The Tree People - List of Guided Field Trips
How to Proceed: Pick a leader or destination. If the listing already has full occupancy, it will be noted as closed. Make a note of the field trip “NAME” as you will need it when you register. Each field trip will be limited to 12 people. Hikes are divided by county region, to see exact location of hikes click here.
Southwest
Highlands Nature Sanctuary
County: Highland
Leaders: Ann Geise & Teri Gilligan
Length of Trail: Less than a mile
Difficulty: Easy
Within the forested backdrop of Highlands Nature Sanctuary, we will learn to identify trees! Our main focus will be using a tree key and yes, some tree terminology. For those not sure about a tree key -- it's a booklet with a series of 2-answer questions about a feature of the tree. By following the questions you eventually come to the correct tree species. By using a key we'll learn the common features that help separate the different species. You'll take with you skills to use beyond this class to help unlock the mystery of trees wherever you are. Much of our class will be spent at the picnic shelter at the museum where we'll work in groups to key out various tree specimens. Afterward we will walk the grounds observing the magnificent diversity of trees and apply what we've learned.
Ridgeview Farm & Maude's Cedar Narrows - Highlands Nature Sanctuary
County: Highland
Leaders: Nancy Stranahan
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Like people and all other living things, trees have kin, with relatives scattered over the entire world. Whether you are a beginner or an intermediate tree student, learning trees in the context of their worldly associations and genealogy not only teaches you trees in a way that you'll remember them, but it increases your knowledge of plant evolution, paleobiology, plant distribution, and even continental drift! It's a great deal of fun to know, just for instance, that we have a tree in Ohio that is related to the laurels of the Mediterranean that once wreathed the heads of victors competing in Greek Games, as well as to the tree that produces avocados for our dinner salad. This is a day about learning trees through storytelling - storytelling on a world stage! Together, Ridgeview Farm and Maude's have a stunning diversity of native trees, offering a splendid theater for this course.
Blackgum Woods & God’s Country - Highlands Nature Sanctuary
County: Highland
Leaders: Tim Pohlar
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We will be traveling through a succession of aging forests, beginning with open meadows, passing through young open-canopied forests, and ending in fully mature woodlands. In the morning we will concentrate on the transitional and forest edge habitat that is so common in Ohio, harboring a wonderful community of successional trees. As a counterpoint, in the afternoon we will walk through the old-growth forests of Black Gum Woods where we will experience the climax of the forest transition in our region - a mixed mesophytic forest filled with beeches, oaks, maples, tulip poplars, and more.
Tobacco Barn Hollow - Arc Preserve
County: Pike
Leaders: Andrea Jaeger & Brit Wood
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Tobacco Barn Hollow lies deep in the remote and highly dissected hills of the Morgan Fork Watershed, adjacent to Pike State Forest. The ridgetop forest is dominated by upland woodland species adapted the well-drained soils lying above sandstone bedrock. We will be exploring two major habitats: a healthy, mature oak-hickory forest, and a young successional forest boasting signature pioneer tree species. Students will be taught how to distinguish oak and hickory species in the field - a prerequisite for tree ID mastery.
Staggenborg Private Preserve
County: Hamilton
Leaders: Bob & Beth Staggenborg
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Bob and Beth's private preserve boasts over 20 different species of trees in an inspiring and well-stewarded 2-acre forest located in the suburb of Anderson, OH, east of downtown Cincinnati. Bob and Beth have converted what was once a manicured lawn into a forest of diverse native species. Participants will have the chance to explore mature trees in a city setting that successfully retains the character of the once-sprawling Great Eastern Forest that preceded the existence of the Queen City. Students will not only learn to identify native trees but also learn how to recover and steward fragmented woodlands in urban and suburban locales.
Redstone Farm - Arc-held Conservation Easement
County: Pike
Leaders: Jacob Bartley
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The Arc of Appalachia holds a conservation easement on 450 acres of Red Stone farm - 200 acres of which is swamp forest & marshes, and 250 acres of which are upland mesic forests dominated by tulip poplar and sugar maple. Wetlands once covered 20% of Ohio's surface area, but due to agriculture drainage, wetlands are now our state's rarest ecosystem. Redstone Farm is successfully bringing the once vast and nearly vanished Beechflats Swamp back into existence! This course is a great opportunity to learn the not-so-common wetland shrubs and trees, including hellbark hickory, swamp white oak, pin oak, and more.
Quiverheart Gorge - Arc Preserve
County: Adams
Leaders: Kim & David Baker
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Quiverheart Gorge boasts a stunningly beautiful deep dolomite gorge in Adams County located just two miles north of the Arc’s Kamama Prairie Preserve. Quiverheart shelters rich riparian woodlands, karst country woodlands, and scattered cedar glades and prairie barrens. We will be studying the trees common to the karst landscapes - thin, well-drained alkaline soils derived from the underlying dolomite bedrocks. Such soils are usually moist in the spring and extremely dry in the summer and fall. Interesting trees and plants have adapted to these challenging conditions. This trek may require some off-trail hiking.
