Glynis Board, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Stories Of Resilience, Self-Reliance And Survival In Appalachia

Here in central Appalachia, we have plenty of high-tech skills, and many of us can connect to orbiting satellites, and therefore people and ideas on the…

Here in central Appalachia, we have plenty of high-tech skills, and many of us can connect to orbiting satellites, and therefore people and ideas on the other side of the globe, in milliseconds.

But there are also a lot of isolated pockets throughout Appalachia where a smart phone is rendered pretty dumb. In place of that though, you can find small farms, beneath star-studded night skies, where people still know how to raise much of their own food. Places where people visit each other’s kitchens and front porches unannounced and are welcomed. This connection to the earth and each other goes back hundreds of thousands of years, and might just give us the tools to survive in the years ahead.

In this episode of Inside Appalachia, we’ll hear stories of resilience, self-reliance, and survival in the mountains.

In This Episode:

Could We Be Self-Sustaining?

As part of our occasional series “Wild, Wondering, West Virginia,” Lana Lester of Wyoming County submitted her question to the Inside Appalachia team: “Could West Virginia Be Self-Sustaining?” She said she, “always had the feeling that God Blessed West Virginia with all of our natural resources, and we have everything there in the state to survive.”

So, could we survive on our own? And what would that really look like?

In this episode, we’ll try to find some answers. We travel to a survivalist’s shop, where shopowner Bob Keller says business is up. We talk with economist John Deskins about the realities of cuttting ourselves off from global trade, and why he thinks this would be disastrous. And we’ll talk with a man who moved his family from Brooklyn to rural West Virginia in the 1970s to live off the land.

What Do You Think?

Could West Virginia be self-sustaining? What would that look like? What’s your vision? We’d love to keep this conversation going. Send us an email to insideappalachia@wvpublic.org or tweet us, @InAppalachia.

Heritage Hunting

Larry Spisak shoots a Flintlock rifle. He has been making rifles for over 40 years.

West Virginia’s Mountaineer Heritage Hunting season began earlier this month, two weeks after most hunting seasons have closed. It’s the second year since its inception. Our folkways reporter Caitlin Tan spent time with hunters who make, and use, vintage rifles similar to the weapons many of our ancestors used hundreds of years ago.

The Mountaineer

Muzzleloader rifles are one of the emblematic symbols of the frontier-image of the “mountaineer”. Yes, there are plenty of negative stereotypes that portray mountaineers as backwards, lawless, dirty, ignorant, but many people feel a source of pride in what the mountaineer represents.

Perhaps that’s one reason West Virginia University’s mascot — man or woman — dresses in leather buckskin. We’ll take a closer look at the symbol of the Mountaineer, and what it represents to different people.

Heirloom Seeds

Each “Big Red” Oxheart tomato can weigh up to 2.5 pounds and is known for its meaty texture.

In Appalachia, traditions of seed saving make it possible for home gardeners to grow heirloom vegetable varieties that have been around for decades. Traditionally, growing these special seeds meant you had to have connections in the community — seed saving and seed swaps were how people found new seeds. Today, though, there are organizations like seed libraries and community gardens that help save these seeds from being lost. Rachel Greene, one of our folkways corps reporters, spent some time in Ashe County, North Carolina talking to the people who are helping give old seeds a new life.

Personal Resilience

Appalachians are resourceful and proud of our ability to make do — often with less. But all this talk about the future can be overwhelming, especially if someone is struggling just to keep their head above water on a personal level, pay their bills, and juggle all the day to day responsibilities of family and work. For some insight into how we can find more resilience in our own lives, we’re going to check in with psychologist Carol Dweck. She’s the author of “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.” Jessica Lilly spoke with Dweck about how we as humans think about our own talents and abilities, and how these mindsets can dramatically influence our lives.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by John R. Miller, Dinosaur Burps and Spencer Elliot. Glynis Board guest hosts this episode. Roxy Todd is our producer. Eric Douglas is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Jesse Wright. Kara Lofton helped edit our show this week. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.

