2025 Fall Calendar
of Volunteer Events
Volunteers work in concert with the Arc’s staff to complete a variety of forest stewardship tasks, including planting trees, monitoring tree diseases, restoring rare ecosystems, creating new trails, and – most importantly – removing non-native invasive plants that threaten the balance of our most sensitive ecosystems. Volunteers work to restore, protect, and perpetuate native plant and animal communities in the Arc’s growing preserve system.
Kamama Prairie, Invasive Removal
Thursday, August 28, 2025, Meet at 9:45 am, workday is from 10 AM - 2 PM. 778 Steam Furnace Rd, Peebles, 45660 (map)
Join Land Steward Austin Newton and fellow volunteers as we continue to preserve the Prairie – a spectacularly diverse area within this preserve. Habitats such as xeric short grass prairies, recovering pastures, juniper-oak woodlands, limestone boulders, cliff edges, springs, ponds, and streams all create a unique explosion of diversity that shelters 27 state-listed rare and endangered plants. Kamama is also home to 75 of Ohio's 135 species of butterflies, and several are exceedingly rare. We will be removing invasive plants and clearing hardwood sprouts that want to take over the prairie. There is a job for everyone. No experience is needed; all are welcome. Sturdy shoes are recommended. Please bring work gloves, a personal water bottle, a packed lunch for each day, and snacks. Please note that there are no restroom facilities at this location. For registration, click (here).
John Simon Farm, Trail Construction
Saturday & Sunday, September 6 & 7, 2025, Meet at 9:45 am, workday is from 10 AM - 2 PM. 8721 Carey’s Pond Creek Rd. Portsmouth, OH 45663, (map)
Join Land Stewards Elijah Crabtree, Ethan King, and fellow volunteers as we continue our new trail construction into the remote hill country of John Simon’s ancestral 5th-generation French Farmstead, established in 1864. And enjoy an overnight outing opportunity on the farm! If you can’t do both days, we welcome you to join us for one. This future trail will offer hikers the incredible opportunity to explore the deep woods of the historic farm's rugged hollows and ridgetops, where white oak forests have been left to flourish into a rare state of antiquity. Volunteers will assist in creating a new and exciting trail, build steps, learn how to flatten a slope, build water bars, remove tripping hazards, and more. Come for one or both workdays. There is a job for everyone. No experience is needed; all are welcome. Please bring work gloves, a personal water bottle, a packed lunch, and/or snacks. Please note that there are no restroom facilities at this location. For registration and more information about the overnight outing, click (here).
Cave Road Sweep, Invasive Removal
Saturday, September 20, 2025, Meet between 9 am - 9:45 am, workday is from 10 am - 2 pm. 7660 Cave Rd. Bainbridge, OH 45612 (map)
Join Land Steward Tim Pohlar and other Arc Staff as we clear invasive ivy and euonymus vines off and away from the iconic Cave House area and across the bridge, down into Cave Canyon. We will perform privet removal around the Hermitage Lodge, neighboring cabin, and woods area. You're invited to arrive at the Appalachian Forest Museum between 9 am and 9:45 am to meet your fellow volunteers and the Arc staff over coffee, tea, and dessert. Then at 10 am, we'll spread out in small groups to work on our assigned tasks for the day. The Highlands Nature Sanctuary is the birthplace and headquarters of the Arc of Appalachia, and arguably the Arc's most beautiful preserve. New volunteers will be trained in invasive plant identification. Sturdy shoes, work gloves, and a daypack to carry a water bottle, a light-packed lunch, and/or snacks are recommended. As a gesture of our sincere appreciation, you are cordially invited to join us at the Appalachian Forest Museum following the workday for a light lunch, fellowship, and a brief reflection of the day’s accomplishments. For registration, click (here).
Sandy Springs at Rock Run Preserve, Dune Clearing
Saturday, September 13, 2025, Meet at 9:45 am, workday is from 10 am - 2 pm. U.S. Rt 52, Stout, OH 45684 (map)
Join Land Stewards Austin Newton and Elijah Crabtree on a unique sand-based ecosystem situated just above the Ohio River in Adams County. This preserve protects the last intact sand dunes from an ancient system of dunes that once covered miles of riverbank and hundreds of acres. We will continue the work we did earlier this Spring, pushing back the dune ridge by clearing and stump-treating the hardwoods encroaching on the area. You will also have an opportunity to visit the vernal pool that volunteers and staff reconstructed just in time for the spring amphibian breeding season. The hard work paid off, and we have had many reports of the pool being full of life! There is a job for everyone. No experience is needed; all are welcome. Please bring work gloves, a personal water bottle, a packed lunch, and/or snacks. Please note that there are no restroom facilities at this location. For registration, click (here).