ABOUT THE SITE

This website is a project of Southwest Virginia

CSI, an interdisiciplinary, student-led citizen

science initiative at the University of Virginia's

College at Wise. Southwest Virginia CSI was 

born out of a Dominion Higher Education

Partnership Award in 2012, aimed at developing

a series of digital guides that use local habitats

and wildlife to introduce broader scientific

concepts to users. Since its inception, this

initiative has grown into a regional effort to

link the often-separate fields of biodiversity

conservation and economic development. 

 

 

This project, Evolving Appalachia, is the result of an expanded effort to more directly link outdoor recreation with biodiversity education along the Clinch River, one of the most biodiverse river systems in all of North America. Funded by the Appalachian Prosperity Project, this effort links our previous digital trail guides with paddling applications that bring topics in evolutionary biology and ecology together with traditional Appalachian music and storytelling. These guides, along with all other original educational info on this website, have been entirely student-produced, and it is our hope that the content presented here opens the doors to outdoor recreation and the natural sciences for residents and visitors in our region alike. Enjoy, and get outside!

 

Have comments or feedback on this project? Email us at southwestvirginiacsi@gmail.com