{"id":29013,"date":"2025-12-16T11:08:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T16:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=29013"},"modified":"2025-12-16T11:30:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T16:30:19","slug":"marshall-sociology-and-anthropology-students-complete-walking-path-project-in-mcdowell-county-w-va","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2025\/12\/marshall-sociology-and-anthropology-students-complete-walking-path-project-in-mcdowell-county-w-va\/","title":{"rendered":"Marshall sociology and anthropology students complete walking path project in McDowell County, W.Va."},"content":{"rendered":"
Students in Professor Kristi McLeod\u2019s sociology class completed a community project in War, West Virginia, for the second year in a row, this time creating downtown walking paths to give community members increased access to pedestrian-safe exercise.<\/p>\n

The project was funded through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) as part of the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative. It followed a project McLeod\u2019s students did in the fall of 2024 \u2014 funded through the same ARC initiative \u2014 developing a community garden in War.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s students joined those from other universities Dec. 5-6, presenting their work to the ARC in Washington.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s project involved three trips to War. The first, during the town\u2019s Fall Festival, was to interview residents about what they\u2019d like to see in a walking and fitness path. It was determined that the best places for a fitness path would be inside the fence line of the community park and playground and through the downtown area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took a second trip down in early October to pitch our ideas to members of the city council and the mayor and came to an agreement on the details,\u201d McLeod said.<\/p>\n

The town recently purchased some benches, which dot the walking path, she said. With its ARC funding, the Marshall group was able to purchase even more benches, as well as fitness signs and a larger sign highlighting both the Kiwanis Fitness Path inside the playground\/park (where the local Kiwanis Club has done a lot of work) and the Miner City Walking Path (named after the original name of the town).<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will also be brochure holders installed for local eateries and events. Students in the class designed all of the signs,\u201d McLeod said.<\/p>\n

The students visited War the third time during the fall semester to assist with the community\u2019s 3rd Annual Falling Leaves Festival and install the new signs for both paths.<\/p>\n

Students involved in the project for the past two years were Sociology as well as Anthropology majors. They included: Russell Fraley, Justin Pullins, Savannah Rice,\u00a0Kyleigh Hoey, Abigail Carney, Anna Akers and Cecelia Burke. Others involved this year were Evan Ferguson, Kurt Schade and Nico Pace.<\/p>\n

For Marshall senior Justin Pullins \u2014 who is majoring in Sociology as well as Natural Resources and Recreation Management \u2014 experiencing the community of War felt close to home.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in a town of fewer than 600 people, I learned early on that community isn\u2019t just a word \u2014 it\u2019s a way of life,\u201d Pullins said. \u201cWhen someone is struggling, you step in. When something needs to be done, you do it together. That very perspective guided me when I joined efforts to bring much-needed aid to the community of War. Like many small towns, War faces the challenges of population decline and limited resources, yet it remains full of heart, history, and resilience.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy experiences there remind me that true community strength doesn\u2019t come from size or wealth \u2014 it comes from connection. Whether it was directing efforts to help rebuild a community garden, designing signs for two new city trails, or simply working alongside residents and listening to their stories, my experience reinforced the fact that lasting impact comes from empathy, connection, and understanding what makes a community unique. In places like War, even modest efforts can restore hope and momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n

The projects Pullins has been a part of in War have been a reminder that small towns are the backbone of West Virginia, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey deserve visibility, investment and compassion,\u201d he said. \u201cSupporting small town communities is not just about meeting needs in the moment, but instead about helping them reclaim the pride and potential that have always defined them.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students in Professor Kristi McLeod\u2019s sociology class completed a community project in War, West Virginia, for the second year in a row, this time creating downtown walking paths to give community members increased access to pedestrian-safe exercise. The project was funded through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) as part of the Appalachian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cola","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29013"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29017,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29013\/revisions\/29017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}