The trip is an interactive tour of the 301-mile natural gas pipeline path.
Blacksburg, VA (May 13, 2016): This week, 20 college students from all across Virginia will be touring the route of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline running from West Virginia to Virginia. The Virginia Student Environmental Coalition has planned the trip since Fall of 2015.
The purpose of the trip is to raise awareness of the new natural gas infrastructure and to engage with the communities impacted. Students will begin their journey on Sunday May 15, 2016 when they depart from Blacksburg, Virginia to travel to Wetzel County, West Virginia.
The trip will be highly impactful for the parties involved, both students and community members. The various regions have welcomed the students’ involvement, offering their sincerest generosity to the trip by providing meals and places to stay along the way.
Virginia Tech students, Madison Roberts and Millie Smith, have reached out to community members within the affected areas of the pipeline and arranged various activities throughout the week. These include tours of fracking sites, rallies, documentary screenings, art projects, and community potlucks.
One of the first sites the students will see on Sunday is the Mobley Compression Station in Wetzel County. They will be led by Bill Hughes. The compression station is just one of the key points of interaction with the infrastructure along the trip. Students will see the inner machinations of the pressuring and transportation process of natural gas.
Another notable tour will be on Friday May 20 at an archaeological site in Chatham, Virginia. This will give insight to the history of the region and why preservation is important.
While student are in Craig County, they will be hiking a portion of the Appalachian Trail as well as learning about the Mussel Up! Campaign, which demands attention to the endangered species of the area’s mussels. On Friday May 20, 2016 the students will be acting in a roadside protest from 7:30 to 9:00 am.
Students will also meet with highly influential community members, including Delegate Charles Poindexter of the Virginia General Assembly in Pittsylvania County.
The trip will conclude on Friday May 20, 2016 in Blacksburg, Virginia with a community meal with Preserve Montgomery.