You can find us on Twitter @InAppalachia.

Former Seminarian Reacts To Catholic Diocese's 'List Of Amends' For Banished Bishop Bransfield

The Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston released a “list of amends” last week for the former bishop Michael Bransfield to consider. That list comes in the wake of multiple investigations revealing sexual and financial misconduct. The diocese wants Bransfield to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars and to apologize.

Former seminarian, Wheeling resident and Morgantown native Vincent DeGeorge has spoken out about abuse, saying he was among those targeted by Bransfield. He offered these thoughts on the Diocese’s list.

Board: What was your overall reaction to that list?

DeGeorge: On the whole, I’m pleased that the Catholic Church in West Virginia is trying to make amends. And in this plan, this list proposed by Bishop Brennan is an attempt, and effort, to do that. I’m pleased. However, there are significant and concerning aspects lacking to this amends plan.

I saw the list as soon as it came out, and I read the letter and was honestly stunned. I was surprised by emotions that I didn’t realize were still there. I was surprised by how much hope I still had in the diocese without realizing it. I was really counting on these events to make a difference in a positive direction. And as I read the amends, that hope gave way to disappointment. I didn’t think I would or could let myself continue to be disappointed by the diocese.

Board: What about the amends, first of all, did you find positive?

DeGeorge: That they’re making amends is huge, and that the first three are apologies, asking for Bishop Brandsfield to make an apology for the people he’s hurt — the people in the diocese the people who work for him and the people who he abused: priests, seminarians, deacons, employees. That’s huge. It can’t be understated that we as Christians, as Catholic Christians, have a tradition of forgiveness and reconciliation that starts with one, admitting our faults, our shortcomings, what we’ve done wrong; and two, saying sorry for them. And that is a fundamental step that thus far the Catholic Church has been lacking in. Bishop Bransfield hasn’t apologized. His investigators haven’t apologized. The people who were complicit or participated in his abuse, haven’t apologized. And as a Catholic, and as someone who was abused by Bransfield, it’s hurtful.

Board: What’s missing? What’s disappointed you?

DeGeorge: The last five amends, four through nine I think it is, deal with money and exclusively money. The Vatican gave the Bishop of West Virginia and the Diocese Wheeling-Charleston a tremendous opportunity to effect positive change in asking them to come up with amends for Bishop Bransfield. They could have made the diocese safer for young people, for seminarians; they could have changed the clerical culture in the church. But instead of any ongoing policy change, the diocese chose money, namely their own money. As a victim of Bransfield, as just a Catholic in West Virginia, it’s very disappointing to see the diocese own financial wrongdoing, and I admit there’s financial wrongdoing there. But to see the diocese pick their own financial harm over the human harm that Brandsfield caused on the people of West Virginia, we have to look beyond money. The toll of Bransfield was not in dollars, it was in human lives and the faith of West Virginians.

Board: Do you think Brandsfield is likely to make an apology? Is he likely to accept any of these terms or conditions?

DeGeorge: I have Christian hope that he will. As almost a safeguard, I am trying not to set myself up for disappointment by the Catholic church anymore.

Board: You’ve heard from other victims, and you’ve had an opportunity to talk with people who’ve dealt with similar sort of abuses. Do you have a message for other people who’ve experienced abuse or just people in general?

DeGeorge: I want other Catholics in West Virginia, born here or come here, or if you’re a West Virginia Catholic who’s currently away, to know that the church we knew that we experienced is real and is meaningful, and it doesn’t need to be gone. To the victims of Bransfield, surely that you are not alone, and that no matter how bad Brandsfield or the church has made you feel and continues to make you feel, you are not alone, and this won’t just go away, the way that the Church says people want. Our want for accountability, our want for healing is legitimate. You deserve that.

