@southwings
SouthWings partners with conservation groups, community groups, media, and decision-makers to provide a unique perspective to better understand and solve pressing environmental issues in the Southeast. www.southwings.org
This month, we are celebrating women in aviation history. Did you know that Jerrie Mock was the first woman to fly around the world? She did it in under 30 days round trip from Columbus, OH in 1964! Her Cessna 180 - The Spirit of Columbus on display in the National Air & Space Museum
We are proud to support the Appalachian Solar Finance Fund! Check out the good they generated in 2025 ☀️ buff.ly/Jz7VszC
Let us know the women that have inspired you and are leading the change in the environmental movement and the aviation community. Drop them in the comments!
“From environmental advocacy to financial reform, from community organizing to policy innovation, women are at the forefront of driving holistic change.” - National Women’s History Alliance #WomensHistoryMonth
Worth a listen! Jo and Joy Banner, founders of the @descendantsproject.bsky.social discuss protecting the history of their home in Cancer Alley in Louisiana on @selc.bsky.social 's Broken Ground Podcast.
buff.ly/pBDeLu1
#BlackHistoryMonth #EnvironmentalJustice #CancerAlley
From tracking changing coastlines to surveying vital habitats, aerial support can make all the difference in environmental work.
SouthWings provides free flights thanks to our generous volunteer pilots.
👉 Submit your request today: buff.ly/BgXLLKH
Your mission deserves altitude!
#aerialperspective
Appalachia is a key region that SouthWings supports with flights, with a rich and diverse history. Check out the Black Appalachian Coalition's Substack recent series highlighting Culture Keepers: buff.ly/t4L2VgS #BlackHistoryMonth #Appalachia
Photos don't lie. Photos from several SouthWings flights helped @selc.bsky.social uncover the truth about how xAI is powering their data center operations. Now, joining with @earthjustice.org and the NAACP, SELC is preparing to sue: buff.ly/itPIyVQ
📷️ by Steve Jones for SELC on a SouthWings flight
SouthWings flights have been an important tool in exposing mountaintop removal coal mining.
Thank you to @appvoices.org and other advocacy groups for continuing to hold these companies accountable.
buff.ly/ImTwE8s
📷️ by Andrew Young and Kent Kessinger on past SouthWings flights
Reflecting on his new role, Hap shared:
“I’m honored to take over the chairmanship of this 30-year-old organization. SouthWings has always been about showing up for communities and using aviation as a force for good, and I’m excited to help guide the organization into its next chapter.”
A graduate of Appalachian State University and a former U.S. Navy aviator, Hap brings a lifetime of flight experience and a passion for meaningful service to his work with SouthWings. Hap has served on our Board of Directors since 2013 and has been a dedicated volunteer pilot since 2008.
SouthWings is delighted to welcome Hap Endler as our new Board Chair!
Hap’s deep connection to SouthWings and to our mission makes him a natural leader for our organization.
📷️ Hap Endler and Vernon Haltom, Executive Director @coalrivermountain.bsky.social
before a flight to monitor MTR in 2024
Photo of the cover of 202 Program Report featuring a photo of the Mississippi River delta by Alex Kolker.
ICYMI: 2025 Program Report: Our partners are doing a ton of great work to move the needle on environmnental justice and conservation initiatives from Appalachia to the Gulf Coast, and we are so grateful to our volunteer pilots for providing an aerial perspective to these projects! buff.ly/kY8nEUw
Happy Valentine's Day!
We ❤️ our volunteer pilots! Would you like to join us?
buff.ly/fdDM7m7
#publicbenefitflying #giveback #generalaviation #volunteerpilots
Celebrate Bessie Coleman! She was the first African American woman to earn her pilot's license in 1921. She had to move to France in order to achieve this goal, though, because white pilots in the US refused to train her.
Learn more about her life in aviation: buff.ly/NF1T1AN
#BlackHistoryMonth
We are so proud of all the support SouthWings volunteer pilots offered to environmental initiatives across the Southeast and Gulf in 2025. Check it out on our newly released story map!
buff.ly/RelFNeE
#BlackHistoryMonth: Take some time to explore this insightful multimedia collection from @SELC.bsky.social:
Plantations to Pollution
Black Communities, Legacy Pollution, and the Path Forward
buff.ly/aUNdnKw
Peep a photo from a SouthWings flight in the story about Memphis, TN.
Check out this inspiring documentary:
"RED HORIZON is a documentary film about a group of young pilots who are passionate about aviation and dedicated to carrying on the legacy of the original Tuskegee Airmen."
And, it features one of our Volunteer Pilots - Jared Savage!
Watch: buff.ly/3WWQRLR
We are proud to celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth. "A Century of Black History Commemorations," acknowledges the first Negro History Week was founded in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson.
Thank you to @asalh-bhm.bsky.social for creating and making this content available to share: asalh.org/black-histor...
Thank you to Volunteer Pilot David Bernacki for helping One Hundred Miles and The Current staff capture photographic evidence of the incongruity with the landscape that the zoning change had allowed. Photo by Susan Inman , One Hundred Miles
Congrats to the Keep Sapelo Geechee Coalition! McIntosh County voters successfully overturned a zoning rule from 2023 that threatened Gullah Geechee culture on Sapelo Island. Read more: buff.ly/LtPHXyH
This video from @jhenryfair.com uses footage from previous SouthWings flights and highlights the specialness of the Edisto River in South Carolina. It is currently threatened by a proposed natural gas power plant. Watch:
Using images from previous SouthWings flights, @jhenryfair.com sheds light on a proposed data center in Walterboro, SC and proposed power plant on the Edisto River.
Did you catch this podcast last year? It's a look at industrial animal agriculture in NC, featuring a flight with Cape Fear Riverkeeper and Volunteer Pilot Doug Oakley.
We are eager to continue to support the movement to keep waters and communities safe from CAFO pollution.
Today, we honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. " - Martin Luther King, Jr. Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1964.
One thing that gives us hope as we kick off a new year is the abundance of good, important work happening to protect the environment and communities. Stay tuned for highlights from 2025!
Southern Exposure Film about the Belle Mina community in Alabama fighting a quarry:
Thank you so much for your support and partnership @jhenryfair.com ❤️
Wait, is that Emmy award-winning Caitlyn Greene, cinematographer Justin Zweifach, and Mardi Gras masker Walter Sandifer, III? 😲 What are they doing with SouthWings? Well, if you checked out our post yesterday, you'd sure have a hint. 😉
What do you think they were joking about? 🤔
Emmy award-winning Caitlyn Greene and SouthWings have been planning this flight for over a year! Walter Sandifer, III of the Mardi Gras masking tradition, was aboard for the special project!
Lucky for you, VP Eric J. is offering a sneak peek since the project is not yet released. 😉
