Across the West Virginia Highlands, communities are confronting new and interconnected threats—from data centers and transmission lines to fossil fuel development and widespread environmental deregulation. Meeting this moment will require all of us, and there is a place for everyone in the movement for change.
Join the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy at Canaan Valley Resort State Park, Oct. 23–24, for a weekend of exploration, learning and renewed purpose. Through hikes, an advocacy training and keynote address from author and activist Eileen Flanagan, and updates on WVHC’s work, we will learn how each of us can contribute to protecting the places and communities we love.
The weekend will culminate in a special dinner, silent auction and fundraiser celebrating the Conservancy’s work, and building the support needed to carry it forward.
What’s in Store
This year’s Fall Review will offer an inside look at the work of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy while helping participants find their own place in the movement to protect our lands, waters, and communities.
Highlights include:
- Finding Your Role in Social Change – Keynote speaker Eileen Flanagan will lead an interactive training based on the Four Roles of Social Change. As new fights emerge over data centers, transmission lines, fossil fuel infrastructure, and environmental deregulation, this workshop will help participants understand how change happens, recognize the different roles people play within social movements, and see that there is a place for everyone in the work ahead.
- Protecting the Highlands: The Work We’re Doing – Hear directly from WVHC leaders about the Conservancy’s work across the region. Extractive Industries Committee Chair Andrew Young will discuss the committee’s work and the impacts of mining; Luanne McGovern will provide an update on the fight over data center development in the Highlands and across West Virginia; and Dave Johnston will share the work of the Dolly Sods Wilderness Stewards.
- Dolly Sods and the Legacy of Helen McGinnis – Following the Wilderness Stewards presentation, we will screen a documentary about Helen McGinnis, whose leadership helped secure lasting protections for Dolly Sods and inspired generations of conservationists.
- Keynote Address by Eileen Flanagan – Eileen is a Quaker author, speaker, activist, and nationally recognized nonviolence trainer known for helping people make their activism more effective and spiritually grounded. She has played key leadership roles in three climate campaigns, including an effort that pressured a $4 billion-a-year bank to pause its financing of mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. Her latest book, Common Ground: How the Crisis of the Earth Is Saving Us from Our Illusion of Separation, explores how confronting the ecological crisis can help us rediscover our connection to one another and the living world.
- Dinner, Silent Auction, and Fundraising Celebration – Saturday evening will bring the WVHC community together for a reception, silent auction, dinner, keynote address, and celebration of the Conservancy’s work. Funds raised will help WVHC continue protecting the mountains and communities we love.
And because no WVHC event is complete without time outside, participants will have several opportunities to experience the Highlands:
- Friday afternoon hike in Dolly Sods with the Dolly Sods Wilderness Stewards
- Saturday morning fish identification activity
- Guided tour of the Abe’s Run wetland
- Strenuous four-mile hike through Canaan Valley State Park
Schedule at a Glance
- Friday, Oct. 23 – Afternoon hike in Dolly Sods, hotel check-in and registration, and an informal welcome gathering at Big Timber Brewing in Davis.
- Saturday, Oct. 24 – Morning hikes and outdoor activities, advocacy training with Eileen Flanagan, the WVHC Annual Membership Meeting, presentations on the Conservancy’s work, and an evening reception, silent auction, fundraising dinner, and keynote address.
Why It Matters
From protecting public lands and restoring damaged ecosystems to confronting polluting development and helping communities stand up for their rights, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy has spent more than six decades defending the places that make our state wild and wonderful.
Today, that work is as urgent as ever. The Fall Review is an opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing the Highlands, meet the people working to address them, and strengthen the movement needed for the fights ahead. Whether you have been involved for decades or are just finding your place, we invite you to join us at Canaan Valley Resort State Park, Oct. 23–24.
General admission is free, and registration is now open. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the movement.
Sponsorships and Donations
Supporting the Fall Review through sponsorships and donations helps us cover the costs of special events, printed materials, communications, and meals—as well as providing scholarships so students and community members with limited funds can attend. Become a sponsor!
Questions? Reach out to Christa Clasgens at christa.clasgens@wvhighlands.org.