Background:

The Rural Appalachian Improvement League (RAIL) is developing as an organization that seeks input from the community, develops lasting partnerships with organizations, encourages all forms of sustainable development in rural Appalachia as well as builds bridges between communities in southern West Virginia. This fosters networking, tolerance, and a rolling dialogue between diverse peoples that empowers the socially marginalized, and improves the livelihood of all Wyoming County residents.

RAIL wishes to foster a community where southern West Virginians unite to encourage improvement of economic and social conditions, encourage development of sustainable agriculture and environmental practices, improve the quality of life for the whole region, increase the number of residents in the community engaged and organizing efforts for positive social change in an historically marginalized region, building a healthy and diversified community that is sustainable as well as independent from the coal industry.

OSM/VISTA Katie Prussia is working on creating a data base of all AML in Wyoming County, and setting a grading system for the land. From there, she will implement a project on Abandoned Mine Land, selecting a section of the land and focuses on the best reclamation plan for the land after the coal mining companies are done with it. The study includes views from professionals, locals and scholars to identify the quality of than after redevelopment, as well as the best use for the land post-mining. While this study will be conducted in West Virginia, it can be tailored to most of Appalachia’s mine scarred land.

OSM/VISTA Rebekah Ainsworth is working with Farming for Health and Wealth, a project encouraging farmers and other community members to organize cooperatives and workshops where organic and sustainable practices can be demonstrated and employed by local farmers, thus reducing the water and soil contamination of chemical farming aids.

 

Goals and Accomplishments:

Beginning her VISTA term in mid-February, Rebekah has created a more concise database of community and regional farming and educational resource contacts in order to more effectively engage the community in building farming co-op programs.  Additionally, Rebekah has begun facilitating the organization of the first issue of the Coalfields Co-op Newsletter and initiated meetings with community members to expand and open a second co-op in the Wyoming and McDowell County area.

Katheryn has been a VISTA with RAIL for six months now, and half way through her term has met all of the county commissioners and secured support for projects with them. Along with that, she directed the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Event at the middle school, partnering with nine people and organizations in the process. She is currently working to re-vamp the RAIL website, collecting and sorting news articles on AML, RAIL, and the MOC. She has also completed a map with exact points of AML in Wyoming County, and is working to explore those places to gauge them as sites for projects later on.  She is also organizing Volunteer Practice #2, which taps into the ATV riding groups as volunteers. Along with attempting to organize volunteers, she has also made a strong partnership with the local Moose Lodge, helping them with their annual toy drive. Many of the members have businesses that are willing to work with her for future projects on AML. Currently, a nature preserve paired with a hiking trail on mine scarred land is in the planning stages.

 

Partners and Contributors:

·         Eastern Coal Regional Roundtable- Partnered with RAIL to present a visual display for MLK day 2010.

·         UGWA- Agreed to aid in presenting, and organizing a visual display for MLK day 2010.

·         Friends of Milam Creek - Aided in presenting, and organizing a visual display for MLK day 2010.

·         Mullens Middle School- Partnered with the VISTAs of RAIL, ECRR, UGWA, and FOMC to bring the students a Martin Luther King Jr Display, allowing us to discuss the plan with students, staff, and faculty, as well as use their building as a place to host the event.

·         Hatfield-McCoy Trail System– In organizing Volunteer Trial Practice 2, engaging ATV clubs with volunteerism, Jeff Lusk, the director of the trail system has agreed to help with this project by connecting RAIL directly to the trail system, an ATV club, as well as a campground to give prizes away at the end of the poker run project, on the “Play Day” of the “Work a Day, Play a Day”.

·         Ashland Resort- Dave and Julie Teasdale, managers of the Ashland Resort, have agreed to aid in the success of the Volunteer Trial Practice 2, by allowing the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon to occur in their campground.

·         Jeremy White – Jeremy is a visual designer for the Sidereus Brothers out of Stafford, Connecticut, and will be donating his time, and a new design, to create a logo for the MLK 2010 project to be used in Press Releases, as well as on posters at the event.

·         West Virginia Work Force Region 1– Executive director Melissa Aguilar has aided us in the organization of the EPA Brownfields grant, offering her organization’s help in screening the people who may have applied to be in the job training program.

·         Gregory B. Carroll – Gregory is a historian at the West Virginia State Archives, and has donated three hours of his time to help us develop resources and gather information for the MLK Day 2010. He has offered to be our contact person for any need at the state archives.

·         Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team