LiKEN Recap 2025: Listening to the Land, Learning from the People

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.

Inspired by the past year and the reflections in our forthcoming Impact Report, we are proud to celebrate a period of remarkable growth: new Community Engagement Coordinators, expanded forest and water resilience initiatives, free legal clinics, intercultural climate work, and renewed investments in youth, storytelling, and community well–being.

In many ways, a certain week in April 2025 encapsulated so much of the breadth of LiKEN’s work and influence. In Lee County, Kentucky, LiKENeers and community partners convened a roundtable that brought together residents, experts, creatives, and organizers for listening, problem-solving, and relationship building focused on the Kentucky River. Later that week in Winchester, Kentucky, LiKEN opened a new office in partnership with the Kentucky Riverkeeper. LiKEN invited the community to celebrate with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Earlier that same day, LiKENeers led a stream sampling training, equipping community members with the skills and tools needed to better understand and care for their local waterways.

Immediately following the celebration, Executive Director Betsy Taylor and Community Care Coordinator Madison Mooney traveled to Washington D.C. to attend an informational briefing to the U.S. House of Representatives. Betsy testified to a Farm Credit Council–organized hearing about the significance of heirs’ property in protecting property rights. 

Together, these moments, local and national, practical and relational, reflect how LiKEN operates at multiple scales at once. Whether gathered along a creek bank, around a table in eastern Kentucky, or in meetings on Capitol Hill, LiKEN’s work remains rooted in place, guided by community knowledge, and focused on building durable networks of care that carry impact far beyond any single project or week.

New and Returning LiKENeers 

We were thrilled to welcome new LiKENeers to the team in 2025 including Alessandra Jerolleman, Angie Lucas joining the Disaster Resilience team; Shannon Pace and Michelle Caroll-Cole, Community Engagement Coordinators; Jacob Johnson, Assistant Communications Director; Holly Angel, Family Assistance Coordinator for the Land and Revenues Program; and Shannon Donnelly, Administrative Coordinator. This year, we also saw the return of Itzel Flores Castillo Wang to the LiKEN family! She will be working with the Disaster Resilience team as well.

Program Recaps

That action-packed week in April was no outlier when it comes to the busy year our LiKENeers had on the frontlines of collaborative action, working tirelessly day-after-day to improve local livelihoods, build trustworthy collaborations, and share knowledge.

Disaster Resilience

• Rising Voices, Changing Coasts Hub: Co-facilitated two Louisiana Hub retreats hosted by the First Peoples’ Conservation Council of  Louisiana, as part of a convergence science coastal research project that is hosted by the Haskell Foundation and working to improve understanding of climate impacts and to provide local communities with the information they need to take action and protect their lifeways. 

• Disaster Justice Network: Continued twice–monthly exchanges on mutual aid and disaster preparedness; organized networking roundtables at major national workshops. Published an article in the Disaster Prevention and Management Journal about this network of mutual aid approach.

• Land to Sea Network: Continued meeting on a regular basis for knowledge exchanges, along with a publication in the Journal of Geography, focused on Indigenous-Led rematriation for strengthening climate adaptation and resilience.

• Restoring Louisiana Marshes: Continued working in partnership on a project led by the Lowlander Center in collaboration with Tribal leaders and organizers from the Pointe au Chien Indian Tribe, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Tribe, and the Grand Bayou Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha Tribe, weaving Indigenous, local, and other scientific knowledges and expertise, focused on filling in the canals dredged in Louisiana’s wetlands to reduce land loss and flood risk, restore marsh ecosystems, and protect sacred land. 

• The American Meteorological Society (AMS) Heather Lazrus Symposium: Co-organized and facilitated this one-day symposium focused on Convergence Science: Indigenous Weather, Water and Climate Knowledge, Systems, Practices and Communities; published recommendations from the 2023 and 2024 symposia in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS). 

• Celebrating Restorative Relations: Co-organized a workshop and a community-building gathering focused on connections between climate resilience, Indigenous rights, and land and water rematriation; hosted by the Su’nan Protection, Art & Cultural Education (SPACE) in the traditional homelands of the Chumash people, in partnership with the CREW Center for Restorative Environmental Work, the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center Climate Justice Working Group, and the University of California, Santa Barbara American Indian & Indigenous Collective.

• Earth Data Relations: Co–authored a publication in Nature Communications on Indigenous data governance in open earth systems science. 

Forest Livelihoods

• Continued to grow our network of small forest landowners and forest–based enterprises in our service area.

• Received $200,000 in funding from the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities for the creation of the LiKEN Forestry Fund. This money will provide direct funding for implementing conservation, forestry, and forest–farming projects in eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia.