Chalet Nivale - Arc Preserve
County: Adams
Leaders: Elijah Crabtree
Length of Trail: 2 Miles
Difficulty:
The Arc of Appalachia’s Chalet Nivale Preserve is one of Adams County’s many spectacular natural treasures. Deeply incised stone walls and karst slopes of Silurian-Aged Dolomites provide sanctuary to some of the highest quality tributaries in the Scioto Brush Creek watershed. The alkaline, mineral-rich soils of this region and the protective nature of its gorge-cut streams help offer a unique look into the tree diversity of South-Central Ohio’s forests through some of our most dramatic landscapes. During this program, we will be hiking through the 1 mile Early Buttercup trail loop and part of Golden Meadows loop, covering Tree Identification skills across several different taxonomic families in a range of habitats. Hiking distance totals at around 2 miles, with multiple stream crossings and moderate elevation changes throughout.
Southeast
Junction Earthworks - Arc Preserve
County: Ross
Leaders: Brent Charette
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Junction Earthworks is a 193-acre preserve that protects two earthworks complexes - Junction Earthworks and Steel Earthworks. - and offers to woodland trails. In the morning, the Tippecanoe Darter Trail will lead us by the ancient earthworks, across a 70-acre prairie, and into a rich riparian forest with classic riverine species of trees - one of the most important of all the Eastern Forest's specialized communities. After lunch, we will follow the base of the bluffs overlooking the earthworks on Star Brook Trail to explore a different habitat - a hillside mixed mesophytic forest with a rich and diverse collection of forest species.
Buzzards Roost - Ross County Park District
County: Ross
Leaders: Bob Scott Placier
Length of Trail: 2 Miles
Difficulty:
Earl H. Barnhart Buzzard's Roost Preserve features a healthy Appalachian Forest, vertical sandstone and shale cliffs, and a breathtaking view of the Paint Creek Gorge in Ross County, OH. The trail is mostly level and moderate in difficulty. Total distance is approximately 2 miles. Tree species we will be seeing include red maple, shagbark hickory, white oak, red oak, chestnut oak, tulip poplar, paw paw, black cherry, and black walnut. The park has restrooms and a shelter house.
Resilience - Arc Preserve
County: Hocking
Leaders: Rick Perkins
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Resilience is a 513 acre contiguous tract of land in Hocking County, less than 4 miles from Hocking Hills State Park. Resilience is mostly forested with mature woods that have not been disturbed in at least 80 years. Surveys show that there are over 25,000 trees on the property that have a diameter of 12 inches or larger. A large 80 + acre meadow in the middle of the property host rare nesting birds such as Henslow’s and Grasshopper sparrows. This large meadow is possibly the largest concentration of breeding pairs of Henslow’s Sparrows in the entire region. Resilience is named for its capacity to recover from years of logging and strip mining and yet once you set foot on the area, you fall in love with it. The hike is moderately difficult as there are no constructed trails, the hike will meander through woods and meadows with some hills as we attempt to get lost in the forest finding new trees.
Strounds Run - State Park
County: Athens
Leaders: Rebecca Wood
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Here's your chance to join in a Mixed Forest Habitat Exploration from Creekside to Ridgetop and back and discover why certain 'trees' grow where they do and what they might indicate (soils, plant partners, water, animal and avian companions and yes, past or historic use). We will hike two different trails, (moderate + skill level) to discover not just what trees might be there, but share easy ID tricks, tips, stories, myths, and ethnobotanical uses (edible and medicinal uses.)
Central
Stratford Ecological Educational Center - Privately Owned
County: Delaware
Leaders: Jeff Dickinson
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The Stratford Ecological Center privately owns and operates 236 acres of forest and farmland, including 95 acres in the Stratford Woods State Nature Preserve, another 65 acres of non-preserve forests, and 65 acres that serve as an educational farm that serves as the classroom for over 16,000 visitors annually. Stratford has 4 ½ miles of cleared trails highlighting a diversity of terrains. Our 160 acres of forest highlights diverse zones of species composition, from early succession, dominated by forested remnants left from forest harvests in the early 20th century, that are surrounded by numerous species of invasive plants, to later stages of succession including hickory/maple, maple/beech, and oak/hickory communities.
Welker Preserve - Private
County: Champaign
Leaders: Marilyn Welker
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Bob and Marilyn live on a 2-acre property in Urbana, OH that was once the site of an active quarry. They have been diligently transforming the land by removing invasive species, rebuilding soil fertility, and restoring biodiversity by planting native flora. This field trip will emphasize working with the many elements of soils, sun, shade, moisture, wildlife, and human needs to create beauty, balance, and biodiversity on once-disturbed land, with trees being the most defining element of "putting it all together." This course would be well suited for anyone interested in learning DIY restoration techniques that they can apply in their own backyards.
Northeast
Hoberecht Preserve - Private
County: Lorain
Leaders: Mark Hoberecht & Judy Semroc
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The 43-acre BeechCliff Preserve in Columbia Station is privately-owned by the Hoberechts and protected by a conservation easement. The preserve is predominantly a mature mixed mesophytic forest with both upland and riparian areas on a bedrock of sandstone and shale. Successional woodlands, several vernal pools, and a 2-acre pond with many native aquatic species enhance the preserve's biodiversity. The small stream that meanders through the property is part of the Rocky River watershed that flows north into Lake Erie. The land offers a rich classroom for learning tree recognition skills.
Thompson’s Ledges - Township Park
County: Geauga
Leaders: Vicki Solomon
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Description coming soon