[0:01] Southwest Virginia is a working
landscape people of the region still
[0:05] obtain a significant portion of their
income from farming and
[0:10] Forestry take walk
with keep you in
[0:18] good the New River Highlands RC and
Council Works to balance stewardship of
[0:24] the environment with the needs of the
local people who depend on the land hi
[0:29] I'm Marcus Gray executive director for
the New River Highlands resource
[0:32] conservation and Development Council
we're a nonprofit organization that
[0:36] works on natural resources management
and Community Development initiatives in
[0:40] the Appalachian region of Southwest
Virginia what makes the area distinctive
[0:45] is that despite land use the region
retains stunning natural heritage we
[0:50] want to keep it that
way the biodiversity of Southwest
[0:55] Virginia is of global importance due to
the extreme changes in elevation and
[0:59] diverse local conditions Forest
composition includes many more species
[1:04] in a small area as there's vegetation
from the Carolinas to Southern Canada as
[1:08] you move up the mountains these habitats
encourage unique vegetation and Wildlife
[1:14] like nowhere
else because of geographic isolation
[1:18] streams separated by a ridge exhibit
different communities of fish and
[1:23] individual mountains host their own
species of salamander plus there are
[1:27] more examples of freshwater muscles here
than anywhere else in the
[1:33] country Southwest Virginia has a rich
history and strong musical culture
[1:38] notable figures like Daniel Boone Davey
Crockett and Steven Austin owe their
[1:44] existence to the Bounty afforded by the
area what we now know as country music
[1:50] owes its formative Time to Mountain
musicians
[1:55] [Music]
[2:09] RCN D Council projects bridge the gap
needed to make things happen on the
[2:14] ground our work removes barriers that
have kept stakeholders from working
[2:18] together
previously we can
[2:22] undertake within reason just about any
project somebody can dream up we have to
[2:28] get funding and secure funding for some
of our natural resources conservation
[2:34] initiatives include implementing best
management practices with agricultural
[2:39] producers to enhance Farm Innovations
and protect the
[2:43] landscape educate land owners on sound
Forest stewardship developing novel
[2:49] solutions to Energy Efficiency
incorporating renewable energy creating
[2:54] quality wildlife habitat preventing
Wildfire damage to homes and improving
[2:59] water quality by reducing Municipal
runoff from failing or non-existent
[3:04] septic
systems in addition the community
[3:07] development side of our mission is
accomplished by promoting AGR tourism
[3:12] assisting farmers markets with financial
management fostering Environmental
[3:16] Education and helping schools develop
nature trails through the support of the
[3:21] farmers market more and more younger
farmers are getting involved which is
[3:25] wonderful and I feel like the Traditions
that we have here are being passed on as
[3:29] as well as new information um this
Market is a wealth of information and
[3:34] people come here for that
too right in there there beautiful rock
[3:39] formation I mean it's awesome my name is
Steve Hermanson we're here on my farm on
[3:45] Wolf Creek mountain in blang
County we've been doing this for about 7
[3:52] years uh really enjoy it uh we feel that
we're good stewards of the land our
[3:58] property was put into a conserv a Ean a
couple years ago so that we know that
[4:02] after we're long gone the land will stay
just as we left it and won't be
[4:07] overdeveloped in any
way Family Farms I think are important
[4:12] in this part of the country as well as
the whole country if you don't mind
[4:17] working you can make a good living
farming cuz there's there's money to be
[4:21] made and if you'll get a a degree in
agriculture there are a lot more egg
[4:28] related jobs than there there are a
graduates if anybody that has the
[4:34] opportunity
to work on a farm if they think they
[4:39] have some interest in it there are
hundreds of farms around here that are
[4:44] willing to hire kids for the summer or
evenings or whatever they can
[4:52] do you know get a taste of it and see if
see if you like it or see if you're
[4:56] interested because we need some
replacements
[5:01] take a little walk with
me I'll keep you in the
[5:09] company be there for you till the
end you never be alone my
[5:18] [Music]
friend how can you help become involved
[5:26] share this video volunteer attend an a
Very or make a contribution be sure to
[5:31] visit our website and connect with us on
social media we look forward to working
[5:36] with you to keep Southwest Virginia a
wonderful place to live work and
[5:41] play for more information visit New
river- Highlands rc.org
[5:51] [Music]