As weather gets warmer, an increasing number of West Virginia Sierra Club’s thousands of members, participate in the club’s regularly scheduled outings to explore nature in the mountain state.

West Virginia Sierra Club outings chair Mike Price said the national Sierra Club has over a million members and chapters in every state.

The chapter is based in Morgantown, West Virginia. West Virginia Sierra Club chair Liz Wiles said the West Virginia chapter covers the whole state, but there are not many active members in the Huntington area.

According to Price, the national club and West Virginia’s chapter have the same mission: to enjoy, explore and protect the planet.

“We pretty much focus on environmental issues and our outings program,” Price said.

As outings chair, Price organizes outings like hikes and backpacking trips at historical West Virginian landmarks. Price said he posts multiple outings a month.

“One thing we are doing right now is the national park service is celebrating their anniversary so we have hikes in conjunction with that,” Price said.

According to the West Virginia Sierra Club website, two outings are coming up on Saturday, April 23. One outing is a spring clean-up at Cooper’s Rock. Another is a hike at New River Gorge.

“Anyone can attend our outings,” Price said. “You don’t have to be a certified member.”

Price said the trips are led and initiated by outings leaders. Price said an outings leader submits a location and emergency response information to him and an overwhelming majority of outing submissions are approved.

Price said outings have been focused primarily in the Morgantown area because that is the location of the chapter office. However, he said the club is starting to expand outings in the southern region of the state.

Price said the West Virginia chapter is also active in fighting environmental issues and have filed lawsuits against coal companies.

Price said West Virginia is an awesome state with dangerous environmental issues, namely coal and fracking. He said the club fights to protect the state.

Volunteers make up the majority of the chapter, including the executive committee.

Price said the club is always looking for new outings leaders to lead hikes. There are training programs to lead “101” outings, which are hikes and “201” outings which are overnight and include backpacking.

Leaders of “201” outings must have first aid and CPR certification. Price said the club requires outings leaders to go through first aid training and leadership training.

Price said if someone from the Huntington area wanted to become actively involved in West Virginia Sierra Club, they could sign up for hikes, or even become an outings leader and propose hikes near Huntington.

“West Virginia University has a student coalition,” Price said. “It would be great if Marshall would start one too and coordinate with WVU student coalition.”

Faculty advisor of West Virginia University’s Sierra Student Coalition and active volunteer with West Virginia Sierra Club Jim Kotcon said the student coalition functions the same way as the state chapter.

“It’s essentially a subgroup within the overall club,” Kotcon said. “All students that are active are members of Sierra Club, just like the West Virginia chapter is part of the national Sierra Club.”

Kotcon said the student coalition engages in a variety of conservation activities supporting recycling and clean water between their monthly outings and weekly meetings.

He said the students also participate in service outings and will go on a service trip to Canaan Valley to help plant red spruce trees Friday.

Kotcon said other universities can activate a Sierra Student Coalition through the state chapter.

“To some extent that depends on having students that are interested in engaging in outdoor activities and conservation programs, environmental issues,” Kotcon said. “It is helpful to have some connection with the chapter just to have continuity. Having that link to the chapter has helped SSC maintain its role.”

Kotcon said the Sierra Student Coalition has a substantial impact on the campus.

“I think it’s a real contribution to the campus and it has certainly over the years produced a number of changes here at WVU,” Kotcon said. “The administration does respond to students although perhaps more strongly than students would like.”

Kotcon joined West Virginia Sierra club the first year he moved to West Virginia.

“I first joined Sierra Club because I wanted to do cross country skiing,” Kotcon said. “I have since gotten much more involved in some of the camping and backpacking trips.”

Kotcon has participated in many Sierra Club outings in locations including Monongahela National Forrest, a location he said stood out to him.

Lydia Waybright can be contacted at [email protected].