Students get their hands dirty reforesting Appalachia during spring break

Thirteen students from across Radford University, along with four faculty members, set out for eastern Kentucky on a quest to plant 1,200 trees as part of the recurring Alternative Spring Break trip.

This year’s trip was a little different. This time, the group shared a rough, dusty gravel road with an active surface mine, denoted by coal trucks carrying full loads of coal as we planted trees in the distance. Students were shocked to see what they described as a “blasted moonscape,” the scars that remain from surface mines from years ago.

Interestingly, the intentions of the regulations dictated by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 often led mining companies to compact the remains of the mountain in an effort to reduce landslides and erosion. It turns out that compacting rocks is not a viable way to regrow the biological hotspot that is Appalachia. To mitigate these issues, researchers have created an effective way to reforest previously mined lands by “ripping” the mountain with 3- to 5-foot shanks. Research shows that using this practice allows trees to grow back.

“Think of it as deep plowing,” Green Forests Work field coordinator Briana Snyder said. By breaking up the compacted soil, tree roots have a chance to penetrate the earth. Exploring their website (https://www.greenforestswork.org/), you can actually see the results over time. The organization has just celebrated its seven millionth tree planting since 2009, and it has only six full-time employees. The organization relies on both professional planters and armies of college students and other volunteers to reforest mined lands in Appalachia and beyond.

This year, students from political science, sociology, history, biology, chemistry, geospatial science, recreation, parks and tourism, biomedical sciences and psychology were represented. The trip was led by faculty members Brock Cutler (history), Aysha Bodenhamer (sociology and sustainability), Matthew Close (biology) and Paul Thomas (philosophy and religious studies). Last year, Cutler secured a grant from the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation (with the help of Carter Turner in Advancement) that would help fund the trip and make it free and more accessible to students.

The group traveled to Lilley Cornett Woods Appalachian Ecological Research Station in Letcher, Kentucky, otherwise referred to as “the Selu of Eastern Kentucky University.” The students had the opportunity to participate in a guided hike through an old-growth forest with Assistant Manager Robert Brown to learn about tree and plant identification and the history of the Cornett family by visiting a cemetery housed on the property.

The next morning, students rose early to prepare their breakfasts and bag lunches for a long day of planting. Altogether, the group planted 1,200 mixed hardwood trees on rough, rocky terrain. On the last day of the trip, the group traveled to the Portal 31 Exhibition Mine in Lynch, Kentucky, to learn more about underground mining practices prior to when the mine shut down in the early 1960s.

All in all, the students learned about the Appalachian region, the history of coal mining, electricity generation, and the importance of trees. Most importantly, they got their hands dirty in their efforts to improve environmental conditions in Appalachia for generations to come. Some students, like sociology student Jodi Allen, were left with lasting impacts.

“It was such an incredible experience that changed the entire perspective and path of my career,” Allen said. “It opened my eyes to conservation, and it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”