GROW EXTERNS
The Sludge Hub hosts the GROW Externships green revitalization outreach workforce.
Welcome to The Sludge Hub, where we reimagine abandoned coal mines into ecologically rich spaces. Join a hands-on externship in Mineral County, WV, to test water, make biochar, tag species, and learn from grassroots leaders.
This is a full off-grid experience in restoration and renewal. It’s not just about fixing what’s broken — it’s about designing something new.
Apply now: www.sludgehub.org/grow
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Externship Program
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The GROW Externship is a hands-on, immersive journey in ecological restoration and community resilience. Participants work in post-coal Appalachia alongside grassroots groups to test water, tag species, make biochar, and more. Externs camp on-site, gain real-world skills in environmental science, and connect deeply with the land. GROW isn’t just fieldwork, it’s a call to action for those ready to lead, learn, and restore mining-impacted landscapes through justice-driven work.
THE EXTERNS
Kaixi Yang
Kaixi (Kai-shee) is a Brooklyn-based artist from Auckland whose work spans land art, bio-art, and design. A Stanford Product Design grad, she co-founded ENTITY and TALKING ANIMALS to fuse systems thinking, climate action, and tech across global, social, and creative landscapes.
Capstone Project - Photos
Snow A Schwartz
Snow is a Brooklyn-based organizer and artist exploring world-building through poetry, code, and ecology. During they/them GROW Externship with Sludge Hub, they/them created Sludge Ecologies — a website that documents the life, resilience, and recovery of coal-impacted Appalachian lands.
Miguel Johnson
Miguel is a storyteller and advocate with a background in Political Science and Creative Writing. He blends climate work and grassroots action, now using drones and photography to help make environmental fieldwork smarter, safer, and more efficient.
Photo 1: I still don't know the name of these fungi...I should have used iNaturalist... Anyway, this is a super fun photo of Kaixi!
Photo 2: The Sludge Pit itself is striking, but the most surprising thing I saw during our time with the FODC were the white flowers edging up on the border of the polluted pond. This photo reminds me of the stark contrast between the mines and the woods we camped in every night.
Photo 3: This photo is oozing with character, so I'm submitting it unedited. After mushroom-hunting with Mr. Lopez, I didn't notice the dirt (or that stubborn strand of beard hair) on my lens until it was too late. When a rainbow appeared during a Stags supply run, I took a flurry of photos without paying much attention to the results; only to later realize these "imperfections" perfectly captured both the moment and everything that came before it. The dirt and hair invading the image suddenly became sentimental.
Capstone Project - Photos
This capstone is inspired by the Rhododendron flower and my trip to Nepal earlier this
year. On April 5th, my friends Prabhat, Monika and I hiked through Kathmandu Valley (Photos
1-3), where I first encountered Nepal's national flower, the Rhododendron. Their crimson pedals
are unmistakable, and we found three at different stages of bloom. The first was still just a bud,
but still pretty and worth a photo, I thought (Photo 4.) The second was far out of reach off the
cliff dawning in early bloom (Photo 5.) But, the third was in reach, all Prahbat had to do was a
bit of climbing to secure a closer look for the rest of the group (Photo 6.) “Try it, it’s sweet!” He
said. It was not (Photo 7...)
I’ll always remember that funny feeling after eating a random flower in the woods
because my friend told me to. So, imagine my surprise when I heard that West Virginia also has
Rhododendrons afoot! Little did I know, there was a thicket of Rhododendrons further into the
campsite. Unlike the red varieties I found in Nepal, these flowers bloomed in lovely white and
pink! (Photo 8-10)
Deliverables
The GROW Externship is a hands-on, two-week experience in ecological restoration at an abandoned coal mine site in West Virginia. Externs test waterways, create biochar, remove invasive species, inoculate mushroom logs, and more — all while camping off-grid and working with local grassroots groups. Food, housing, and transport are covered, plus a $200 stipend. This is your chance to join a movement reshaping post-coal landscapes.