Mountaintop Removal, Mining, and Bluegrass: The HGC Spring Break Service Trip 2013

[Seanan Fong]

Hey all! The Humanist grad group (that's us and our counterparts in the other Harvard schools) has announced its annual Sprig Break service trip. I'm excited to be going, and if you can make it you should too! Details below.

Seanan

Secretary

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: James Croft
Date: Thursday, February 7, 2013
Subject: [Humanist-grad] Mountaintop Removal, Mining, and Bluegrass: The HGC Spring Break Service Trip 2013
To: humani...@lists.hcs.harvard.edu

*Please pass this on to anyone that might be interested*

2013 - Humanist Graduate Community at Harvard's Spring Break Service Trip

Environmental Service Learning, March 17-23, Harlan, KY (the Appalachians!)

Click here to apply!

Application Deadline: February 21, 2013

Care about the environment? Looking for an unforgettable Spring Break experience? For our fourth annual Spring Break trip the Humanist Graduate Community at Harvard will venture to the mountaintops of Kentucky to learn about mountaintop removal and other environmental issues related to the coal mining industry. In a week of service learning focused on the controversial practice of mountaintop removal mining. We will plant trees in an abandoned strip mine, weatherize low-income homes, and speak to miners and residents affected by the practice - while still finding time for hikes, documentaries, and bluegrass music. This trip is an opportunity to engage with a pressing environmental issue, make new friends, and improve the world in some small way all at once. As we have done the past three years, an intrepid group of Humanists will venture to a location in the USA to perform service work, learn about an important issue, and explore our values. We hope you will join us!

From the website:

Appalachia is home to the headwater streams that provide major cities with drinking water - and some of the world's richest and most diverse forests. These forested mountains contain  coal which provides  America's electricity.  You will see a mountaintop removal coal mine, where coal companies are blasting the tops off the mountains for coal, and meet meet Appalachians who love their mountains and the coal miners who remove the coal. There are no easy answers (a sample schedule can be found here).    

In short, the trip is an amazing opportunity to learn about a current environmental issue, to develop relationships with new people, and to make the world just a little bit better.

The Humanist Graduate Community at Harvard

The HGHC provides a community for the atheist, agnostic, skeptic, and Humanist students in the Harvard Graduate Schools.  We hold regular gatherings to discuss issues of the day, debate ethics, play Cards Against Humanity, and watch movies. We also work with the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard to do community service and bring speakers of interest to campus. 

The Details

Applications:

We've put together a short application form to help us in the event that there are more students than we can accommodate.  It won't take more than a few minutes: Click here to apply.The application deadline is midnight February 21.

Dates: 

Arrive in Harlan, KY Sunday March 17 - Depart for Boston Saturday March 23

Costs: 

Food and lodging for the week is $150 per person - this will be covered in full by the Humanist Community at Harvard!

Flights: The only major cost is transportation to Knoxville, TN, the nearest airport to Harlan, KY. At this point return flights cost from $420-$500. We will be hosting fundraising drives to assist participants in finding ways to defray this cost, However, participants must purchase the ticket first, expecting reimbursement later. We have scheduled a fundraising meeting for the evening of 03.07.2013. 

Anyone for whom the cost is prohibitive is asked to make this known to HCH staff so we can try to accommodate you. 

Eligibility: 

The trip is open to all Harvard graduate students from any of the schools.  Whether you've come to several HGCH events or are hearing about us for the first time, we'd love to have you join us! You don't have to call yourself a Humanist as long as you are comfortable hanging out for a week with several Humanists.

If you have any questions at all, please contact HGC President James Croft at jflc...@gmail.com.

Click here to apply!

Application Deadline: February 21, 2013