Student Organizations: The Environmental Law Society

Appalachian School of Law Environmental Law Society

The Appalachian School of Law Environmental Law Society is open to any student enrolled at the school.  Students created it in 2007.  Its Facebook page appears here.

Mission Statement

The ELS:

• Promotes awareness of environmental concerns, issues, and problems within the legal community, the student body, and the local community;
• Bridges the communication and information gaps between the scientific and political/legal communities;
• Enhances the law school experience for students interested in environmental issues confronting southwest Virginia, the United States, and the World; and,
• Serves the community and the school by actively engaging in projects and events to serve this mission. 

Sponsored Activities

As noted in my posting on the Energy and Mineral Law Society, ASL students have planted trees, including blight-resistant American Chestnuts, in honor of Arbor Day in April. ESL co-sponsors this event. In April 2012, they worked on a site located about 23 miles from Grundy near Elkhorn City, Kentucky.

Every October, the ELS hosts the Green Bowl, a touch football competition.  Every March, the ELS also sponsors the Spring Fling, which includes an Ultimate Frisbee competition.

It has co-sponsored educational film viewings, including The Cove, an Academy-Award-winning documentary about the annual dolphin slayings in a Japanese national park.

The group also advises students about events that focus on environmental issues arising in the Appalachian Region, like Appalachia Rising, a protest highlighting the environmental impact of mountain top mining.

ESL also sponsors speaker programs, including a 2011 program by Associate Professor Buzz Belleville on the Appalachian Wind Wars.

Finally, from time-to-time it sponsors river rafting trips.  It also organizes river clean-up events.

Associate Professor Mark Belleville and Associate Professor Derrick Howard serve as its co-faculty advisors.