And I have to note, the amends letter begins with all these prefaces. And Bishop Brennan, who again I think is trying, it said Bishop Brennan has met with a bunch of experts and has met with victims of Bransfield. And the suggestion there is that he’s met with all victims of Bransfield. And I can speak for myself and the other victims that I am in touch with, that that is not the case. I offered, I went to the Catholic Church for more than a year. I was absolutely ignored by the Church. I honestly have some inclination that Brennan is trying and thinks that he is listening. But the system that’s in place is a system where clerics have the first and last say, and as long as that’s the case, as long as we’re not willing to give an iota of power to lay people, especially in this issue of clergy sex abuse, then we can’t expect the Church to operate in any new way.

WV Diocese Wants $792K From Disgraced Bishop

West Virginia’s Roman Catholic diocese wants a former bishop to pay back more than three-quarters of a million dollars following accusations of sexual and financial misconduct.

Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston Bishop Mark Brennan detailed a “plan of amends” presented to former Bishop Michael Bransfield at the request of Pope Francis.

Among several details, the plan calls for Bransfield to issue apologies to those he’s accused of sexually harassing and intimidating, and pay the church almost 800-thousand-dollars in financial restitution. His retirement stipend is set to be reduced to what a retired priest gets — about 740 dollars a month — and he has to pay the IRS 110-thousand in back-taxes for previously unreported income.

The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston’s “plan of amends” includes the following list:

Apologies to the people the former bishop sexually harassed and for the severe emotional and spiritual harm his actions caused them.
An apology for the grievous harm he caused to the faithful of the Diocese and the reputation of the Catholic Church here in West Virginia.
An apology to Diocesan employees who suffered from a culture of intimidation and retribution which the former bishop created.
Rather than receiving a monthly stipend based on the standards recommended by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Guidelines for the Provision of Sustenance to Bishops Emeriti,” Bishop Bransfield will receive only a monthly stipend equal to what a retired priest would receive as a pension benefit with 13 years of service within the Diocese. That amount is $736 per month.
Although the Diocese will continue to provide for his Medicare supplemental health care coverage consistent with what would be provided for a retired priest of the Diocese, Bishop Bransfield will now be liable for his own pharmacy benefit plan. He will now also be personally responsible for his long-term health care policy and a disability policy.
We have required Bishop Bransfield to either return or purchase the car he was provided upon his retirement at today’s fair market value.
Bishop Bransfield will not be afforded the privilege of being buried within the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston upon his death as is the custom for former bishops.
As part of our thorough review of financial accounts and records during Bishop Bransfield’s tenure, our finance team determined that $441,492.00 in Diocesan funds was allocated for the bishop’s personal expenses, and apparently unrelated to his official responsibilities during the years of 2013-2018 which were not previously reported as taxable income to him. This amount reflects personal travel, vacations, clothing, alcohol and luxury goods. As such, this amount was an excess benefit to the former bishop subject to taxation. It was only as a result of our in-depth internal financial review that this amount was identified as related primarily to the former bishop’s personal expenses. The review involved a detailed analysis of his schedule for this period and a determination that no discernable official Church business was associated with these expenditures. To ensure adherence to Federal tax laws, the Diocese has self-reported for Federal tax purposes, and it is now the requirement that Bishop Bransfield reimburse this amount to the Diocese, along with any penalties incurred by the Diocese for not reporting these amounts at the time. In addition, Bishop Bransfield will be required to pay an excise tax in the approximate amount of $110,000.00 directly to the IRS. The consequences for non-compliance are severe and will be entirely the responsibility of Bishop Bransfield and not the Diocese of WheelingCharleston.
In reviewing the earlier period of the former bishop’s tenure, beginning in 2005, we have determined that an additional amount of $351,146.00 was attributable to the former bishop’s luxurious lifestyle. We have likewise requested Bishop Bransfield to reimburse the Diocese for this $351,146.00 as a matter of moral restitution.

A press release from the diocese says the goal was not to impoverish the former bishop, admitting the restitution falls well short of “a dollar-fo-dollar restitution for the former bishop’s excessive expenditure of Diocesan funds.” It said former bishop Bransfield will now need to decide whether to accept the measures of restitution.

