Environmental Leaders To Gather In Western Virginia and Tour Areas of Southwest Virginia
Environmental leaders taking part in the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute (VNRLI) will gather April 29-May 1 for a three-day workshop based in Staunton. Leaders from Virginia’s industry, businesses, local and state government, and the environmental community will continue their year-long work together with a full agenda covering important skills for conflict resolution, personal leadership, and collaborative dialogue.
The three-day workshop will include a panel on Energy in Southwest Virginia, featuring Dominion Energy; Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards; Appalachian Voices; the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, and Virginia Economic Bridge, with discussion on the role, impact and future of coal in southwestern Virginia, as well as what alternatives exist to coal and a coal-fired power plant for energy production. The group will visit the Dominion power plant, which is under construction in St. Paul; the Powell River Project in Wise, and Appalachian Sustainable Development in Abingdon.
Caroline K. Wilkinson, program manager at UVA’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation, said, “The Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute is designed to foster communication and understanding between environmental leaders representing different interests in Virginia’s natural resources. Each session of the year-long program offers interactive exercises that focus on a topic, such as conflict resolution, facilitation, consensus building, interest-based negotiation, public involvement, environmental justice and collaborative leadership.”
VNRLI is a partnership of the University of Virginia’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation; Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Department of Forestry, and Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The leadership program is supported this year by a special grant from the Dominion Foundation to support collaborative decision-making for protecting Virginia’s environment and natural resources. The group’s activities are also supported by the sale of Chesapeake Bay license plates in Virginia; grant funds from the USDA Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program, as well as the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Merck & Co. Stonewall Plant and VNRLI Alumni.
After the visit to the Southwest Virginia, the program will take leaders to Charlottesville to learn about climate change, energy production and other natural resources issues.
For additional information, please visit the VNRLI Web site, www.virginia.edu/ien/vnrli, or contact Christine Gyovai at (434) 982-6464 or e-mail: christineg@virginia.edu.
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