our slice of "Southwestern" Virginia
Source - US Geological Survey National Atlas
Come explore Southwestern Virginia in depth this Summer (June 18, June 21-27, July 16) through the Virginia From the Ground Up - Southwestern Virginia class (NCLC 498/GEOG 399), with logistical support from George Mason University's Center for Field Studies. As one student described the class, "You can look at countless pictures online, but nothing compares to actually being there..."
Official Syllabus and Class Schedule
Official Registration Site (with a link to download the pesky-but-required forms)
Links/Resources
This is a 3-credit course at George Mason University. On our field trip, we'll spend seven days and six nights roaming to different locations throughout Southwestern Virginia every day, and returning each night to the Selu Conservancy near Radford.
In that one week, we will have substantive discussions while visiting many places between Roanoke and Crab Orchard, and between the Blue Ridge and the West Virginia border. We'll discuss what works well in the region - and we'll debate "what's broke" in Southwestern Virginia, and how to fix it. After finishing this class, those "ordinary" views from the car window while driving on I-81 will be far more interesting, and you will know lots of places to visit again on a vacation with friends and family.
There is a story behind the shapes of the rivers, mountains, and caves, and behind the locations of forests, roads, railroads, canals, historic towns, and cities in Southwestern Virginia. Take this class, and learn by visiting places up close and personal. Take your own pictures and develop your own point of view, rather than look through someone else's different lens.
It's a lot of fun to explore a place with people who share your common interest. We'll examine the rich cultural heritage of the area, and we'll learn about Southwestern Virginia from the caves up to the clouds. We'll have a full immersion experience, examining the air we breathe, the water we drink, the ground on which we walk - even where things go when we flush. "Everything is connected to everything else" is one thing you'll appreciate better at the end of the class.
We'll do more than just play tourist, however. You'll also learn to "see" the parks, caves, forests, and various protected areas through the eyes of both a visitor and a manager. As we visit different places - including a winery - we will debate among ourselves and shape our individual opinions about what makes each place unique. At the end, you will decide for yourself how these special places should be protected for future generations and how they should be made accessible for current visitors.
We'll be staying in a beautiful piece of land along the Little River near Radford. The class involves lots of fun, lots of learning, and lots of travel around the region. During the day, we won't be staying in any one place for very long, but each night we'll return to Radford to sleep in our little conference center. We'll "do breakfast" there each morning, but be prepared for eating lunch and dinner in a variety of places so we experience more of Southwestern Virginia. It's a 24-hour a day learning experience, and there won't be time for watching Oprah or Desperate Housewives re-runs in the evenings.
There is no textbook for this class. Virginia From the Ground Up, like many other courses offered through New Century College, builds on the perspectives of the participants as well as the knowledge provided in books/maps/videos/websites and the short lectures of the instructor. (Long discussions around specific questions tend to be more interesting to everyone...) We will develop an intensive, interdisciplinary learning community because that's an effective and enjoyable way to get to understand the world around us:
NOTE: The pronoun in "What We Will Learn" is important. All of us will be teaching each other and learning from each other. Cave guides learn quickly that the environment of the cave rarely changes. The trick to being enthusiastic for each cave tour is to tune in to the visitors. The people on each tour change far more than the cave, so a cave guide who stays sensitive towards people (as well as the cave environment) will find it easier to make each tour unique and interesting. In the same way, a group effort to discuss different ideas and opinions, as well as share factoids and statistics, will make the learning experience much richer for all of us.
We will have an extended conversation throughout this class, learning about many aspects of the valley and how we see the world around us. There's time and space for all approaches to experiential learning. If your personal style is to learn through talking out loud, or by listening to others before you grasp a new idea, or to quietly contemplate before incorporating new information into your cerebral cortex, you'll find the time between the field trips, meals, and moments of personal searching.
To register for either NCLC 498 or GEOG 399 credit, or to take the class just for fun without academic credit, contact Greg Justice by phone (703-993-1740 or e-mail 
). NOTE: you do not register through the standard GMU PatriotWeb procedures for this class.
Course fee for this class, in addition to tuition, is $875. It includes reading materials, transportation, lodging, entrance fees and meals for the duration of the class. Course fees are paid directly to the Center for Field Studies. To reserve a space, visit the Center For Field Studies Virginia from the Ground Up: Southwestern Virginia page, or go in person to Room 441, Enterprise Hall between 9am-5pm Monday through Friday.
The final challenge for this class is a fun exercise. You will define how a particular place in Southwestern Virginia should be protected, and (this is the hard part...) convince others that your approach is financially feasible and politically do-able. You can put all that book learning from school into action. You'll integrate your history, ecology, and political science expertise in order to manage a particular place, a natural or cultural site that is worth protecting for the future.
Southwestern Virginia is rich in heritage, natural and cultural, and full of small or big controversies to be managed as well. One assignment is to choose a real-world challenge about managing a real-world place. You'll also include a budget, too. This class does not deal with pie-in-the-sky theories, but with practical learning about real places. Preparing a plan will show that you understand the issues and the choices, and can articulate the actions needed to conserve the sense of "special place" in the region.
