EarthWalks Offered
During Mountain Odyssey 2001

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, one of West Virginia’s most active conservation organizations, is offering a unique and diverse outings program this year called Mountain Odyssey 2001.

Mountain Odyssey 2001 is aimed at better acquainting the public with the breathtaking beauty and wonder of the Potomac Highlands region of West Virginia – most of which is located within the boundaries of the Monongahela National Forest – and with the importance of taking care of the earth’s natural resource base, both locally and globally. 31 outings are currently planned for January through October of 2001. Additional trips are still being added. These trips have been designed to appeal to a variety of interests, skill levels, and age groups. Mountain Odyssey 2001 will include three different kinds of outings: Recreational Outings, Educational Outings, and Volunteer Outings.

Recreational Outings are focused on providing superb outdoor adventure and fun in many kinds of natural settings in the highlands. These include day hiking, canoeing and rafting, backpacking, bicycling, cross-country skiing, caving trips, and car camping activities.

Educational Outings are centered on outdoor learning activities. Included is a series of outings called EarthWalks. EarthWalks are unique experiences specifically oriented around deepening and reawakening a person’s connection to the natural world through a blending of natural sciences and humanities. These trips are designed to appeal to young people and family groups. Other educational outings include trips that explore global warming, special populations of highlands plants and animals, boreal ecosystems, and sites in the highlands that are of environmental concern. Meditation and winter tracking experiences are also offered. Teachers and youth group leaders may find these outings especially interesting.

Volunteer Outings feature a wonderful opportunity to have fun by participating in restoration and conservation activities in the highlands. One such outing features the planting of Spruce seedlings on the upper Shavers Fork watershed as part of an initiative to restore the Red Spruce ecosystem there. These experiences should be very meaningful for youth organizations such as Scouts, 4-H, church groups, and school environmental science classes.

A list of current outings can be found on the West Virginia Highlands website: www.wvhighlands.org. Trips and dates are listed chronologically along with information on how to contact the trip leader. Information about the mission and work of the Conservancy is also available.