Investigations earlier this year found sexual misconduct allegations against Bransfield to be credible and determined that he misused diocese funds on personal vacations, alcohol and luxury goods to the tune of millions of dollars.

Bransfield resigned last year, but has previously denied wrongdoing. A voicemail left on a number listed for Bransfield wasn’t returned.

Mountain Nature Camp: Celebrating 90 Years Of Solace, Community, Outdoor Learning

People from all over the state and region converged in Terra Alta, West Virginia, this summer to celebrate nine decades of Mountain Nature Camp. It’s a camp where adults go to study pristine Appalachian corners of the world. Many folks came to celebrate community and traditions that have been going since 1929. But also to get their nature fix – which researchers say is critical for both human health and maybe even life on the planet.

A Tradition of Outdoor Learning, Being

“As far as I know, this is the oldest running nature program for adults in the country,” camp director Mary Grey said. She started as a camper in the 1980s. “It’s a program that lets adults come and be kids again. We do nature study, we go on bird walks, we sit around the campfire and sing songs.”

The camp property is in a forested grove outside of the small, rural town of Terra Alta in Preston County. A larger wooden structure with a kitchen and mess hall stands next to some shelters and a bath house. They’re all clustered at the edge of a small lake among mixed hardwoods, ferns, and wildlife. It’s the basecamp. Most days are spent traveling to unique and protected ecological spots nearby like Blackwater Falls, Dolly Sods, or the Cranesville Swamp.

This year campers from years past rolled in and pulled up chairs and stools in front of the main building, passing around photo albums and sharing memories.

Cindy Slater (L) sits next to Helen Wylie (R) looking at photo albums and memorabilia, celebrating 90 years of Mountain Nature Camp.

The Ultimate Classroom

Don Altemus came from Cleveland for the 90th celebration. He first started coming to camp in 1947 and for many years was a lead naturalist, teaching many classes.

Don Altemus made it from Cleveland to celebrate the 90th year of Mountain Camp. He first started to come to the camp in 1947.

Altemus is retired now, but he kept a day job as a naturalist in Cleveland for years. He says he’s always found West Virginia to be an ideal place to study and teach about the natural world.

“West Virginia for natural history is one of the most fascinating in the eastern United States,” Altemus said.

He explains that since Preston County sits 2,700 feet above sea-level, the winters get really cold, while summers are still very hot – creating a lot of ecological variety. He calls Mountain Camp the ultimate classroom.

“In nature if you don’t see anything interesting, look closer,” he said.

Mountain Camp takes place every June in Preston County for two weeks. It costs $350 a week, with some scholarships available, and has operated through Oglebay Institute since it was founded in 1929. Some campers come year after year, as well as expert naturalists, and regular newcomers who rotate through each year.

“Really for the last 90 years, the teachers that come in to teach these classes whether it’s ornithology or botany — they really are the experts in their field,” explained environmental education director at Oglebay, Molly Check. “And I think that’s why Mountain Nature Camp has lasted as long as it has and also remains relevant.”

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The Hidden Lessons, Benefits

Today, one of those experts is Bill Beatty. He’s the lead naturalist here at Mountain Nature Camp. At the edge of Terra Alta Lake — a several-acre body of water nestled into the high altitudes of Preston County — Beatty easily identifies any of the plants growing, adding facts about how they can be used or roles they’ve played throughout history.

Bill Beatty, naturalist and outdoor educator, has been coming to learn, teach, and decompress at Mountain Camp since the 1970s.

Beatty’s career from college until now has been nature-related and he’s been coming to Mountain Camp since 1972. He comes to study nature, but also for peace of mind.

“We’re sitting here looking across this lake. You don’t see a single person or anything associated with people. There aren’t many places you can go and see that,” Beatty said. “I’ve had students who I taught at a university who were inner-city and they’re very uncomfortable in this situation. It’s very foreign to them. But yet we’re learning through studies that this is the kind of thing that people need to be healthier.”

