Greetings!
Prophecies about El Niño are abounding, but I don’t think anyone really knows what to expect. Warmer? Colder? Drier? Wetter? I guess we’ll find out when it gets here. In the meantime, summer has flown by and fall is settling into the Highlands. I hope you all had a wonderful season and found some time to enjoy the outdoors.
Last month, I wrote about all the lawsuits we are involved in and the support we need to keep them going. This month, I’m going to write about something quite different, but just as important to the life of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy: our Annual Fall Review.
The Conservancy has been holding Fall Reviews for 59 years, in various places around the state and with programs covering a multitude of topics. These gatherings have always been an opportunity to learn, explore, catch up with old friends and meet people who share our concern for West Virginia’s mountains, forests, streams and communities. This year’s Fall Review will be held Oct. 23–24 at Canaan Valley Resort State Park.
We’ll kick things off Friday evening with a meet-and-greet at Big Timber Brewing in Davis, followed by registration and hotel check-in at the resort. If you’re able to arrive early Friday afternoon, you can also join the Dolly Sods Wilderness Stewards for a hike. It’s a great way to begin the weekend by getting out on the land we work so hard to protect.
Saturday will be packed with activities. The morning will offer several opportunities to explore Canaan Valley and the surrounding area, including hikes and other outdoor activities.
We’ll hear updates on some of the issues that have kept us busy throughout the year, including our ongoing lawsuits, our opposition to inappropriate data center development and our work on other threats to West Virginia’s lands and waters.
We’ll also hold the WVHC Annual Membership Meeting and give everyone a chance to meet our staff and learn more about what goes on behind the scenes. It takes a tremendous amount of work to keep an organization like the Conservancy moving forward, and the Fall Review is a good opportunity to see that work up close and learn how you can become involved.
One of the highlights of this year’s program will be our keynote speaker, Eileen Flanagan. Eileen is a Quaker author, speaker, activist and nationally recognized nonviolence trainer. She has spent years working with people and organizations to make their activism more effective, strategic and sustainable.
Eileen will lead an interactive advocacy training Saturday afternoon called “The Four Roles of Social Change.” The training is based on the idea that there are different roles people can play in creating social change.
The training will give us an opportunity to think about our own strengths, understand the different approaches people bring to advocacy and consider how those approaches can work together. Given the many challenges currently facing the Highlands, I think this is a particularly useful conversation for all of us.
Saturday evening will give us a chance to relax and celebrate. We’ll have a reception, silent auction and fundraising dinner, followed by Eileen’s keynote address. It will be an evening to celebrate the Conservancy’s work, support the organization and spend some time with the people who make this work possible.
I hope you will consider joining us. Whether you have been involved with the Conservancy for decades or are just finding your way into this work, the Fall Review is a wonderful opportunity to meet others who care about the same places and issues, spend time with old friends, make new ones and find your own place in the work ahead.
We hope to see you at Canaan Valley Resort State Park on Oct. 23–24. General admission is free, and registration is open on our website.
See you in the Highlands,
Marilyn Shoenfeld
President
West Virginia Highlands Conservancy