Lexington writer, University of Kentucky professor and founder of Kentucky Writers and Artists for Reforestation Erik Reece has organized a number of tree plantings in reclaimed strip mines in Eastern Kentucky. Photo furnished
Author, environmental advocate and University of Kentucky writing professor Erik Reece – best known for his 2006 work “Lost Mountain: A Year in the Vanishing Wilderness,” which examined strip mining practices in Appalachia – felt lost after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016.
“Following the election, I was psychologically reeling. But there’s only so much marching you can do,” said Reece. “At some point, you just have to do something else. I wanted to create something that wasn’t pushing against anything, but instead was pushing for something.”
So, he and a few like-minded friends decided to funnel energy into something promoting positive change.
Collaborating with Eric Scott Sutherland, a consulting arborist with Town Branch Tree Experts and the poet/organizer behind the popular former Holler Poets series, and activist Chuck Clenney, Reece launched Kentucky Writers and Artists for Reforestation in April 2017.
The group dubs itself as a loose “collection of creative people with a simple mission: to plant native trees on abandoned strip mines.”
As Reece puts it: “What could be less partisan than a tree?”
As its first initiative, the organization – which has grown to include a broad mix of Kentucky writers and artists including Transylvania professor and poet Maurice Manning, former Kentucky poet laureate Frank X Walker, musicians Warren Byrom and Daniel Martin Moore and others – planted 3,000 trees on an Eastern Kentucky strip mine. Their efforts were funded through support from Green Forests Work, a nonprofit that supports strip mine reforestation projects throughout Appalachia.
“I just sent out a call and said, ‘We’re going to plant these trees, and they’re going to prevent erosion and flooding, re-establish wildlife habitat and sequester carbon on the strip mines,’” Reece said. “They’re doing all the things that a strip mine can’t do. I just saw it as a healing process for the land and for the people planting the trees, too.”
In his book “Lost Mountain,” Reece explores the devastating effects of strip mining on Appalachian communities and wilderness. His work organizing tree plantings on sites like this seeks to help counter that practice, to a certain degree. Photo furnished
During its second outing, in October 2017, the group planted 800 acorns on a former strip mine in honor of the 800th anniversary of The Charter of the Forests, signed in 1217 by King Henry III as a companion document to the Magna Carta. The document was among the first in history to recognize access to public lands as a basic human right.
To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 800 Acorns Project, KWAR is hosting a pop-up art show on Oct. 27 at Lexington’s Parachute Factory (720 Bryan Ave.), beginning at 6 p.m. The event will feature exhibits of photography by Morris Grubbs, artwork by John P. Lackey, as well as live music and poetry readings and a short documentary film.
Earlier in the month KWAR will participate in Tree Week (Oct. 6-14) as the organizing group behind the Friday, Oct. 12 “Holler for the Trees” event (6-9 p.m. at ArtsPlace). The event will include readings by Reece and Sutherland, as well as Kentucky writers George Ella Lyon, Mary Ann Taylor-Hall and others. Live music will be provided by local Warren Byrom and Rainbow Star, and art by John P. Lackey and Lina Tharsing will be on display.
Information about the annual tree plantings and other KWAR-affilated events can be found on the website www.kentuckywritersandartistsforreforetsation.site. Photo furnished
“Many of these folks have been actively involved in KWAR’s mission of planting trees,” said Sutherland, the Holler for the Trees event organizer. “They will all be bringing work that’s tree-themed or at least congruent with the theme of Tree Week.”
While the two public KWAR events this month offer attendees a chance to experience and enjoy the wide-ranging creativity of the group’s members, come April, KWAR members will be back in the field on the site of a former strip mine, planting trees – just as they have for the past two Earth Days.
“We’ve planted alongside Boy Scouts and church groups,” said Reece. “We’ll partner with anybody who would like to partner with us. We’re able to go in, and with support from Green Forests Work, replant the forests the way it should be done using only native hardwoods.”
Upcoming Events: Kentucky Writers and Artists for Reforestation
www.kentuckywritersandartistsforreforestation.site
Holler for the Trees • Oct. 12, 6 p.m.
Readings by Erik Reece, Eric Sutherland, George Ella Lyon, Mary Ann Taylor-Hall and others, plus music, art and more. ArtsPlace, 161 N. Mill St.
800 Acorns Pop-Up Event • Oct. 27, 6 p.m.
Featuring photography by Morris Grubbs, artwork by John P. Lackey, live music, poetry readings and a short documentary film. Parachute Factory, 720 Bryan Ave.