Robert Handley, Longtime President of GRWA Passes Away

The Greenbrier River Watershed Associations longtime President has passed away.

Robert Hall Handley, 82, of Renick, W.Va., died Saturday, January 15, 2011.

He was born April 21, 1928, in Thomasville, Ga., and was a son of the late Charles Overton Sr. and Nelle Hall Handley.

Bob was driven by his interest in preserving a clean environment for future generations and he supported this interest in many ways. He was the president of The Greenbrier River Watershed Association and held a director position with the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. He was a life member of the Greenbrier Historical Society, where he followed a family interest in maintaining local history. He is most noted for exploring the underground and spent most of his life helping others share his passion. He was a founding member of the West Virginia Association for Cave Studies and the West Virginia Cave Conservancy. He is the oldest person, at 81, to rappel the New River Bridge on Bridge Day. He retired from Union Carbide, Institute, W.Va., as a senior engineer.

Survivors include, one brother, John Handley and his wife, Julie, of Jacksonville Fla.; two sons and their spouses, Scott and Meri Handley of Vancouver, Wash., and Todd and Julie Handley of Parkersburg; four grandchildren, Meghan, Quinn, McKellam and Austin.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one brother, Charles Overton Handley Jr.

A celebration of life will be on Saturday, May 28, at Lost World Caverns.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made to any of the following interests in the name of Bob Handley c/o Todd Handley 116 Brentwood Heights, Parkersburg WV 26104: WV Cave Conservancy, Greenbrier River Watershed Association, Greenbrier Historical Society Inc., or WV Highlands Conservancy.

GRWA Recognized by WV Watershed Network

Picture: (Left to Right): Audrey Sampson-GRWA Americorps VISTA, John J. Walkup III- Board Member, Wilhelmina Kelly- Vice President, Debbie Cox- Experience Works Trainee, Frank Gifford- Experience Works Trainee, Leslee McCarty- GRWA Coordinator.

Greenbrier River Watershed Association has been recognized by the West Virginia Watershed Network for their accomplishments in improving watershed health through their outreach efforts and educational programs.  On November 6, 2010 the Greenbrier River Watershed Association was awarded an Outreach and Education award during the 12^th Annual Watershed Celebration Day at The Resort in Glade Springs.

The Greenbrier River Watershed Association (GRWA) has become a great resource for community involvement within their watershed.  They have formed partnerships and are spreading the word about protecting the environment to young and old alike.  The watershed’s unique topography has led to a unique education opportunity. GRWA hosts tours of Lost World Caverns where students learn about karst topography and are treated to the Riders of the Flood outdoor drama.   As a participant in the Fresh Water Folk Festival, GRWA’s VISTA talked with students about the river and taught them how to grow their own crystals.  Water and chemistry knowledge was the theme of the Greenbrier Academy for Girls’ semester long class.  This partnership brings the environmental lessons close to home for the watershed association and the girls.   In addition to these special events GRWA is branching out into social networking.  Through a website and a Facebook page they have been able to keep members up to date on the local issues such as the algae blooms on the River and the Greenbrier County methane recovery project.

“GRWA volunteers have been going strong on outreach over the past several years.  They have developed some really unique partnerships and opportunities for people to get involved,” said Jennifer Pauer, WVWN member.  “It is important for a watershed association to be a catalyst for community action in all areas and I feel GRWA is doing just that.”

GRWA and Lost World Caverns team up to educate the community on life underground in the Greenbrier Valley

Recently the Greenbrier River Watershed Association and Lost World Caverns teamed up to present “Living on Karst” in the Greenbrier Valley.  Over 120 people attended the event held at Lost World Caverns and roughly 50 people explored the underground wonders offered throughout the caves.

Karst is an area of limestone terrain characterized by sinkholes, ravines, caverns, and underground streams. Karst or cave land comprises 20% of the planet and holds unique life forms.  Karst topography presents special challenges to maintaining water quality. Due to the porosity of karst, the natural filtering effect of water percolating through soil may not occur.  Water can drop into a sinkhole and reappear virtually unchanged 30 miles away.

Beneath the surface, the world is a labyrinth of sunless tunnels, huge rooms and glittering caves formations.  Much of what would be surface water disappears into sinkholes and cave openings into these intricate underground pathways. The purpose of “Living on Karst” was to educate the community on the specific karst issues affecting the Greenbrier River watershed.  Thanks to everyone who helped out; GRWA was able to do just that.

GRWA extends a special thank you to the “Gigeusaws” for entertaining our guests with their beautiful music along with Lost World Caverns for hosting the event.  Other sponsors who were a tremendous help included Tavern 1785 Dinner House, Bubble Cave LLC, West Virginia Caver Conservancy (WVCC), West Virginia Association for Cave Studies, and the WVDEP Section 319 Clean Water Act.