Doug Antibus, junior conservation major and member of SEED, spent an afternoon with some friends in Dysart Woods in southeastern Ohio on Oct. 9, enjoying nature and relaxing.

His short trip inspired him to write an article about the importance of preserving this land and saving it from Ohio Valley Coal Company’s underground mining plans. Now, his article is receiving regional and national attention.

Antibus’ article, “A trip to Dysart Woods,” was originally published in Seeds of Change, a joint publication of Students Eliminating Environmental Destruction and Coalition for a Humane and New Global Economy.

Now it has been published in Threshold, the national publication of the Student Environmental Action Coalition and is slated to appear in the Buckeye Forest Council’s publication, Martha’s Journal.

“I’m just happy being able to write and express myself,” Antibus said. “So whether (the article) garners a lot of attention, I don’t care.”

Environmentalists say the proposed mining at Dysart will cause the ground level to sink, which could disrupt water tables in the area and endanger the health of the region.

Antibus wanted to see Dysart Woods because he’d heard that it was the only old-growth forest in the state. Old-growth forests are undisturbed by humans.

“It’s one thing that’s still untouched,” said Fred Baerkircher, library science graduate student who also made the trip and is a member of SEED. “I think we sort of need that reminder, in a way, to remain healthy as a

society.”

Antibus and Baerkircher are unsure whether the attention can save Dysart.

“Things at the moment are pretty grim,” Baerkircher said. Antibus eventually wants to write about the environment and natural science professionally.

“I guess I’ve been into the environment ever since I was a kid,” Antibus said. He grew up in upstate New York where he would fish, hike and play in the woods with his friends. Environmentalism also runs in the family.

“My dad’s a biological ecology professor and my mom’s a high school science teacher,” Antibus said. His sister lives near Lake Tahoe and is a skiing and white-water rafting instructor.

“If you’ve got free time,” Antibus said, “it’s better to spend it in the outdoors. It’s just so much fun.”

To read Antibus’ article online, go to www.socmagazine.org.

Contact student politics reporter Jessica Rothschuh at [email protected]