Evolving Appalachia is a project of Southwest Virginia CSI (Citizen Science Initiative), a student-led, community-based effort coordinated through the University of Virginia's College at Wise, with funding graciously provided by the Dominion Foundation. Our goal is to bring the citizens of the Appalachian region together to catalog the biodiversity of the southern mountains. This region possesses some of the highest biodiversity on the planet for many taxa, yet little knowledge exists as to where organisms occur in our region, and much of this diversity remains undiscovered by the public.

We aim to expand upon this knowledge by getting residents outside and actively exploring our region's biodiversity. Anyone may contribute observations to this project and network with others from across the region and beyond. You can also learn more about special taxa and places within this region at our project website. less ↑