Learn facts you never knew about the life of one of Appalachia's most notorious outlaw treehuggers in Walk, on the Mountain!
Junior Walk is an environmental activist who lives in Boone county West Virginia.Since 2009 he has worked with various anti-surface mining organizations in the Appalachian region.In that time his work has taken various forms, including lobbying on federal and state levels, gathering data for lawsuits against coal companies, and even getting arrested doing direct action on surface mines and corporate offices.Junior now serves as the outreach coordinator for Coal River Mountain Watch, a role in which he spends his time monitoring coal mines in his community for environmental violations, as well as educating people on the effects surface mining has had on the state of West Virginia.Learn more about his story in his autobiography Walk, on the Mountain.
Junior Walk grew up on Coal River Mountain in Raleigh County, WV, taking part in traditional Appalachian activities such as harvesting ginseng and mushrooms.He worked for a time in a coal preparation plant and then as a security guard on a mountaintop removal site, where he learned firsthand the damage this practice had on the mountains and the communities below.He began working with Coal River Mountain Watch and other groups in 2009.In 2011 he was awarded the Brower Youth Award.Since that time his work has taken various forms, including lobbying on federal and state levels, gathering data for lawsuits against coal companies, and even getting arrested doing direct action at surface mines and corporate offices.In 2021 he was awarded a fellowship with Public Lab to help support his work monitoring the coal mines in his community via drones.Junior now serves as the outreach coordinator for Coal River Mountain Watch, monitoring coal mines in his community for environmental violations and guiding tours for visiting journalists and student groups.