• Held workshops and clinics across Central Appalachia focusing on forest farming, managing forests to support wildlife, and giving technical service providers tools for assessing forests for non–timber products.

• Partnered with state and federal 3 FSA clinics where landowners could receive farm numbers, a first hurdle for cost–share and other supportive programming, and have one-on-one consultations with agency reps.

• Partnered with Kentucky Riverkeeper, Friends of the Tug Fork, and Future Generations University for river cleanups, training, and youth education.

• Secured an $80,000 Benedum Foundation grant to connect forest farmers to land and markets, helping grow the forest economy. 

• Sponsored the 2025 meeting of the Kentucky Maple Syrup Association in Winchester.

• Weathered two funding freezes, including one that coincided with historic flooding on the Tug Fork River and affecting several of the counties we serve. During that period of uncertainty, LiKEN’s staff kept working and pivoted to flood relief and recovery in their communities. 

Water Collaboratory

• Responded to severe flooding in Martin and Harlan Counties, aiding recovery and documenting infrastructure damage.

• Advanced the Water Pressure Project by presenting at the Appalachian Studies Association conference and building 3 community water resilience toolkits.

• Conducted the final stage of research for the Mountain Drinking Water Project, analyzing disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and preparing community reportbacks.

• Co–led cleanups in Inez and other areas, trained water advocates nationally through RCAP, and provided legislative testimony on rural water challenges.

Stories of Place

• Continued the Martin County Stories of Place program with  poetry collections, community exhibits, and summer storytelling events in partnership with Martin County High School (MCHS).

• Hosted an open mic and traditional music jam at MCHS in collaboration with local musicians and members of the Stidham Old Time Music Association. 

• Expanded into community pop–ups and camps to keep youth connected through creative storytelling.

• Launched the Woodland Arts of Central Appalachia project, documenting regional folk and craft traditions to link cultural heritage with forest health.

Land & Revenues

• Despite the loss of USDA Climate Smart funding, the team expanded its direct technical services offered through the Appalachian Heirs’ Property Center (AHPC) and Community Wealth from Healthy Rivers & Forests projects.

• Conducted free will–writing clinics across KY, providing $13,000+ in pro bono legal services.

•  Participated in national Federal Reserve convenings on heirs’ property ethics and co–authored the research article “Afterlives of Coal,” published in Environmental Research: Energy.

• Continued conducting research on land tenure in Central Appalachia in supporting the creation of the Appalachian Land Academy under the Building GIS Capacity in Energy Communities project. 

Kentucky Environmental Foundation Update

Since its founding in 1990, the Kentucky Environmental Foundation (KEF) has been rooted in grassroots environmental health and justice, from advocating for safer chemical weapons disposal to addressing pollution and community well-being across the region. In February 2018, KEF formally merged with the Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN) bringing together decades of place-based advocacy with LiKEN’s growing practice of collaborative research, community engagement, and cross-sector partnerships. Today, KEF continues as an integral project within LiKEN’s network, honoring its original mission while advancing shared work on environmental protection, community resilience, and just futures for the people and places we serve.

After 41 years advocating for the safe destruction of the Army’s chemical weapons stockpile located in Madison County, Kentucky, it is KEF’s pleasure to report that in September 2023 the last of these weapons were destroyed. In April 2025 the last the agent contaminated materials remaining were also destroyed resulting in zero chemical weapons agents in the state. This not only ended Kentucky’s efforts, but put the United States in compliance with the international treaty (Chemical Weapons Convention).

KEF Director was Chair of the Governor’s Commission on the project, a position now terminated due to the destruction goal being reached. However, there remain two continuing associated efforts including the Closure and the compliance with all permitting requirements. These are expected to be fulfilled in early to mid 2027.

KEF continues to be a member of a steering committee of a national effort to eliminate open burning and open detonation of military and industrial hazardous wastes. KEF is also engaged in efforts to STOP the BIG Hill Line – a proposed extension by EKPC of a power line through Forest owned by Berea College and individual property owners they wish to take by means of eminent domain.

From the LiKEN Blog

LiKEN’s work is carried forward by LiKENeers, who spend their days on the front–lines of community resilience supporting flood recovery, documenting cultural memory, training youth, conducting research, tending forests and waterways, and building the relationships that make long–term change possible.

Our blog offers a window into this work. It reflects the voices of community members, organizers, researchers, students, storytellers, and land stewards who share both their professional expertise and the personal, on-the-ground experiences that shape our programs. Through essays, field notes, poetry, and reflections, these posts capture the lived realities behind our projects and celebrate the people and places at the heart of our mission.

Below is a look back at the stories shared throughout 2025:

Water & Flooding

• Echoes of a One Thousand Year Flood: An interview about poetry published in Still: The Journal by Brandon Jent written by Communications Director Phill Barnett.