Beatty is referring to any of dozens of peer-reviewed studies that have been published over the past 40 years that share findings related to the effects of viewing and experiencing natural settings — benefits like lowered blood pressure, pulse rate, and the stress hormone cortisol as well as elevated moods and higher serotonin production (aka, “the happy chemical”).

Researchers have also discovered that people today typically spend about 90 percent of their time indoors or in a car, which can be dangerous not only because of physical inactivity, which contributes to a host of life-shortening health problems, but also because of exposure to indoor air pollutants.

Fortunately, Beatty points out, going outside is often a cheap, easy remedy. He says it’s good for our health, and maybe the planet, too.

“We have to get people to understand how valuable this is,” he said. “And what I mean by value is — you can’t stay conscious any more than four minutes without the air we breathe! You think, ‘Oh my TOOTHBRUSH is really important. I gotta brush my teeth every morning’ — which is good, that’s not a bad thing — but you don’t think about the air.”

Education director Molly Check agrees.

Every night at Mountain Camp, adult campers gather around a campfire to sing songs and share stories.

“Seven billion plus people that live on Earth. And I think everyone is aware of the different environmental problems that we face as a species. Whether you’re gonna talk about climate change or conserving water resources, there are a lot of challenges that lie ahead of us.”

Check says the best way to overcome those challenges is to gather a group of people who are very passionate about the earth and motivated to solve those problems. And she says Mountain Camp produces those types.

“You’re not going to care about those problems or even know about them unless you have that firsthand experience. The campers that are here would likely lay down their lives to save this little place in West Virginia and also by extension the natural world that found all over.”

Boy Scouts And WVU Team Up To Bring Outdoor Learning To All W.Va. Kids

The Boy Scouts of America is teaming up with West Virginia University to tackle an ambitious goal: getting all sixth-graders in West Virginia learning outside. A pilot program took place this fall at the scouts’ Summit Bechtel Reserve high-adventure property.

Reclaiming The Classroom In The Natural World

“I have straight A’s and my favorite subject is science and that’s why I signed up,” said Langston Lilly, a sixth-grader who attends Shady Spring Middle School.

Langston was standing in a hardhat in front of a climbing wall built in the middle of a 10,000-acre reclaimed strip mine in southern West Virginia.

“So far, it’s been really fun,” she said, describing some of the team-building strategy games she played with her classmates.

Langston participated in an expanded pilot of an outdoor education program West Virginia University is shaping called Science Adventure School. She and her peers camped on cots inside large tents for several nights at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.

For many students, even though they live in rural communities, sleeping outside, spending time in a stream, or hiking is a novelty and a total break from reality. Sixthgrader Dax Simpson, from Independence Middle School in Raleigh County, said he’s never walked so much in his life.

“I feel better about myself now than I ever have before,” he said.

Walking sounds simple, and easy — something we can all do in our own backyards, but leading educators in the field say taking a week in an outdoor setting like this can be life-changing for children.

Students took a breather along hiking trail to discuss phenology concepts. Environmental STEM curriculum was developed by the West Virginia Water Research Institute.

Director of the Science Adventure School, Ali Jeney, explained that the fall pilot program hosted 500 students and 40 teachers from middle schools in Nicolas, Raleigh and Fayette counties. Schools provided transportation to and from the site, but students attend for free and any supplies they didn’t have were provided. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and WVU raised $500,000 from private donors to pull it off.

According to Jeney, the purpose of the project is to bring outdoor learning experiences to children across West Virginia. They eventually want to offer the program to most — if not all — sixth-grade students in the state.

Jeney explained, the school was built on the back of established science. Researchers even came to assess specific educational needs in the tri-county region. Organizers like Jeney then built a program incorporating proven and studied curriculums — all designed to address those needs.

“The last thing I want to do is make it seem like this is a backward or sorry area because it’s not,” Jeney explained. “The reality is, these students and teachers are incredible. They do what they need to do with limited resources. But the research showed there are some socio-economic challenges here that really challenge students’ abilities to focus on school and be successful all the way through high school graduation.”

