Spring and Summer, 2013: Fearless Summer  A united movement against extreme energy.

June 20: Vigil for the Future of West Virginia. Show up, stand up! On Thursday, June 20 at 10 pm, the State of West Virginia will culminate the state’s 150th birthday celebrations by screening a film on the State Capitol grounds, followed by fireworks. Details here.

Friends of Mountains (FOM) is asking you to join us at 9:30 p.m. in a solar-powered Vigil for the Future on the sidewalks surrounding the state capitol grounds. At this historic and public event we as citizens can unite in prayer and show the government, our fellow citizens that we pray for a future unlike our past, for this state and its people. 

FOM will supply solar powered lights for you to hold. We will join in prayer for our state leaders, asking that they break their addiction to coal and acknowledge the peer-reviewed science that shows that the impacts of mountaintop removal is killing an additional 4,000 people a year in our state. The history of the West Virginian citizens’ battles to remain in a place that they dearly love is one that is rarely acknowledged but repeated in every missing community we have.  Science now shows the pollution from mountaintop removal is making us sick and creating an unsafe environment for people to live in. 

Plans are to march from the Louisville International Convention Center (at 3rd and Market Streets) and rally on the Belvedere with special guests farmer and poet Wendell Berry, activist Tim DeChristopher and musicians kRi ‘n’ hettie.  The program runs through 7:30 pm with informational tables and advocacy opportunities following. More info: www.kentuckyipl.org/062013.html

June 29-30: Wellness and Water II: What is the future of our drinking water? West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, WV. Get more information and help spread the word. Click here to download a flier. Please print and post. Registration each day starts at 8:00 a.m.; events start by 9:00 a.m.  Register online here.

Sat./Sun. - continental breakfast provided; Sat. - lunch & dinner; Sun. - lunch available on site.
$40 for entire event, above meals included; lodging not included.

Plenary speakers, panelists and workshops addressing drinking water impacts and health problems associated with mountaintop removal coal mining and unconventional gas well drilling, as well as waste disposal problems from both of these industries. Roundtable discussions focusing on potential solutions.  

Contact Bill Price at bill.price@sierraclub.org or 304-389-8822 for information on scholarships.
Julie Archer at julie@wvsoro.org or 304-346-5891 for general information.

Sponsored by Sierra Club WV, WV Surface Owners’ Rights Organization, Doddridge County
Watershed Association, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy

For event directions visit: www.wvwc.edu/about/directions.php.

For overnight lodging information: www.wvwc.edu/about/lodging.php.

Scholarship donations for Wellness and Water II can be made at:
https://donation.towercare.com/ovec-donation; please note the name of the event.

Lodging information: We have reserved a block of rooms at the locally owned and managed Buckhannon Bicentennial Inn : http://www.bicentennialinn.com/

In addition to the block of rooms that we have reserved there, participants can reserve their own rooms for a discounted price of $77/night + tax (the same rate we are getting in the block). Simply contact the motel at 304-472-5000 and tell them you are with Wellness and Water to get that rate for the nights of our event (check in on June 28, and check out on either the 29th or 30th).

These rooms are very comfortable with many amenities. There is an on-site restaurant with a bar, in the motel.

There may be some lodging available on campus, in a residence hall, as well. Contact Robin Blakeman at robin@ohvec.org by June 20th, if you are interested in the residence hall.   

Due to deadlines imposed by our venue, Friday June 21 is the online pre-registration deadline. On the day of the conference, late registrations will be accepted at the door for the conference, but on-location meals may not be available for late registrants.  

July 6-7: Keeper of the Mountains Foundation's 2013 Fourth of July Festival on Kayford Mountain. Please visit Keeper's FaceBook page for more information as we get closer to the event.

July 11-14: Near Berea KY, the third annual Whippoorwill Festival - Skills for Earth-Friendly Living. This is a four day outdoor festival (Thursday - Sunday), that offers over 75 earth-friendly workshops, plus music and dancing in the evenings.

The goal of the Whippoorwill Festival is to encourage and teach simpler ways of living that consume less fossil fuels and promote a healthier mind and body. Using Appalachian traditions, we teach old time skills and encourage participants to envision a new way of living, where communities come ahead of multinational corporations, and where coal no longer dominates the political landscape in Appalachia. Learn more and register.

July 26: Picnic with OVEC. OVEC members and their guests are invited to our picnic in a Charleston-area park on Friday, July 26. Food is served from 5-8 p.m. Come earlier if you like — for swimming, paddle boating, relaxing — as we have reserved a picnic shelter for the whole day.  E-mail info@ohvec.org or call Robin Blakeman at 304-522-0246 for details.

Aug. 19: 6 p.m. Kincaid, Location TBD, “Surface Mining and Community.” This meeting is part of the Coalfield Environmental Health Project.

For more on what the Coalfield Environmental Health Project is read the Jan. 14 Beckley Register Herald article, “Coalfield environmental health project focuses on communities” and / or contact Project Coordinator Andrew Munn at 304-924-1506 or anromu @gmail.com.

All Coalfield Environmental Health Project events are free and open to the public.  The project is sponsored by the Southern Appalachian Labor School and the Plateau Action Network.

Sept. 9, 6 p.m.: SALS Community Center, Beards Fork. Meeting of the Coalfield Environmental Health Project with topics to be determined by attendees.

For more on what the Coalfield Environmental Health Project is read the Jan. 14 Beckley Register Herald article, “Coalfield environmental health project focuses on communities” and / or contact Project Coordinator Andrew Munn at 304-924-1506 or anromu @gmail.com.

All Coalfield Environmental Health Project events are free and open to the public.  The project, is sponsored by the Southern Appalachian Labor School and the Plateau Action Network.

October 7: 6 p.m. Location TBD. “Surface Mining and Water Quality,” featuring Dr. Benjamin Stout. This meeting is part of the Coalfield Environmental Health Project.

For more on what the Coalfield Environmental Health Project is read the Jan. 14 Beckley Register Herald article, “Coalfield environmental health project focuses on communities” and / or contact Project Coordinator Andrew Munn at 304-924-1506 or anromu @gmail.com.

All Coalfield Environmental Health Project events are free and open to the public.  The project, is sponsored by the Southern Appalachian Labor School and the Plateau Action Network.