culture, and community leadership.

Thank you to Grady Johnson, Kim McManus and the Harbor Entrepreneur Center for hosting us and helping create such a welcoming space for this conversation.

A special thank you to Mayor Will Haynie, Morgan Hughey, Ph.D., Jarrett Branham, Hannah Hunter, and Grady Johnson for sharing your perspectives on how communities, employers, municipalities, developers, and the private sector can think more intentionally about designing healthier places for the people who live, work, gather, and connect there.

We’re also grateful to Branham Group, Inc. for sponsoring this Trail Talk, to The Davey Tree Expert Company, College of Charleston School of Health Sciences and The Town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina for your engagement as Founding Members, and to South Carolina 7, South Carolina National Heritage Corridor and the South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition for partnering with us throughout this statewide series.

This final Trail Talk was a meaningful close to our Nature at Work + SC7 series and a powerful reminder that healthy places do not happen by accident. They are shaped by leadership, design, collaboration, and a shared commitment to building communities where people can thrive.

This is the work Nature at Work was created to support: turning the science of nature and wellbeing into practical, place-based action for healthier people, healthier workplaces, and healthier communities.

07/21/2026

Please join us in welcoming Jessica Lee Reader, Nutritionist & Coach as a new Founding Member of Nature at Work!

Jessica helps organizations create healthier, more resilient workplaces through an approach that blends evidence-based wellness with the restorative power of nature. By integrating nutrition, yoga, stress resilience, and nature-based experiences, she helps leaders and teams reduce burnout, restore balance, and build sustainable wellbeing.

Her work reflects an important part of the Nature at Work movement: creating meaningful opportunities for people to reconnect with themselves, with one another, and with the natural world as a pathway to better health and performance.

We're excited to welcome Jessica to our growing network of leaders, organizations, and partners committed to advancing healthier people and healthier places across South Carolina.

We look forward to learning, collaborating, and growing this movement together.

Welcome to Nature at Work!

07/15/2026

What does resilience look like when it is built into the places where we work, gather, and serve?

This week’s Nature at Work + SC7 Trail Talk with the SC Office of Resilience explored that question through the lens of nature, place, community wellbeing, and resilience in action.

Hosted at SCOR’s headquarters in The BullStreet District, Columbia, S.C., the program gave participants a closer look at how resilience shows up not only in disaster recovery and mitigation, but also in the everyday environments that shape how people feel, connect, and work.

The conversation highlighted the role of healthy workplace design, access to greenspace, nature-based solutions, green infrastructure, stormwater management, community design, and public leadership in creating healthier, more resilient communities across South Carolina.

Because of the threat of storms, we adjusted our plans and brought the outdoor portion of the program inside. After a short break and tour of the historic Mills/Jarrett Building, our park speakers shared more about Page Ellington Park, the BullStreet District, urban greenspace, stormwater, and the role public spaces play in resilience, health, and community connection.

Thank you to the South Carolina Office of Resilience for hosting us and for helping lead this important conversation about the connection between healthy places, resilient communities, and public service.

A special thank you to Ben Duncan, Kevin O’Dell, Eric Fosmire, Hope Warren, Phleisha Lewis, and the SCOR team for welcoming us so warmly and helping connect SCOR’s mission to the Nature at Work conversation.

Thank you also to Karen Swank Kustafik and Warren Hankinson with the City of Columbia Government for helping bring the Page Ellington Park story into the program, and to Tom Mullikin, Michelle McCollum, South Carolina 7, South Carolina National Heritage Corridor and the South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition for helping continue this statewide conversation.

Our final Nature at Work + SC7 Trail Talk, Healthy Places, Healthy People is coming up on Tuesday, July 28 from 4–6 PM at the Harbor Entrepreneur Center in Mount Pleasant. Space is limited and filling up fast so register soon: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sc7-nature-at-work-trail-talks-healthy-places-healthy-people-tickets-1990139960194?aff=oddtdtcreator

Hope to see you there!