Jeney believes her program is already making a difference.

WVU developed lesson plans exploring the science behind rock climbing for the Boy Scouts of America. The curriculum was easily adapted for Science Adventure School.

Earth, Sport And Soul-Changing

Science Adventure School incorporates a lot of earth science and sports science lessons, since they’re enveloped in both at the Summit Bechtel Reserve. The idea is to make science fun, engaging, and accessible.

But the program is designed to be more than just fun. Kids work together to establish team values, and are encouraged to talk about issues that matter to them. They learn things like cooperation and critical thinking — skills that are harder to teach with typical classroom constraints. But educational leaders say these skills are critical for society to progress, and for our children to thrive.

When asked if she believed a four-day science and adventure experience outdoors could really have a lasting impact on the lives of students in West Virginia, Jeney said her experiences in the pilot programs convinced her.

“I might have not believed if before I saw it with my own eyes. I might have not believed it before I heard it from the mouths of people who know these kids intimately,” she said. “Hearing teachers talk about what it looked like to go back to school after Science Adventure School — that is the moment I knew without a doubt that this program is making long-term impacts in ways we may never be able to measure.”

Jeney isn’t alone in her conviction. One teacher from Beckley-Stratton Middle School, Angela Houck, is also convinced the program is providing something special for her and her students. She was involved in the initial pilot program last year, when 30 of her students got to come to the reserve. When WVU researchers interviewed Houck about her experience, she said she’d do anything to come back.

“Our kids need this. The future needs this,” Houck said. “Eighteen years of teaching, I’ve never seen anything come close to touching this — I’m amazed. And it’s going to be really hard for me to go back to my classroom. And I just hope and pray that other kids on our great state get this opportunity.”

Teachers like Houck say the program enables them to get to know their students on a more human level. She says outside the confines of four walls and 40-minute-classes, she can build more meaningful relationships, reach kids more easily, and teaching is a lot more fun.

‘Wired By Experience’ — Outdoor Ed Institution Wants More Students To Experience Learning Outside

An organization called Experience Learning in Pendleton County, has been leading kids out into pristine mountain landscapes to learn about the world, themselves and each other for about 50 years. It’s one of the longer running outdoor education institutions in the West Virginia. Organizers say they’ve spent years watching kids be transformed by outdoor experiences. More than anything else, they want kids to learn to love learning and they don’t care if kids find that love on top of a mountain, or in their schoolyards.

Having Experience Learning

The organization’s base camp is at the Spruce Knob Mountain Center — a collection of yurts which sits in a 400-acre high-elevation nature preserve. Students, families and various groups visit to experience some of the darkest night skies in the Eastern U.S., as well as the surrounding northern hardwood forests, and some of the healthiest streams in the state. The largest structure at the center is an expansive wooden multi-leveled Mongolian-inspired yurt with a dining booths on top of a full kitchen, and a round library fitted with wood burning stoves on top.

It’s usually very quiet because people don’t often come here to hangout indoors.

Experience Learning was founded in the 70s. It was originally designed to be a resource for individual families.

One of the organization’s board members, Jennifer Taylor-Ide, has been involved from the start. She remembers that individual families were hard to recruit, but schools from all over the region just started calling. So they started to put programs together for kids, teaching everything from geology to interpersonal life skills.

“What I go back to over and over is the term ‘beyond the classroom education’,” Taylor-Ide said. “I think we are wired to learn by experience — plain and simple. It’s not that there’s something wrong with classroom learning, but if you don’t have the experience of the world to call on, classroom learning gets flatter and less meaningful.”

Kids who visit seem to find meaningful experiences, but mostly they report having a lot of fun. Or at least that’s what the kids who came to visit from Northfork Elementary said.

Kids Experience Learning

Northfork Elementary Students were told they could get muddy while exploring the Sinks of Gandy in Randolph County, and most were sure not to miss the opportunity.

