Labor and Environmental Justice
APPALACHIA
Saturday, March 21 - Saturday, March 28, 2026
Cost: $800
Engage with individuals and communities in the Appalachian region and their fight for social, economic, and ecological justice amidst a complex cultural history. SCU students will spend the week learning about the Appalachian region, including its rich labor rights history and complex environmental, social, and economic realities. Students will engage with the critical issues surrounding energy, sustainability, and public health for communities and economies rooted in the coal industry and devastating practices such as mountaintop removal.
Commitment Expectations:
- Tuesday | Feb 17 | 5:45 - 7:15 PM
- Tuesday | Feb 24 | 5:45 - 7:15 PM
- Saturday | Feb 28 | 9 AM - 4 PM (all-day retreat)
- Tuesday | Mar 3 | 5:45 - 7:15 PM
- Tuesday | Mar 10 | 5:45 - 7:15 PM
- Tuesday | Mar 17 | 5:45 - 7:15 PM (Welcome back meeting)
"The best way I can put it is that this program was a welcome disturbance in my life. I've realized that corruption is much deeper and much more hidden than I had previously thought and that it is pervasive. Environmental injustice is coupled with social injustice, and issues that are not widely broadcast are still issues."
- Maggie Dong
SCU students Nolan Lopez '25 and Josh Metcalf '25 went on the Appalachia Immersion this past spring break, where they spent one of the seven days cleaning up litter, planting saplings into the soil, and wrapping protective coverings around trees to stop deer from nibbling them.
See the news article from the Washington Observer-Reporter