Community Organizing Summit by the Appalachian Gas Working Group

Pipeline planning map; Rover pipeline not shown

>>> Media Advisory from the Appalachian Gas Working Group, April 4, 2018

Contacts:
Angie Rosser, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, 304-437-1274, arosser@wvrivers.org
Justin Raines, West Virginia Sierra Club, 304-532-3520, justinraineswv@gmail.com
Natalie Thompson, OVEC-Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, 304-222-2208, natalie@ohvec.org

What: Community Organizing Summit
hosted by the Appalachian Gas Working Group

When: Friday, April 6 to Sunday, April 8

Event schedule: http://wvrivers.org/2018/03/summitsessions/

Where: Jackson’s Mill, 160 WVU Jackson Mill, Weston, WV

Why: The Appalachian Gas Working Group (AGWG) is providing a weekend of trainings for socially conscious folks who are interested in learning the basic tools of grassroots movement building in order to improve their communities. The trainings are especially tailored for members of grassroots groups and individuals who want to learn how to better resist the region’s growing threat of oil and gas extraction and related activity to our land, water, and health.

The goal of the Community Organizing Summit is to empower and strengthen grassroots activism with leadership training, coalition building, and outreach. The Summit will also provide opportunities for in-depth learning on select topics, including:

- Speaking Across Bridges: How to talk with all sides
- Coalition Building: Strengthening through partnerships
- Starting and Building a Campaign: Mission, goal setting, strategies, and more.
- Gas Related Health and Medical Effects: Impact on individuals and community, available resources, and health surveys.
- Permitting and Enforcement: Community oversight, enforcing the law, and protecting your rights.
- Environmental Monitoring: Water, Air, and Land.
- Appalachian Storage Hub, Mid-stream Processes, and What This Means to Your Community: Impact on individuals and community by pipelines, storage facilities, cracker plants, and extraction.
- Fighting Eminent Domain, Co-Tenancy, Forced Pooling, and Right-to Trespass: Your rights and how to protect your land.

Who: The Appalachian Gas Working Group (AGWG) is a consortium of green minded groups and organizations. Their vision is to support healthy communities, property rights, and a just transition to clean renewable energy, while leading a coordinated effort to end public harm from fracking and gas related extraction and infrastructure.

AGWG: West Virginia Rivers Coalition, OVEC-Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia and Virginia Sierra Club, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Appalachian Voices, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, Pennsylvania League of Women Voters, Preserving Our Water Heritage and Rights (POWHR), Ohio River Citizens Alliance (ORCA), Friends of the Harmed, Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance, Wetzel County Citizen Action Group, Headwaters Defense, Greenbrier River Watershed Association, Indian Creek Watershed Association, Eight Rivers Council, Christians for the Mountains, Preserve Monroe, Summers County Residents Against the Pipeline, Doddridge County Watershed Association, SW Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project, SouthWings, West Virginia Citizens Action Group, West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization, and Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action

>>> Find the event on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/871724986321717/