Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Hope in the Hills: Sustainable Living in Athens County
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Our project focuses on the small college town of Athens, Ohio, and the rural communities surrounding it. Specifically, we examine the issues of health and nutrition in and around Athens County, an area of Appalachia with a long history of chronic generational poverty. Our paper discusses the difficulties of eating well with very little income, as well as the geographic challenges those who live in the surrounding rural communities, separated by hills, face. Our paper will also serve to introduce a 9-10 minute documentary short that centers on several local citizens and business owners who are working together in creative ways to make sustainable and healthful living a reality for everyone in the surrounding communities. The film features several grassroots organizers, business owners, and local denizens who are finding new ways to bring health, nutrition, and sustainable living opportunities to rural populations. The film shows how a progressive farmer’s market, produce auctions, seed giveaways, and the building of a local grain and bean processing mill, to name a few, have provided many in the area with hope, empowerment, and opportunities they hadn’t previously known.
Key words: health, nutrition, grassroots movements, sustainability, Appalachia
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Beth Mishler is a freelance writer and a second-year PhD student at Ohio University in Athens, where she is enrolled full-time in the Media Arts and Studies Program. After getting her undergraduate and master's degrees at OU, Beth remained living in Athens, where she continues to be active in the local food scene while also researching community, public, and sports-centered media.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Franklyn Charles, originally from the island of Dominica in the Caribbean, received his BA in Communication from the University of South Florida before getting his master's degree in Communication and Development at Ohio University. His focus of study is on media usage for development, specifically, using documentary video production to engage and educate citizens of marginalized communities in finding resources vital to them.
Hope in the Hills: Sustainable Living in Athens County
Our project focuses on the small college town of Athens, Ohio, and the rural communities surrounding it. Specifically, we examine the issues of health and nutrition in and around Athens County, an area of Appalachia with a long history of chronic generational poverty. Our paper discusses the difficulties of eating well with very little income, as well as the geographic challenges those who live in the surrounding rural communities, separated by hills, face. Our paper will also serve to introduce a 9-10 minute documentary short that centers on several local citizens and business owners who are working together in creative ways to make sustainable and healthful living a reality for everyone in the surrounding communities. The film features several grassroots organizers, business owners, and local denizens who are finding new ways to bring health, nutrition, and sustainable living opportunities to rural populations. The film shows how a progressive farmer’s market, produce auctions, seed giveaways, and the building of a local grain and bean processing mill, to name a few, have provided many in the area with hope, empowerment, and opportunities they hadn’t previously known.
Key words: health, nutrition, grassroots movements, sustainability, Appalachia
