Waynesburg University
Student board to host event on mountaintop removal WAYNESBURG – The Student Activities Board will host Restoring Eden and singer/songwriter Aaron Lee Martin Thursday. The presentation, “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” is a multimedia event to expose the truth about mountain top removal. The event will take place at 7 p.m. in the Goodwin Performing Arts Center. Attendance is free and the public is invited to attend.
“From the old spiritual, ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain,’ we hear of going up to the mountaintop and proclaiming far and wide the birth of Jesus Christ,” said Tyler Sheaffer, campaign organizer for Restoring Eden. “Our song is that amidst suffering, sin and the disregard of life, there is a gospel of redemption and resurrection. It is alive in the world, inviting us to participate in its work.”
The “Go Tell it on a Mountain” tour will present a fusion of film, photography and music to narrate the stories of the coalfield residents in central Appalachia. Accompanying Restoring Eden, Martin will interlace the presentation with soulful folk and bluegrass melodies. “The tour wishes to create awareness of the tragedy behind mountain top removal and explore ways to protect the mountains, streams and people affected,” organizers said.
“At Restoring Eden, we believe that the desecration of the Appalachian Mountains is a tragedy that blatantly disregards God’s majestic handiwork,” said Sheaffer. “Mountain top removal affects the lives, health, culture, economy and futures of our brothers and sisters of Appalachia.”
Mountaintop removal is a form of surface mining in which coal companies remove the top of a mountain, hill or ridge to reach the underlying seams of coal. Once the coal is extracted, the removed material is placed in an attempt to represent the mountain’s original contours. The overburden, or excess mountaintop consisting of soil, plants, wildlife, etc. left over, is dumped into nearby valleys. The practice has serious environmental impacts, including loss of biodiversity as well as adverse human health impacts.
“In this spirit, the tour will travel from the Northeast to the Midwest in order to bring the same song of hope and liberation, but this time to the mountains and people that reside in their valleys,” said Sheaffer.
Restoring Eden is a Christian ministry dedicated to serving Christ by working with God’s people to be a voice for God’s creation and all those who depend on it. The organization aims to live out the biblical mandate to “speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8) as advocates for natural habitats, wild species and indigenous subsistence cultures.