HERNSHAW, W.Va. (AP) - A small plot of budding lavender overlooks a mostly barren, partly-reclaimed mountainside, contrasting the old and new.
“That’s what it all used to look like before it was reclaimed,” Aaron Smith, of Charleston, said as he pointed to the mountainside.
Smith started out as an intern and now works full-time for the Green Mining Model Business Program, which aims to turn the reclaimed area of the former Pritchard Mine site into “purple mountains.”
As Smith drove his pickup truck over the winding, rough, gravel road to what he and others with the program call the “demo site,” he talked about the company and what he’s learned about lavender.
He mentioned that he uses a ratio of 60 percent sand and 40 percent dirt to grow the plant and said the lavender thrives in a rockier environment, which is why he said the former mine site provides a surprising environment for it to thrive.
“People ask me what I do and I say I grow lavender on a mine site,” he said. “They always respond with ’what?’”
The demo site alone features about 14 varieties of lavender. Some have a woody, earthy smell and others smell like a sweet perfume. However, this site is a small portion of what the program has.
The Four Mile mine site is owned by the Penn Virginia Corporation, and the miner operator is Pritchard Mining.
Marina Sawyer, Green Mining project coordinator, explained the mine site is 10,000 acres. They have 146 acres prepped for planting and 34 acres already planted.
HOW IT GOT STARTED
Sawyer explained the program got its start after getting a $210,000 demonstration grant from the Benedum Foundation so they could demonstrate their vision.
After that, they completed a feasibility study and later received a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. They started farming in February.
Sawyer explained how this site, which is on the border of Kanawha and Boone counties, was chosen. She said she approached Decota Consulting Company, which works with mining companies in the state, and explained to them what she wanted to do. She later went to Penn Virginia and talked to them about the project. However, she said it wasn’t until officials from Penn Virginia and Pritchard saw the demo site that she felt they understood the program’s potential.
“Then they began to get the idea. It’s hard to get the vision without seeing it because who thinks of planting such things on basically moon style land?”
So far, they’ve had one harvest in the demo plot in June. They are expecting another harvest in September.
“The first year, you get a small harvest,” Sawyer said. “The second year, you get a larger harvest and the third year, the plants are fully mature and you get a full harvest. The plants last, if you take care of them, for 15 years or more.”
WHY LAVENDER?
So, why lavender? Sawyer said the plant was chosen for several reasons. For one, it thrives in the type of soil found at the site. For another, she said the plant can bring in a profit. Sawyer said when lavender oil is distilled, it can sell for about $500 a gallon.
“Why lavender? Lavender is a high-end value botanical. …When you do the economics of lavender, it makes really good sense to do it. It also thrives really well in poor, rocky soils, which is exactly what we have here,” Sawyer said.
Lavender is a versatile product, too. Sawyer said the plant can go into everything from essential oils for a diffuser to trash can liners. She explained the cosmetic industry uses a lot of the product and it can also be used for culinary purposes.
“The uses of lavender is a billion dollar market,” she said. “We can take a bite of it but we will never be able to put more lavender in the ground in West Virginia than the market can sustain.”
MINERS TO FARMERS
Right now, there are 34 workers in the program - some part-time, some full-time and some direct and some working indirectly. However, the actual number is harder to estimate because the company has about 19 different partnerships with companies and individuals.
To become a farmer, people go through free six-week courses where they learn about growing lavender and propagating other crops. People then may take entrepreneurship classes, which are also free.
“Anyone can sign up,” Sawyer said. “It’s open to anyone who is interested in coming.”
She said classes start back up in September and people interested in taking them can contact the Green Mining Model Business Program at 304-362-9626.
After people complete these courses, they have a few options. They can work for themselves and grow lavender at home. They can sub-lease a plot of land from the mine operator or they can work on the land leased by the program. Whatever people decide to do, Sawyer said the program will try to help them.
“We don’t just train you and let you go. We’re here until you’re done,” Sawyer said. “It doesn’t mean when you finish the class, we say, ’bye.’ It means that we are finished with you when you are finished with us.”
The program leases land from the mine owners and got approval from the mine operator.
“You can have a section on your own or you can continue to work on the land we have leased and just work out here,” Sawyer said. “We have it so whatever your needs and wants are, we are working with you to make sure you succeed in that.”
The company employees veterans and former coal miners. Donnie Facemyer, of Chelyan, said he never thought his life would lead him to growing lavender for a living.
In fact, before now, he said he had never thought about lavender other than a plant his mother had in the yard.
Facemyer worked in the coal industry for 25 years until he was laid off from Pritchard Mining. Most recently, had worked at another Pritchard site - not the current farming site - driving a dozer.
It was through Pritchard that he was introduced to Sawyer and Smith.
“There isn’t a comparison, really,” Facemyer said. “When you’re working on the mine, you’re in a piece of equipment all day. Out here, you’re on the ground, moving dirt.”
He completed the training course in June and now works on the site. He’s out at the site six, sometimes seven days a week.
He said he prefers farming to his previous life, saying he finds the work relaxing. On the site, it’s just him and the earth. And sometimes, a few black bears join him; although, he’s not bothered by them, saying they do not come near him but watch him from the top of the mountain.
“I love coming out on the mountain, doing my own thing, and planting lavender into the ground,” he said.
IT’S NOT JUST LAVENDER
It’s not just lavender on the site, however. Workers have experimented with other plants as well, such as pumpkins. Although animals do not bother the lavender, disliking the oil and the smell, they do like the pumpkins. Smith said the scarecrow in the middle of the pumpkin patch with clanking pans hanging off the arms is enough to scare away deer.
“People told us we couldn’t grow pumpkins up here,” she said. “I said we’re doing it. It’s out of the box thinking.”
VISION FOR THE FUTURE
For the future, Sawyer has many goals for the site. She envisions a poultry farm, possibly farm-to-table options, and venturing into agri-tourism for the lavender fields. She mentioned the possibility of putting work into smoothing the rough roads for this purpose and to accommodate traffic for a potential lavender festival. All of these are goals right now.
“There’s a place for the lavender and it’s going to be purple mountains. It’s really going to be gorgeous and I can’t wait.”
She also hopes this project will grow, expanding to other areas of the state.
“There is 362,000-plus acres of surface mine sites in the state of West Virginia alone,” she said. “Think what we could do. And it doesn’t have to just be lavender. It could be other high-end plants that grow in this type of soil. Think of what we could do with West Virginia.”
Regardless of where they go in the future, Sawyer said the site is a testament of where they’ve come.
“Nobody thought we could grow lavender on the mine site and we’re doing it. And it’s just unbelievable how this will look in two to two- and- a-half years. It’s going to be purple fields. It’s going to have other botanicals up here. It’s everything everybody said we couldn’t do.”
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Information from: The Register-Herald, https://www.register-herald.com
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