Appalachian Community & Ecosystems Health Collaborative
In April of 2011, a group 58 community members and scientists from across the Appalachian region convened at Breaks State Park, Virginia for a two-day professionally facilitated retreat designed to lay out a research plan—and community-based collaborative action steps to implement that plan—that closes the gaps in our current understanding of the environmental health/community health link.
In short, we gathered to answer the question:“what do we know—and not know—about how ecological health and community health are linked in Appalachia?”
The Summit participants identified seven key theme areas, and then prioritized research questions for each theme as follows:
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1. Cradle to Grave Resource Contaminant Assessment
2. Politics & Economy (Sustainability)
3. Exposure Pathways & Health Consequences
4. Emerging Methodology / Research Infrastructure
5. Social Behavioral Determinants of Health and Environmental Effect on Social Health of Appalachia
6. Changes In Landscape & Ecosystem Services
7. Water
8. Education
The Summit was organized by Dr. Ben Stout of Wheeling Jesuit University and Dr. Alice Jones of Eastern Kentucky University, and sponsored by a grant from the USEPA-CARE program with additional funding from the EKU Office of Regional Stewardship and the Catholic Diocese of West Virginia.