Like Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter's Hogwarts, I retain some flexibility in the grading. You can gain or lose points for being on time or being "tardy." We'll be travelling in vans; we need to operate on a schedule. We'll have plenty of time to visit the bathrooms, but you'll get rewarded if you're always at the van on time. Oversleeping or missing meals is a no-no. Brains need to be fed and watered, and we all have to work together to handle the meals. You must eat regularly and drink plenty of fluids to keep alert. Don't try to save a little time, skip a meal, and and risk getting sleepy or sick. Be at every meal, on time, every time, for 5 days and 4 nights, and join in the conversation as well as the chores. After August 13... hey, you can sleep late and skip breakfast if you want.
When you register, be sure to tell us if you require special logistical support or have special preferences - allergies, medical conditions, dietary requirements, etc. We'll do what we can - but no, you can't bring your cat, dog, pet bird, turtle, snake, or whatever to keep you company and avoid kennel fees.
We'll adapt to the weather as much as we can, but this is a rain-or-shine class. Be sure to bring raingear in which you can walk - a regular poncho might be OK, but a rainjacket that "breathes" will be far more comfortable. Don't bother with city clothes - forget the dress trousers, high heels, or that to-die-for jacket. The briers and snags on the trail are waiting to put a hole in your stockings too.
We will take short hikes, usually of 1-3 miles on easy or moderate trails. Pauses will be moments for discovery as well as recovery. If we're hunched over catching our breath, we'll miss a chance to see the pattern of the tree canopy or spot a raven croaking "Nevermore" as it soars over the Blue Ridge. This is not an exercise class, and I'm more than halfway on the journey from birth to death, so if you're in OK shape you should not find the physical exertion to be a problem. As for coping with the muggy heat in June... well, that's part of the real-world experience; no extra charge. (Be sure to fill your water bottle every day.)
We'll be outdoors a lot and hiking up to vistas at places like Wind Rocks. Bring bug repellent, sunscreen, and a good attitude. Hiking will done on narrow trails where there is no room for umbrellas. Bring rain gear and sturdy shoes that can splash through puddles on a trail.
1) For the one-week field trip, we travel as a group in university vans. We will be assemble at 8:00 am on Saturday, June 21 on the GMU Fairfax Campus, at the traffic circle between Enterprise Hall and Sandy Springs parking garage. If you have a University parking sticker, you can leave your car parked on campus the entire time. If you don't have a parking sticker, it may be best to have someone drop you off.
2) Food and lodging are included, but this doesn't cover snack food, sodas or souvenirs, so you should bring money for those extra items. Remember, we can't carry alcohol in a GMU vehicle, so don't pack a bottle of wine. (During the week, we'll visit a winery with a tasting room.)
3) The lodging is comfortable but not luxurious. You will be sharing a room with someone, and we'll all have to be on our best behavior to deal with the social "opportunities" throughout the week. When you sign up for Elderhostel trips, you'll get your own room - but you'd pay another $1,000-2,000 for a trip like this.
4) We can not guarantee that there is a wake up service or alarms in the room. We will be getting up fairly early and having breakfast by 8:00am each day, so bring an alarm clock... and patience.
5) Footwear should be hiking boots or light-weight "day hikers" if you already have them, if not, a good pair of tennis shoes will do. Don't however go out and buy a new pair just before leaving on the trip as they will most likely blister your feet. Other clothing should include a rain parka, keep your fingers crossed that it won't rain but always prepare for the worst. A long sleeve lightweight fleece to keep warm and at least one pair of jeans. The rest should be a good mix of shorts, T-shirts, and enough undergarments to make it through the trip without doing laundry.
6) BYOB: Bring at least two 1-quart plastic water bottles - and a small daypack in which you can carry them, so your hands will be free as you hike. Expect to refill the water bottles at lunch - water is better inside of you, than inside your hiking pack. Drink small sips regularly - we'll stop often when walking, and each stop is an opportunity for a sip of water. When you're thirsty, it's too late to rehydrate easily. (Sorry - even if you are 21 or older, carrying alcohol in the university vehicle is prohibited.)
7) Other necessary items: a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug repellent. You will need a notebook and pencils for writing your journal. (I prefer to bring lots of small spiral notebooks, the cheap things that you can buy at any store, so long as they fit into my shirt pocket. Re-assembling those notes is another opportunity to refresh your memory and deepen your understanding of a place that we have visited.)
Bring a camera, binoculars, field guides, bird tapes, and books about Virginia - but expect to be busy exploring, talking, and writing in your journal rather than reading.
One of the most important things you should bring is curiosity! It's an innate human trait for adults as well as young children to ask "why" - and we will strengthen rather than suppress it. The class will cover a wide range of topics and the questions you bring to the class will help to determine how much we all learn. In addition to your sense of wonder, bring your talents for working as a member of a team. It's far easier for everyone if we all get along as a learning community, and learn from each other.