In 2025, LiKEN deepened our commitment to building livelihoods of care across Appalachia, along the coast of Louisiana, throughout the diverse cultural and geographic regions across the United States, and around the globe. Guided by community needs, we expanded our team, strengthened cross–sector partnerships, advanced intercultural climate and water research, and continued to build resources that improve local livelihoods. LiKENeers gathered at Experience Learning in Spruce

What is an Appalachian Christmas? In years past, I remember how joyful Christmas was in my youth. Not so much for the monetary value of presents, but for the feeling that came with the deep, cold snows that would cover the mountains in a soft, white, peaceful, calming blanket.

By the 1800s, unregulated over-hunting had reduced this population to 12 million, and by 1900, because of an increase in commercial hunting practices, as few as 300,000 white–tails remained, and the deer had vanished from much of their historical range. By the year 2000, though, things had changed. The passage of the federal Lacey Act created regulations for the trade of illegally harvested wildlife, and penalties for violating these regulations. This effectively destroyed th

Just as it is with human Papaws, the name of the game is sit around and wait. I waited through the seasons and each phase of the growing cycle, waiting first on the flies and beetles to germinate the flower in early spring and then for the zebra swallowtail butterfly to lay her eggs under the leaves in the summer.

Unfortunately, large-scale plantings of autumn olive on these mine lands, with extremely low plant diversity on top of low levels of nitrogen in the soil, allowed autumn olive to grow quickly. Its invasion dominates the landscape by suppressing native regrowth. In addition, its high mast production allowed it to spread rapidly, with seeds being spread by animals that feed on the shrub’s berries.

Summer is always a busy time for LiKEN, and this year has been no different. From creek clean ups and youth paddle camps to Tribal-led...

It is a time of early morning dew glistening in the sunlight as it brings to life the cool feeling of anticipation of the new warmer seasons arriving. It is a time of adventure and excitement with walks in the deep woods of Kentucky. You can almost feel the anticipation in the air. It is a time of bare feet walking along the cool paths of the earth beneath and the feeling of memories and days of times past. It is a forever-connection to how it feels to grow up in the mountain

To put a positive spin on the saying about a “road to hell,” however, I believe we need a “road through hell” here. Because hell does not have to be the endpoint—it is not too late for us to sit back, reflect, take stock of everything, and be proactive toward longer term systemic change—even if it feels like the house is burning down around you. 

This year, 2025 marks the return of Brood XIV, one of the largest and most wide-reaching emergences of 17-year periodical cicadas in the U.S. Read more to learn about how your forest land could be affected.

LiKEN Program Updates, Spring 2025 At LiKEN, our work is rooted in relationships to place, to people, and to the knowledge that connects...

Updates on Community Wealth from Healthy Rivers and Forests, Sharing Successes in Agroforestry, and more.

A project of the Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN) In May 2020, LiKEN initiated a project to develop educational materials...