Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People is a four-part series of hour-long programs that explores the history of the region from its beginnings: when the Appalachian Mountains formed. Director Ross Spears says the main character in the documentary is the mountains.
“The mountains are of course the spine and the psychological underpinnings of the whole region. Everything in the region sort of relates to the mountains,” Spears said. “The mountains have had a big effect on the way people have lived in Appalachia, because you have to adjust things when you’re dealing with mountains. They’re big and powerful features on the planet.”
Spears points out the Appalachian region is the most biodiverse temperate forest in the world and not many people in Appalachia are familiar with that fact.
George Constantz of Hampshire County was a science writer for the documentary. Constantz has taught high school and college biology classes and has spent nearly 30 years studying the Appalachian ecology. Constantz says Appalachia has great biodiversity because of its mountains and the fact that they’re almost 600 million years old.
“That’s a long time for a new species to evolve in place,” Constantz said. “It’s also a long time for new species to arrive and colonize the region.”
Constantz says biodiversity in Appalachia has also been encouraged because there are deep valleys and isolated hilltops.
“Those hilltops serve as ecological islands, places where populations of animals are kind of free to evolve in their own unique direction,” Constantz said.
Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People has four parts. The first looks at how the mountains formed and evolved and the arrival of the first people. The other three segments explore settlement by Europeans, industrialization and twentieth century Appalachia. The film includes interviews with a wide variety of people including scientists, writers and activists.
Director Jamie Ross said no matter what their background, each person interviewed echoed common themes.
“I think one thing people said repeatedly is what a treasure the mountains are and how important they are to us psychologically as well as to the living world,” Ross said. “I think another theme was that we are part of the landscape not just actors; the landscape isn’t just a back drop for human activity but humans are a part of a much bigger system.”
Ross believes the rich landscape of the mountains has a profound effect on the people who chose Appalachia as their home.
“So I think the mountains imprint themselves upon peoples’ hearts,” Ross said. “I think they helped kind of nurture a close knit society where people counted on each other, where people played music together, where people helped one another with farming and different things. I think that’s one real way they helped shape the people.”
Ross and Spears traveled throughout the Appalachian region from New York to Alabama to film their documentary.
The series will air on successive Monday nights at 9 pm on WV PBS, beginning April 13.