• Hiking is a great way to tap into children’s instinctive curiosity, as long as you’re prepared to slow your pace and stop to explore whatever catches their attention. • Let kids carry their own small packs. Having their own…
Monthly Archives: June 2013
Hitting the Trail with Kids at Hungry Mother
Story and photos by Paige Campbell Becoming a parent is no reason to turn in your hiking boots. Children are naturals on the trail, in fact, and as long as you adjust your expectations, there are plenty of trails that…
TAGS: children hiking Hiking with Kids Hungry Mother Hungry Mother Lake Molly's Knob Trail Molly's Vista Trail Ridge Trail Smyth County
Court Rulings Favor Clean Water
By Brian Sewell Two consecutive court rulings in April affirmed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to veto mountaintop removal valley fill permits and called for increased scrutiny of the practice’s environmental impacts during the permitting process. On April 22,…
TAGS: 6th U.S. Court of Appeals arch coal Clean Water Act Environmental Protection Agency National Environmental Policy Act Spruce Mine U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Report Tracks Appalachian Coal’s Continuing Decline
By Brian Sewell A report released in May by the West Virginia-based consulting firm Downstream Strategies underscores the need for investment in Central Appalachian counties hardest hit by a decline in coal production and demand. By looking at market and…
Agritourism Grows in Appalachia
By Brian Sewell Think of it as an extended growing season, where the opportunities arising from a region’s agricultural wisdom and the influx of tourists and conscious consumers are ripe for the picking. By marketing experience and education, not just…
TAGS: Agrotourism appalachia Appalachian Quilt Trail Appalachian Regional Commission Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Charlottesville North Carolina North Carolina State University Shenandoah Valley U.S. Department of Agriculture Virginia
Bills on the Hill
A Look at Environmental Happenings in Congress The Good Mine and Workplace Safety and Health Act ( S. 805 / H.R. 1373): Introduced for the fourth time by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) since 29 miners were killed in the 2010…
TAGS: "Dirty Water Act" 2013 Farm Bill Clean Water Act Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act Coal Jobs Protection Act Coal Mine Safety Act Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act EPA Fair Play Act House Committee on Energy and Commerce Mine and Workplace Safety and Health Act Representative David McKinley Representative John Mica Representative Shelley Moore Capito Rural Energy Savings Program Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Senator Jay Rockefeller Senator Joe Manchin Senator Mitch McConnell Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Supply Star U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Upper Big Branch mine disaster
Bee Deaths Linked to Pesticides
By Davis Wax More than 30 percent of managed bee colonies in the United States perished this past winter, and beekeepers are looking for answers. While parasites, viruses and malnutrition can be factors in entire hives dying, evidence is building…
A Matter of Self-Preservation
New Farmers and the Hard Path To Land By Matt Grimley The Pratt family in Atkins, Va., like many, both own and rent land on their 1200-acre cattle farm. Besides small plantings of corn and other crops, Echo Ridge Farm…
TAGS: apprenticeships C.W. Pratt Environmental Quality Incentives Program estate planning farm transitions internships Jason Pratt land ownership Leasing farmland Mill Spring Agricultural Center North Carolina State University Paige Pratt Virginia Young Farmers Association Virginia's Farm Link World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms young farmers
Four Ways to Preserve the Farm
By Matt Grimley Between economic, legal, regional and personal circumstances, no two farmers will make the same decisions about how to keep their farms productive into the future. Noted here are just a few paths to preserving the farming tradition.…
