Michaela grew up in a small community in Southeastern Ohio. Her love for Appalachia runs deep. As a native from the area, she has always been connected into and interested in the land and natural beauty here. Michaela, who is the Environmental Education and Outreach VISTA with FODC, dedicated her education, and now her life’s work, to the land. That is why this VISTA opportunity spoke to her.

“I wanted to work in West Virginia because I have a deep love for Appalachia,” Michaela, a West Virginia University graduate, affectionately explains about her work. 

She adds: “At the end of the day, no matter who you are, we are all accountable for the state of our environment and natural resources so to see that environmental ethic come out in such a representative group of people is amazing.”

Michaela has experienced moments of great community pride and touching support during her time with Friends of Deckers Creek (FODC). Her recent Make It Shine event brought more than 100 people to the creek to spend the day cleaning up trash. Seeing the outpouring of support from the community moved Michaela and the volunteers with FODC. She believes strongly in the importance of caring for the environment in a way that benefits the people who live in it and, in turn, benefits the health of those people.

“As a VISTA with FODC, I get to grow in my people- and community-building skills by translating my environmental science knowledge into something anyone and everyone can understand and enjoy,” Michaela says about the role of the environment on people’s overall health. “Science is ultimately irrelevant unless you can find a way to relate it to people, and all work in environmental science is ultimately related to people – the people who live in and rely on their environment. …I bring my knowledge and my passion for the outdoors to my role as a VISTA, which guides me in furthering FODC’s mission.”

In working specifically with FODC, Michaela is able to flex her knowledge about watershed issues and freshwater ecology. She brings her background to her role as she works to heal Deckers Creek from acid mine drainage, which is the biggest contributor to pollution in that waterway. As Michaela explains, acid mine drainage is detrimental to the health of the creek and any people and animals that rely on the creek. The acid mine drainage drops the pH level of the water to 2 while filling the creek with toxic heavy metals, which can lead to lead contamination of drinking water. One of the leading causes of this type of pollution is contaminants seeping from mines abandoned before the Clean Water Act of 1972.

“In talking with community members on a day-to-day basis, all of these issues come into play in their everyday lives,’ Michaela recalls about her year in service to FDOC. “They may not be thinking of it on a large scale like the economic and climate impacts, but their individual struggles of health, opportunity, and poverty are what make up those larger-scale issues – which is where my role as a VISTA comes in. Bringing the education and tools of the ‘big picture’ to the individual level, and giving them the opportunity to make a change in their communities.”

Michaela sees hope for West Virginia’s land and its people. During her time as a VISTA, she has witnessed a community working together to clean up their local waterway and to create increased health and quality of life for everyone in the area. 

“We’re having success in maintaining our current treatment systems and working with landowners in the community to get new sites built, expanding our capacity to treat acid mine drainage. The other pollutants that impact the watershed are litter, sewage, and erosion/runoff. On that front, we’re having success in building relationships with city officials and local engineering firms, making long-term plans to reduce sewage and erosion inputs and help control litter.”

Michaela is hopeful that more young people will get involved in the environmental cleanup efforts happening around the state. The beauty of the state is unparalleled and attracts tourists from across the nation to enjoy what makes West Virginia so Wild and Wonderful.

“Specifically in the Appalachian region, I believe it is important for young people to understand the true uniqueness of this region,” Michaela says. “The composition of plants, animals and all things in between that exists right where you are doesn’t exist anywhere else on Earth. It’s interwoven into our culture, our history and our beings – so nurturing strong environmental ethics in younger – and all – generations is more important than words can truly say.”

The West Virginia Development Hub hosts AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) members in communities participating in our coaching programs as well as in partnership with organizations around the state. The Hub currently has VISTA sub-sites  in Fairmont, Morgantown, Rainelle, Clarksburg, Elkins, and other communities. The VISTA program was founded in 1965 and is an anti-poverty program providing needed resources to nonprofit organizations and public agencies to help lift communities out of poverty. The VISTA program places volunteers 18 years or older into communities where they perform a year of full-time volunteer service.

In the VISTAs of West Virginia series, you’ll learn more about the VISTAs working in Hub communities uplifting economic and community development teams around the state.

Interested in becoming a VISTA? Check out current opportunities through The Hub »