07/15/2026

How do the places where we live, work, gather, and build community shape our health and wellbeing?

Join us in Mount Pleasant for the final event in the Nature at Work Trail Talks Series as part of SC7.

Healthy Places, Healthy People: Nature, Community, and Workplace Wellbeing will bring together leaders from the Town of Mount Pleasant, Branham Group, Davey Resource Group, College of Charleston, and Harbor Entrepreneur Center for a conversation on how community design, greenspace access, urban forestry, entrepreneurship, leadership, and the built environment influence quality of life.

The program will explore Mount Pleasant and the Lowcountry as a case study in how healthy places are created and sustained through cross-sector leadership, research, investment, design, and community partnership.

Moderated by:

Susan Johnson, Ph.D.
Founder & CEO, Nature at Work

Speakers include:

Mayor Will Haynie
The Town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Jarrett Branham
Branham Group, Inc.

Hannah Hunter
Davey Resource Group

Morgan Hughey, Ph.D.
College of Charleston

Grady Johnson
The Harbor Entrepreneur Center

Tuesday, July 28
4:00–6:00 PM
Harbor Entrepreneur Center
Mount Pleasant, SC

Space is limited, and registration is required.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sc7-nature-at-work-trail-talks-healthy-places-healthy-people-tickets-1990139960194?aff=oddtdtcreator

Hosted by Harbor Entrepreneur Center and sponsored by the Town of Mount Pleasant and Branham Group in partnership with Nature at Work, the South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition, and South Carolina 7.

07/07/2026

The past few days of South Carolina 7 have been a beautiful reminder of what Nature at Work is all about: healthy people, healthy places, and meaningful connection through time outdoors.

As we celebrated our nation’s 250th on the Fourth of July, we spent the day at Table Rock State Park in Pickens County with a hike, time with family and friends, and a deep appreciation for the natural places that bring us together.

We also had an incredible few days in Oconee County, getting our Blue Mind on along the Chattooga River and Lake Jocassee. Brian Thill with the South Carolina Aquarium helped us pause and reflect on the connection between water, wellbeing, and the power of nature-based experiences. And Mayor Will Haynie brought plenty of energy and adventure to the Chattooga, including a memorable rafting moment when their raft flipped!

After the excitement of the river, a relaxing day on Lake Jocassee offered the perfect reminder that time on the water can restore, reconnect, and reset us.

A special thank you to our Nature at Work Founding Members and partners who helped make these experiences so meaningful: South Carolina Aquarium, Visit Oconee SC - Oconee County, South Carolina, Oconee County, SC, Pickens County SC, South Carolina National Heritage Corridor, Global Eco-Adventures and the The Town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Next, we transition from mountains, rivers, and lakes to urban green spaces in Greenville, continuing the conversation around how nature supports wellbeing everywhere we live, work, and gather.

07/03/2026

Day 2 of South Carolina 7 brought together two great examples of healthy people and healthy places in action.

We began the day with a hike to Yellow Branch Falls, joined by South Carolina Aquarium High School Intern Program students and staff, elected officials, agency partners, and community members. Each day of SC7 brings new people into the experience and creates space for connection along the way.

Later in the day, we kicked off the Nature at Work Trail Talks Series at Clemson University with Healthy Places by Design: Nature, Innovation, and the Built Environment.

The guided preview tour of Clemson’s new Forestry and Environmental Conservation Building was an inspiring way to begin the conversation. The building itself helped show how thoughtful design, natural materials, forestry, innovation, and the built environment can come together to shape healthier places.

Thank you to Trip Chavis, Kyle Barrett, Ph.D., Maria Soledad Peresin, Ph.D., and Rob Baldwin, Ph.D. for sharing your expertise and passion, and to everyone who joined us for the tour, panel, and reception.

We’re grateful to Clemson University Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation and the Clemson University Wood Utilization + Design Institute for hosting, Milliken Advisors for sponsoring, and SC7 for helping create space for conversations like this across South Carolina.

Up next: The Science of Nature, Health, and Wellbeing at Furman University’s Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities.