Local Trustee Wins Fellowship to Boost Buckeye Trail Stewardship

The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio granted a fellowship to Jill Moorhead at the end of December 2025 to support capacity building for regional environmental stewardship tied to trails and outdoor resources. The award came from FAO’s Environmental Stewardship Pillar and is intended to bolster visibility and long-term volunteer engagement for the Buckeye Trail Association’s work across Appalachian Ohio.

The fellowship will finance finalizing a website refresh, developing communications tools, and organizing volunteer and event-planner workshops that Moorhead will lead across the region. Those activities are designed to make stewardship work more visible, improve outreach to potential volunteers, and provide practical training for local chapters and event organizers. FAO’s December funding round also included research and innovation grants for conservation and community-based environmental projects across Appalachian Ohio; the fellowship was one of several awards announced in that package.

Adams County lies along sections of the Buckeye Trail, and the county’s volunteers, chapters, and stewardship projects regularly collaborate on trail maintenance and on nearby public lands. Improvements in communications and event planning capacity can lower coordination costs for local volunteer groups, reduce duplication of effort, and help sustain the unpaid labor that keeps trails safe and usable. Over time, that can translate into steadier trail maintenance and potentially more consistent recreational use, factors that matter for small businesses and local services that benefit from outdoor visitors.

From a practical standpoint, the fellowship’s emphasis on workshops matters for local organizers who balance volunteer recruitment, permitting, and trail repairs with limited budgets. More visible stewardship work can also help local groups document labor and expenses when applying for grants or municipal support, increasing the chances of securing outside funding for trail projects. For residents, the most immediate effects will be easier access to up-to-date trail information on the refreshed website and a calendar of volunteer opportunities and trainings.

The fellowship addresses both grassroots capacity and public-facing outreach, two pieces of a longer-term strategy to sustain trail stewardship across Appalachian Ohio. As Moorhead carries out the project during 2026, Adams County volunteers and outdoor stakeholders should expect outreach about workshops and digital resources aimed at making local stewardship work easier to organize and more resilient over time.