After a day exploring nearby forests, water, and caves students from Northfork Elementary are headed up a hill in vans and busses to catch the public school bus home. They’re dirty and spent, but still full of energy.

When asked what he learned today, Cole Harper recalled making a debris fort and his experience letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of a cave.

When asked what grade they would give Experience Learning instructors who led them through caves and around lakes, collecting hawthorn berries to make jam, students were very generous.

“A thousand percent!” said Dakota Kimble.

These are fifth graders from Northfork Elementary in Pendleton County, West Virginia. Their school and homes are nestled in the mountains of Central Appalachia near Spruce Knob. At nearly 5,000 feet above sea level, Spruce Knob is is the highest point in the Allegheny Mountains, but today kids spent a good portion of their day in a cave under the mountain.

“I learned not to run and slip,” said Callie Judy who was covered in drying mud. “You get mud in places that there should not be mud.”

It’s the first trip Northfork Elementary’s new fifth grade teacher, Stacey Slaughter, has taken with students. She said she’d love to see programs like this, that teach kids life skills in combination with academic skills, more regularly built into the public school system.

“It builds a community, it builds relationships with the kids, practical living experiences that they aren’t always receiving,” Slaughter said. “It just takes learning to the next step for me.”

Learning Rooted In Community

Experience Learning Executive Director, Vicki Fenwick, explained that the mission of her organization is really to leverage the rich resource that is the natural world to develop healthy communities. She said her organization is supported by public and private donors as well as program fees for schools and organizations that can afford them — grants pay for programming for local surrounding schools.

Fenwick wants to partner with schools in deeper, more regular ways. And while she loves bringing kids to the mountain, she wants to help teachers and kids get engaged in their own backyards.

“Schools and teachers are experts at delivering curriculum, and classroom management and all the things that have to happen in a school year, but we’re experts at taking kids outside and finding ways to use a landscape whether it’s a city block, a mountain, a cave and using that as a tool for learning,” she said.

Fenwick, and Experience Learning under her leadership, have been heavily influenced by the educational concept called place-based education. The idea is to use local communities and environments as hands-on and engaging fodder to teach concepts like language arts, math, social studies and other subjects. Research indicates that kids who use their communities as extended classrooms have increased academic success, and that there are a host of other benefits for both kids and communities. Fenwick believes it’s a model of learning that would improve community pride and investment.

“There’s some really interesting research out there about community revitalization or community problem-solving, where students are active participants and oftentimes the driving force behind real, effective changes in communities,” she said. “So we want to see that happen all over the state and region.”

She said she’s seen a growing appetite for this kind of outside learning among some school administrators throughout the region. Whether programs can take root and shape healthier learners and communities relies on whether visionary leadership exists to implement best practices.

When asked about the future, Fenwick says she also wants to see Experience Learning become more relied on to educate educators on those best practices. But in the meantime, work continues to enhance learning for kids around Pendleton County.

Learning That Transforms

Students from Northfork Elementary worked on art projects inspired by their woodland surroundings during their Experience Learning outing.

Today, a wide assortment of visitors visit the group’s mountain campus — from homeschool groups to private and public schools. Students learn about everything from watercolor painting to social justice. The kids from Northfork Elementary, for example, spent two school days collecting berries, making jam, and exploring nearby ecosystems.

“We want to get kids outside whether it be in their community or here just to learn about themselves, to be curious, to explore, to get excited about learning — just to ignite that spark,” said Program Director Melinda Brooks.

Brooks works with various groups to design programs to fit their learning needs. She says Experience Learning has no political agenda, and there’s no overarching academic focus, there’s just a driving desire to inspire kids and adults to care about the world around them.

She and the seasonally rotating staff of about 20 collect some surveys and program assessments, but don’t spend hours collecting data or assessing established measurable outcomes. But they do believe they’re having an impact.

“There’s so much that you can learn out here that I can’t even tell you want that particular student might get out of it,” Brooks said. “They might get something totally different than what the school even had in mind. It’s the transformative nature of the programs that I think is the greatest impact that we’re having.”