On this West Virginia Morning, an experimental apple orchard in the state is helping to fight pollution, improve food scarcity and some hope even heal veterans. Briana Heaney has the story.
Southern W.Va. HS Students Shine In National Spotlight For Environmental Work
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A high school in southern West Virginia is getting national attention for a recycling program that rewards people who share recycling stories.
Wyoming East’s Friends of the Earth club submission took top honors in the PepsiCo Recycling Innovation Challenge.
The school program rewarded people who recycled the most with prizes like gift cards. The student created contests expanded from the high school to social media accounts on Tik Tok, Facebook and Instagram challenging friends and answering recycling trivia questions.
The Friends of the Earth program received $5,000 for the actionable submission in the Recycling Innovation Challenge. Next up, the students are creating selfie stations at recycling bins across the county.
The students at Wyoming East are also representing West Virginia in the national Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition after winning state honors last year. Students submitted a video but found out on Thursday, March 17, their project did not make the top 10. The program will still recieve $6,500 for participating in the national competition.
Students are working with leaders to make recycling possible across the county. They met with the county commissioners in December and Mullens Town Council in February.
Two of the six contests set up by the students are currently active on Instagram.
On this West Virginia Week, Earth Day was Monday. We’ll hear from a hydrologist about the state’s rivers. We’ll learn more about why two leading candidates for governor are trading accusations in ads over transgender youth. And we’ll visit a community in southern West Virginia affected by contaminated water.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has filed a motion in federal court to intervene in a proposed settlement to limit mining pollutants in streams.
At the heart of the issue is the Guyandotte River and the alleged failure of the DEP to administer water testing and limits for ionic toxicity in 11 state streams that affect 100,000 people. As a result, conservation groups filed a lawsuit.
On this West Virginia Morning, an experimental apple orchard in the state is helping to fight pollution, improve food scarcity and some hope even heal veterans. Briana Heaney has the story.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has granted West Virginia $1.2 billion for affordable broadband services. More than 300,000 West Virginia households were underserved by broadband in 2023.