Reclaiming land. Reclaiming lives.
The Wild Country FellowshipOur biggest fundraiser of the year
Highwall Harvest Festival
Saturday, November 21, 12 to 4 PM. Free for the whole family. Hayrides, a pallet maze, carnival games, a petting zoo, and a look at what a strip mine can become.
Scenes from past festivals
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WHO WE ARE
We believe the land and the people of Appalachia are worth investing in.
Across Appalachia, we're turning former mine land most people had written off into working farms and paid training sites for people ready for a fresh start. It starts at Highwall, a former surface mine in Mingo County, West Virginia.
Reclaimed land needs patience, investment, and the right care to thrive. So do people. Our crew learns real skills and earns a real paycheck while they restore the land, growing food, raising livestock, and building a place their community can be proud of.
Real skills. Real paychecks. Restored land.
Workforce Development
Our paid training crew works 36 hours a week, learning regenerative agriculture, livestock, land reclamation, fencing, equipment, and the trades, plus weekly personal and professional development. Trainees earn industry certifications like OSHA 10, First Aid and CPR, and chainsaw safety, and leave with real work experience and a path to a career. We're growing this crew into the Appalachian Land Steward Academy, with career pathways in reclamation and restoration, water and environmental field work, and site operations.
Community Engagement
Highwall is a place for everyone. We host farm tours, school groups, hands-on workshops, and permaculture training, and every fall we open the gates for the free Highwall Harvest Festival, where families pet the animals, ride the hay wagon, and see what a strip mine can become.
Reclamation and Highwall Farm
We turn former surface mines across Appalachia into productive ground, rebuilding soil, managing water and erosion, and planting for the long haul. Highwall, our first site, is a regenerative farm on reclaimed mine land, with pastured livestock, gardens, a high tunnel, and a growing orchard and food forest. Our on-farm store, the Highwall Farm Stand, sells food grown and raised right here, so the work of restoring this land feeds our neighbors.
OUR MISSION
Equipping people facing barriers to employment with real skills, while restoring the land that shaped our communities.
Reclaiming Land
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Reclaiming Lives
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Restoring Appalachia
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Reclaiming Land · Reclaiming Lives · Restoring Appalachia ·
HIGHWALL HARVEST FESTIVAL · SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21 · 12 TO 4 PM · FREE