CEDAR, INC.
COAL STUDY UNIT
PROGRAM GUIDELINES
2025-2026
TASK: Design a Unit of Study that will enable students to discover the importance of coal in their daily lives. The unit should address one or more of the following aspects: coal’s role in our region’s history including the economics and cultural influences; current issues/challenges resulting in the stagnation of the industry’s standing within the nation’s energy sector; possible solutions to overcome the current trend; the future of coal’s role in the energy sector and its regional influence going forward, as well as coal’s role in shaping the Future of Work in Appalachia and how that could help provide more sustainability for their community and our region as a whole. After completion of the development of your unit, identify which one of the seven Pillars in the SOAR Blueprint (pages 3-4) most closely aligns with your Unit.
Although Coal is the focus of your unit, you are encouraged, but not required, to include an innovative/entrepreneurial aspect in your Study Unit.
CEDAR encourages Unit Activities to be conducted outside, as well as inside the classroom, and for students to involve family members or others to assist them with any part of their participation, where such would be deemed appropriate by the teacher.
APPLICATION PROCESS: The Unit Proposal/Grant Request Application, (pages 5-8) of the Program Packet, must be completed.
SUGGESTED UNIT TOPICS: CEDAR offers the following topics as suggestions only and does not require that any particular one(s) be used, but any of them would fit well within the scope of the program. Please feel free to create your own topic as long as it fits within the above Task Statement, and you provide an explanation of such. Also, you are welcome to weave as many different topics as you would like within your Unit, and with a combination of your choosing. As you will see, the following two pages list examples of Topics that would address the seven SOAR Blueprint Pillars, but you are only required to address one.
STUDY UNIT PROGRAM
SUGGESTED UNIT TOPICS
(By Prompt Pillar)
1. Broadband - Increase the availability of affordable high-speed broadband, through fiber, to businesses and residents; and increase adoption rates throughout the SOAR region: 1) On-Line Business; 2) Website Design; 3)Technology’s Role in Conducting Business, Past/Present/Future.
2. 21st Century Workforce - Develop our regional workforce to be competitive in the digital economy and other emerging industries: 1) Career Exploration Relative to Various Community Jobs and Needs; 2) Jobs and Careers Involved with the Economic Development Process; 3) Various Types of Jobs Created by Economic Development Projects; 4) Explore the highly-skilled, technically-trained skills required for mining engineers, coal miners, surveyors, service technicians, equipment operators, and other jobs related to the coal industry.
3. Entrepreneurship in the digital economy - To create new and expand existing small businesses within the region by taking full advantage of the digital economy: 1) What is an Entrepreneur; 2) Traits of an Entrepreneur; 3) Entrepreneurship Types – a) Innovation Driven Enterprise; b) Small and Medium Enterprise; 4) Identify Local Entrepreneurs; 5) Economics; 6) Marketing; 7) Profits / Loss; 8) Small Business / Start Ups; 9) Create a “Class Business”; 10) Prototypes; 11) Explore Brownfields/Greyfields/Greenfields/Previously Mined Sites/Coal Camp Communities, as possible sites for new business location and/or revitalization; 12) Develop New Use(s) for Coal; 13) Create a business that will provide a service to the coal industry.
4. Healthy Communities - To reduce the physical and economic impact of obesity, diabetes, and substance use disorder, as well as any on-going significant health concerns throughout our region, i.e. COVID-19, et.al.: 1) Create an App that Promotes Healthy Living; 2) Educational Program; 3) Medical Innovations; 4) Health Care Careers; 5) Recognition and/or Tribute to Health Care Innovations and/or Those Delivering Care/Treatment/Support Under Adverse Conditions and at Personal Risk. 6) Create an App to monitor Coal Truck Drivers’ blood pressure, sugar levels, and other vital signs during driving hours; 7) Create a plan to promote a safety culture when working with others; 8) Create an App to help identify controlled substances, potential risks if exposed, what to do in an emergency situation; 9) How does a thriving coal industry support regional hospital expansion, state-of-the-art medical services, growth of educational institutions, increased career opportunities.
5. Industrial Development - Increase the amount of industrial employment which includes manufacturing, natural resources, processing, and distribution by expanding existing companies and attracting new ones: 1) Products & Services; 2) Budgeting & Finance; 3) Differences Between Needs & Wants; 4) Relationship Between Supply & Demand; 5) How to Recruit New Businesses; 6) How to Retain Existing Businesses; 7) Create a Future City Showing a Well Balanced Offering of Businesses Meeting the Community Wants/Needs; 8) Coal Camps – Revitalize/Repurpose/Restore; 9) Identify ways the coal industry historically and/or currently supports development of the Appalachian Region; 10) Explain how the coal industry impacted the industrialization of the United States; 11) Investigate the influence coal production has on the global economy; 12) Explore how an historic event positively/negatively affected life in the Appalachian coalfields and the long-term effect on the region and country; 13) Electricity – Manufacturing Intelligence; 14) Demand for Electricity; 15) Unleashing Energy Independence; 16) Rare-Earth Minerals – what are they, where are they, importance to the economy.
6. Regional Food Systems - Create a local foods movement by connecting local producers to markets for their products both within and outside the region: 1) How to Grow Plants Through Traditional Methods (School Gardening); 2) Vermiculture/Worm Farming; 3) Composting; 4) Seed Production; 5) Soil Quality; 6) Mushroom Farming; 7) Pollinators; 8) Aquaponics/Hydroponics/Aquaculture; 9) Herbs; 10) Where Does Our Food Originate; 11) Develop a plan to utilize reclaimed mine sites for farming, raising cattle, planting vineyards, growing fruit orchards; 12) Develop an idea to utilize rehabilitated mines – underground farming.
7. Tourism and downtown revitalization - Establish Kentucky's Appalachian region as a tourism destination: 1) Adventure Tourism; 2) Cultural Exchange vs. Cultural Appreciation – a) Food; b) Coal; c) Quilting; d) Folk Art; e) Music; f) Stories; 3) Create a tourism business with visits to area Coal Camps with interesting stops, overnight accommodations, local dining establishments.