Tag Archives: Kentucky

environmental volunteers, Green Forests Work, Kentucky, Robert Barossi

Volunteers Rebuild Forest Destroyed by Mining

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(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Mining operations in the United States have the well-known and well-earned reputation of being environmentally devastating. Strip mining and mountaintop removal mining have destroyed vast areas of wilderness. The impacts of those operations, whether in the past or still ongoing, are felt every day by the humans and wildlife who live around the mining sites. This great story out of Kentucky features a group of volunteers who are helping to reclaim the strip-mined land for the forests. They’re doing so one tree at a time, planting seedlings that will grow up and repopulate the area where mining wiped out the majestic forest that once occupied the area. Green Forests Work is the organization leading the effort in the hopes that future generations will be able to enjoy the eastern Kentucky wilderness the way it once was, before modern industry destroyed it. Of course, that effort will not just benefit humans but also benefit the numerous wildlife species who once made, and may still try to make, this bioregion their home.

If you have enjoyed the stories on this site, you can read more in my eBook, Being Where You Are: How Environmental volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day.

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environmental volunteers, Living Lands and Waters, Robert Barossi, Tennessee River

Volunteers Up and Down the River

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IMG_2855(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Sitting here in the middle of a blizzard, it’s nice to think of a warm day in spring, walking along the banks of a river, watching the tranquil current as it makes its way downstream. Maybe it’s the Tennessee River, a 650 mile-long river in the southeast United States that makes up the largest tributary of the Ohio River. If I happen to be sitting on the shore of the Tennessee this spring, I might also see a barge float by, a barge that also happens to be a floating classroom. This traveling classroom will be teaching lessons about conservation and cleaning up the river as it makes its way from Knoxville, Tennessee to Paducah, Kentucky, over twenty-two days. It’s all part of a program spearheaded by the organization Living Lands and Waters. According to the organization’s website, the “Tennessee River Tour” will be “partnering with cities, government agencies and other conservation groups to host educational workshops, river cleanups, tree plantings and other conservation activities.” This unique program gives volunteers in a number of locations a chance to participate in environmentally beneficial programs while seeing firsthand just how much debris is in the river, since the trash pulled out during cleanups will be collected and carried on the barge. Providing that kind of visual evidence of what’s polluting our waterways is a great idea and one which would be helpful in many of our important rivers.

If you have enjoyed the stories on this blog, check out my book, Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iTunes

BeingFinal