Forest Botanicals Region Living Monument
Footage by Shannon Bell
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Through honoring the relationships that a diversity of Appalachian people have long maintained with forest botanicals, this monument aims to deepen place attachment and appreciation for the treasure of biodiversity growing on the forest floor.
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The Forest Botanicals Region Living Monument is a public humanities initiative that celebrates the cultural, historical, medicinal, and economic importance Appalachian forest botanicals have held for a variety of people, stretching from pre-colonization to today. A project of Virginia Tech, Appalachian Sustainable Development, and the City of Norton, Virginia, this monument was made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation-funded Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia in 2023. Elements of the monument include a “Storywalk Trail” composed of 11 interpretive signs placed along a wooded trail at Flag Rock Recreation Area, an online exhibit, and a sculpture at the High Knob Destination Center. Explore our website to learn more!
This 2-mile loop consists of 10 interpretive signs and one large introductory sign placed along the Twisted Forest and Lake Lake Show trails at Flag Rock Recreation Area. Each sign focuses on a different theme to highlight the cultural, historical, medicinal, and economic importance that Appalachian forest botanicals have long held for a variety of people and animals. To walk the loop, begin at the Norton Reservoir Trailhead parking lot and follow the Twisted Forest Trail until it ends at Lake Lake Show, and then take Lake Lake Show back to the parking area.
Linked via QR code to each of the signs on the Storywalk trail, the online exhibit includes all of the information from the interpretive signs plus additional essays and resources curated by Professor Shannon Bell and her students. This exhibit is continually evolving – one of the “living” aspects of this monument!
ᎢᎾᎨ ᎦᎵᏦᏛ – Inage Galtsodv | Forest Shelter
Located at the High Knob Destination Center, a sculpture titled “Forest Shelter,” or “Inage Galtsodv in the Cherokee language, was created by the artist team of Nathan Wachacha David Bush (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) and William Rogers to celebrate the relationships that Appalachian peoples have long held with forest botanicals, stretching from pre-colonization to today. Rogers and Bush are revitalizing Cherokee copper craft, a tradition that is thousands of years old.
The Forest Botanicals Region Living Monument is a project of the Forest Botanicals Region Social Ecology Lab at Virginia Tech and Appalachian Sustainable Development, in partnership with the City of Norton, Virginia. This project was made possible by the generous support of Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia.