June 6, 2013

June 29-30 ~ Wellness and Water II: What is the future of our drinking water?

To be held at West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, WV.

Nearly 100 people turned out for last year's forum titled Water and Wellness: Health Impacts of Fossil Fuel Extraction. By popular demand, this year’s event has been expanded. There's a full day on Saturday, June 29, featuring two plenary speakers, panelists and workshops addressing drinking water impacts and health problems associated with mountaintop removal coal mining and unconventional gas well drilling, as well as waste disposal problems from both of these industries.

After social events that evening, the forum will resume on Sunday, June 30 with a half-day session, including a panel to discuss action-focused solutions and an action plan development session.

The cost of the event, including snacks and meals, is $40. Lodging is extra.

For more information click here to download a flier (please print and post to help spread the word) or reply to this e-mail for details.

Registration each day starts at 8:00 a.m.; events start by 9:00 a.m. Register online here.

Contact Bill Price at bill.price@sierraclub.org or 304-389-8822 for information on scholarships.

Julie Archer at julie@wvsoro.org or 304-346-5891 for general information.

Sponsored by Sierra Club WV, WV Surface Owners’ Rights Organization, Doddridge County Watershed Association, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. 

For event directions visit: www.wvwc.edu/about/directions.php.

For overnight lodging information: www.wvwc.edu/about/lodging.php.

Click here for lodging ideas and to make reservations. We'll have online registration up on the OVEC website soon.

If you can, please consider making a donation toward a scholarship fund for someone who might not have the funds to attend this event.
Scholarship donations for Wellness and Water II can be made at:
https://donation.towercare.com/ovec-donation; please note the name of the event.

July 13-14 ~ Marcellus Academy 2013: A Weekend of Presentations & Workshops on Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling

Announcement of an educational opportunity presented by the WV Sierra Club.

You are cordially invited to attend a special weekend workshop on Marcellus shale drilling on the campus of WV Wesleyan College on July 13-14, 2013.

Marcellus Academy 2013 will train a new cadre of emerging activists who can proactively work on Marcellus gas drilling issues in their communities.  Since industrial-scale drilling sites are causing major problems with our water, our land, our air and our health, this workshop will focus on giving you the tools to effectively organize others, build grassroots networks of reporters who can monitor industry practices, and help guide local leaders toward environmentally sound Marcellus policies.

This is not an introductory course on how Marcellus drilling works. Instead, emphasis will be on education, outreach, recruiting concerned citizens and activism. Participants will be limited to those who can clearly commit to organizing people in their area by holding meetings, giving presentations, organizing house parties and speaking out to build public education and awareness.  The goal is to empower more everyday citizens to take the initiative in protecting their communities and to serve as leaders for building public support. 

A detailed agenda will be forthcoming.  Speakers and workshops on both days will cover topics such as:

• The status of gas wells in West Virginia…new, old, and abandoned
• Problems caused by the gas industry
• Health issues associated with Marcellus drilling
• Bad practices used in underground injection wells
• Citizen Watch Groups that can monitor industry activity
• Organizing gas industry study committees within your county commission
• Citizen participation in the gas permitting process
• Open session for guest videos, slide shows and personal stories
• Well site field trip
• The WV Legislature - Who's who and how it works
• Organizing local watershed groups

All of your expenses for the workshop (lodging, meals, and mileage) will be covered by WV Sierra Club. Applicants are not required to be affiliated with any particular environmental organization.  Our program will run from 9:30AM Saturday until 3:30PM Sunday.

Only a limited number of registrations will be accepted. Applicants will be considered based primarily on geographical region, resulting in new organizers in as many regions as possible. We do hope to see more than one person from a community, so they can work as a team, but the number will depend on applications from the rest of the state. 

Space is limited, so please apply as soon as possible listing your name, address, county, phone number and email.  Contact information is below.  If you cannot attend but know of someone in your community who fits our guidelines and could benefit from joining us, please let us know. Again, they should be people who can make a clear commitment to do what it takes to build local grassroots action on their home turf. 

We hope you will take this opportunity to grow our numbers in West Virginia and create a strong, intelligent response to the challenge of Marcellus drilling in our neighborhoods.

Thank you.

Contact: Chuck Wyrostok, Sierra Club Outreach Organizer
Toll free 877 252 0257 outreach@marcellus-wv.com   www.marcellus-wv.com