It was truly one of the glimmering little highlights of my summer to spend some time with Partnership for Appalachian Girls’ Education (PAGE Programs) and Asheville Artist Jenny Pickens to capture the vital work they’re doing with Madison County girls for the Hot Springs Tourism & Welcome Center. You can read the full article here.

PAGE Programs offers connective ways for girls to learn the history of our area and get hands-on through listening to local elders histories and documenting their stories, permaculture gardening using heirloom seeds, interactive art-making to create visual histories of their learning and more. I mean seriously, I want to be enrolled in PAGE! I’m so grateful I was asked to lead a poetry workshop and get hands on, guiding them through reading and listening in to nature and to themselves. They did so much more together too– planting locally sourced heirloom seeds using Marshall-made soil with Madison Middle School teachers guiding and were the first group to gather in the Anderson Rosenwald School in Mars Hill in over 50 years, learning to sew and create multi-media art with Artist Jenny Pickens amongst the highlights.

Learn more about this incredible program and how you can get involved as a community partner or to enroll your Madison County girl for next year. Full story here.