By Dakota Baker
RealWV, www.therealwv.com
The Greenbrier Valley Outdoor Community Meet-Up took place last week at the Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company in Maxwelton. Packed with friendly faces, the event featured information booths from Appalachian Headwaters Native Nursery, Active Southern West Virginia, Greenbrier River Watershed Association, Mon Forest Towns, Ascend Greenbrier Valley, and W.I.L.D. Institute.
Fantastic drinks were available from the Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company and delicious food from The Hangar by Hawk Knob (I highly recommend the Pre Flight Pilsner Dip). While attendees ate, drank, and socialized, there was an “information lightning round,” followed by a few non-profit presentations. During the information lightning round, participants were invited to provide a brief introduction about the organizations they represented and their activities.
First up was Clay Elkins with the Greenbrier Valley Off-Road Biking Association (GVORBA), who discussed the $2.6 million bike park coming to White Sulphur Springs, plus 20 miles of trail coming to the state forest. “We want more trails and more outdoor recreation in the Greenbrier Valley.”
Kim McBride from Ascend briefly introduced Greenbrier Valley Archaeology and their upcoming dig on May 17 in Greenbank. If anyone is interested, it is open to the public. The address is 450 Fort Warwick Passage, and there will be signs to guide you in the right direction.
The Greenbrier Valley Hellbenders Youth Mountain Bike Team invited youth from 6th grade and up to ride bikes, race, and camp.
Next in the lightning round was the Greenbrier River Watershed Association, based in Lewisburg, which spans Summers, Monroe, Pocahontas, and Greenbrier counties. They are always looking for individuals from all four of these counties. Currently, they are conducting a water quality monitoring program in coordination with the Osteopathic School of Medicine. They are consistently seeking volunteers to help with water monitoring, which takes place on the first Tuesday of every month. Find their calendar of events online at https://wordpress.greenbrier.org/.
Max Hammer from Hammer Cycles briefly introduced his full-service bike shop in Lewisburg: “I would like to be your trail hook-up, tell you where all the trails are…, and maybe even sell you a bike.”
Matt Ford with the Greenbrier Environmental group and the Meadow River Valley Association discussed how they have been working with the Greenbrier and Fayette County commissions on the Meadow River Rail Trail. “We’ve got a little over ten miles open now, and we’re working on another nine and a half miles that will be open in November.” They also received a grant to create an outdoor recreation master plan for all things outdoor recreation in the Meadow River Watershed.
Mary Surbaugh with the Greater Greenbrier Valley ArgiTourism also spoke, “AgriTourism is something we’ve been doing for 400 years. You’ve got the farming community and you’ve got hospitality, and we are gonna bundle ‘em together. But as you know, you have to have a coordinator; you can’t just show up at the farm for a tour. So that’s what we are gonna do. We are gonna coordinate and make sure it is safe and law-abiding.”
Appalachian Headwaters introduced its different programs, such as Green Drinks, a monthly event free of charge and open to the public. They support local businesses and bring out someone in the environmental field who is local to talk about a topic they specialize in. A list of events can be found here: https://appheadwaters.org/events/.
Active Southern West Virginia discussed the physical activity programs they promote, such as walking, running, biking, hiking, pickleball, and climbing. They also organize elementary school free-run clubs, with 37 schools around the state participating. They also provide workplace wellness training.
Callie from Ascend invited all the other Ascend organizations and members to use their co-working space in town, which is free for their friends in Ascend. If anyone wants to get involved, please reach out.
Mystik Miller from Greenbrier Grotto was one of the featured presenters at the event. Mystik began her presentation by explaining how she got into caving: “I went on a Tinder date when I first moved back to West Virginia, and I was in Lewisburg. And this guy was like, oh, I have a cave on my property here, and me, apparently lacking survival skills, was like, sure, that sounds like a great Tinder date. Um, the boy didn’t last, but the hobby did.” She then delivered an educational presentation about caving, including ways to prepare for a cave exploration, potential dangers, selecting appropriate gear, and stunning photos from her caving adventures. The Grotto is a caving club that gets together twice a month, once for a meeting and the other to go caving. They learn about caving, hang out, and make friends. Greenbrier Grotto meets on the second Wednesday of each month at Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company in Maxwelton. They invite anyone interested in caving to attend the meetings that start at 7 p.m.