• Rising Waters, Falling Snow: A reflection on frontline flood relief by former Community Engagement Coordinator and author Matthew Sparks. 

• The Road through Hell-For-Certain; Paved with Good Intentions: A follow–up to Matthew Sparks’ first flood relief blog this time focusing on efforts in the underserved communities of Hell-For-Certain Road.

• Toxic Tires in the Kentucky River's South Fork: An on-the-ground look at tire pollution in the Kentucky River by Community Engagement Coordinator Tina Johnson.

• Tire–Fighters: Reflecting on Kentucky River Cleanup Week’s Successful Conclusion: Highlights and successes from one of the biggest cleanup events of the year by former Leslie County Community Engagement Coordinator Matthew Sparks.

Forest & Ecology

• The Cicadas Are Coming: What Forest Landowners and Wildcrafters Need to Know in a Brood XIV Year: What landowners and others in Central Appalachia needed to know for this year’s Cicada Brood by Communications Director Phill Barnett.

• Blackberry Pickin’ Time and My Grandma's Blackberry Dumplings: A personal reflection on the cultural significance of blackberries in eastern Kentucky by Community Engagement Coordinator Tina Johnson.

• It Was the Berries: Fighting Autumn Olive’s Invasion in Appalachia: A report on the efforts to control the spread of invasive Autumn Olive plants in Central Appalachia by Community Engagement Coordinator Randal Caudill.

• Where the Pawpaws Grow: Finding and Conserving Kentucky’s Banana: Part instructional piece, part cultural reflection, Community Engagement Coordinator Danielle Kirk’s article on pawpaws will have you seeking out the “Kentucky Banana” for yourself!

• On the Rebound: A Tale of White–Tailed Deer in Kentucky: A history of deer hunting in Kentucky that captures the population’s rebound from its pre–settlement peak to current fears of disease from overpopulation by Community Engagement Coordinator Randal Caudill.

People, Land & Livelihoods

• Kentucky's Privatized Market for Property Tax Debt, Impacts on Heirs' Property Owners: Land and Revenues Director Kevin Slovinsky shares an experience working with a family to avoid a delinquent tax lien and clear title to heirs’ property with the Appalachian Heirs’ Property Coalition.

• First Community Wealth Event in Leslie County: Farm Service Agency “Farm Number Registration Clinic”: An account of our first of event of the year, a farm number registration clinic in collaboration with several government agencies, nonprofits, and community representatives, in Leslie County by Community Engagement Coordinator Matthew Sparks

• Celebrating Restorative Relations: This piece looks back on the Celebrating Restorative Relations: Connections between climate resilience, Indigenous rights, and land and water rematriation at University of California Santa Barbra by Itzel Flores Castillo Wang.

• No Community Without “U:” What CECs Mean to LiKEN: Former CEC and current Community Care Coordinator Madison Mooney reflects on the importance of CECs in LiKEN’s history and gives thanks for the amazing work all CECs—past and present—have done for their home communities. 

These writings show the depth of commitment, curiosity, and care that LiKENeers bring to their work and communities, whether they are cleaning a riverbank, interviewing elders, teaching young people, analyzing water quality, or supporting families navigating land and inheritance. They are snapshots of a year lived in service to place, people, and the possibility of a more just future.

Other Publications & Honors

• Madison Mooney received the Tammy “Tambone” Clemons Vision award at the 2025 Appalachian Studies Association Conference.

• 2025 Tye, MR, L Landrum, J Maldonado, D Tachera, and JM Done. Environmental hazard impact metrics that matter, Eos, 106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250335

• 2025 Méndez, M, S Shah, C Golembeski, L Bedsworth, JM Cha, L Goldsmith, TJ Holmes, J Maldonado, BR Middleton Manning, L Estelí Méndez-Barrientos, M Mills-Novoa. Centering Environmental Justice in United States (U.S.) Climate Assessments, Climatic Change, 178(90). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-025-03924-5

Looking Forward

As we reflect on this year and on ten years of LiKEN’s work, we are filled with deep gratitude. None of what you see in this recap would be possible without the trust, collaboration, and generosity of our community. Whether you have joined us as a partner, donor, participant, storyteller, researcher, volunteer, or neighbor, you have helped shape LiKEN into what it is today. These first ten years have been defined by relationships, shared learning, and a collective commitment to caring for place and one another.

We invite you to celebrate this milestone with us at LiKEN’s 10-Year Anniversary Gala on March 14, where we will gather to honor the people, places, and partnerships that have carried us this far. As we look ahead to the next decade, we do so with hope and determination. The challenges before us are real, but so is our shared capacity to meet them. Together, we look forward to the next ten years of listening deeply, learning together, and working side-by-side to create resilient futures for communities around the world.