One Appalachian College Strives to Reforest Haiti

Sewanee students and Partners of Agriculture members monitor coffee tree saplings in their Haitian nursery. Photo by Charlotte Henderson

By Carvan Craft Growing Sustainable Students RELATED STORIES Greening the Ivory Tower: Smart institutions find smart ways to save energy Students lead divestment campaign against fossil fuels One Appalachian college strives to reforest Haiti Five schools make the switch to landfill gas power Campuses compete for Gold by being green Sewanee – The University of…

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Burning Wood: The Good, the Bad and the Misunderstood

As the push continues to seek alternative and renewable energy resources, utility companies are increasingly turning to an energy source from days gone by: wood. The growth of the biomass-for-energy industry has been particularly vigorous in the Southeast, with exports of wood pellets rising by 70 percent in just the past year. While this industry…

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Fox Squirrels Making a Comeback in N.C.

If you’ve ever seen what you thought was a gray squirrel on steroids, what you actually saw was most likely a fox squirrel. This bushy-tailed, colossal squirrel is common throughout most of Appalachia, but was not seen in the North Carolina mountains in several decades — until relatively recently.

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Fixing What Has Been Destroyed

By Mike Alilionis Mountaintop Removal Campaign intern, Fall 2010 This past weekend, activists gathered on Kayford Mountain in West Virginia – home of Larry Gibson, keeper of the mountains. Larry, as well as activists from Mountain Justice and Climate Ground Zero hosted the Mountain Justice Fall Summit – a weekend of education, training, and momentum…

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Radio Interview: Environmental Concerns for Shenandoah National Park

A babbling brook. A fall ridge view in the park. Appalachian Voices’ Virginia Director Tom Cormons was a guest yesterday on a public radio program focused on the impacts of climate change on Shenandoah National Park. A new report from the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the Natural Resources Defense Council focuses on impacts to…

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Non-timber Product Offer Farmers a Unique Opportunity

Collecting ginseng, ramps and yellowroot has been an Appalachian tradition for generations. It is a skill that families pass on; recognizing, harvesting and even selling these non-timber forest resources, particularly in southern Appalachian hardwood forests. “There is a tremendous growth of interest in these products both from an economic standpoint and from and ecological standpoint,”…

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Farming Forestry: A Pianist’s Tale

By Maureen Halsema He is a champion of trees, fighting for them in the legislative arena, teaching about them on educational platforms, and managing them on Charlane Plantation, his 25,000-acre tree farm southeast of Macon, Ga. Chuck Leavell is most recognized for his musical talent and his travels with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and…

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Conserving Appalachia: Land Trusts Strive To Protect Natural Areas

Story by Julie Johnson Thanks to organizations like the Blue Ridge Conservancy, land trusts have protected hundreds of thousands of acres in Appalachia from development—and counting. In North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Conservancy— recently formed from the merger of two existing organizations—has collectively protected over 15,000 acres of rural and scenic land in the northwestern…

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