Across Appalachia
The Chestnut: Restoring an American Classic
Story by Jillian Randel A century ago, one in four trees in the forests of Appalachia and throughout the eastern United States was an American chestnut, providing a reliable source of food and timber for humans and animals. Now it may grow once more. Since 1983, The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) has been working to…
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Notes from all Over Stories by Megan Perdue Land Trusts To Preserve 50,000 Acres in Western N.C. Nine regional land trusts have agreed to a five-year plan aimed at protecting 50,000 acres of Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina. The coalition, known as Blue Ridge Forever, is expecting 8,000 additional acres to come under…
Read MoreContamination Concerns Mount as Gas Fracking Heats Up
Story by Jillian Randel The negative effects of fracking for natural gas just keep, well, stacking up. The impact of drilling in Appalachia has already been substantial. The Marcellus Shale formation, which stretches from New York to Pennsylvania and Ohio down to West Virginia, contains large reserves of natural gas, and instances of water contamination…
Read MoreLast Child in the Woods: Nature Nurtures Creativity
Review by Jillian Randel Increased outdoor playtime translates to higher levels of creativity, better critical thinking skills and a greater sense of confidence for today’s children, Richard Louv poses in his book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. According to Louv, children have lost their connection to the earth. Direct…
Read More“Appalachia Rising” To Rise Up in D.C.
By Jillian Randel A weekend of mobilizing will take place in Washington D.C., September 25-27, designed to help citizens learn what they can do to help end mountaintop removal coal mining. The Voices of the Mountains Conference, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, will feature workshops and panel discussions about Appalachia, civil disobedience, and the issues…
Read MoreFreewheelin’ Across America
Story by Maureen Halsema Two friends hopped on two wheels and began a cross-country adventure with a flexible route that will transform as the weeks pass and a timeline that has no set dates. Seth Buller began his venture in Richmond, Va., zigzagged through Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina where he met up with…
Read MoreSouthern Representatives Introduce Efficiency Bill
Story by Jed Grubbs A bipartisan coalition of southern Representatives—along with members of the Senate and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association—have introduced federal legislation that promises to conserve energy, save Americans money on their power bills and create tens of thousands of domestic jobs. The Rural Energy Savings Program Act (H.R. 4785), a bill…
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A Quilted Memorial The Floating Lab Collective, an arts collective based out of Washington, D.C., is calling for submissions of quilt patches to commemorate mountains lost to mountaintop removal. The patch may be any size or shape, but they must have the name of the memorialized mountain on them. Submissions are due by July 1.…
Read MoreGrowing Community Agriculture
Story by Maureen Halsema A community vision, a team of volunteers and generous donations will transform a 90-year-old school into the new Agricultural Development Center for Polk County, N.C. Mill Springs School is a 40,000 square foot building that rests on six acres of pristine, viable farmland, and is the future site of the County…
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April 22: Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary By Jillian Varkas This year marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, but the concept started years before. After years of concern over the lack of political interest in environmental issues in the United States, Sen. Gaylord Nelson of…
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