Education & Youth

Educating people, young and old, in the region is a key goal for creating a Rising Appalachia. The Winding Road’s goals of sustainability are about creating the conditions so that young people stay in this region, return, or relocate. Through the sustainable development of the region’s resources, and by educating people about those resources, we hope to instill a new sense of stewardship for this region in a new generation.

Rural Action’s Environmental Education Program

Camp Oty’Okwa

Interpretive Guiding

The National Association for Interpretation trains guides in an experiential, active way of story-telling and engaging audiences in topics they may not know anything about, by making those topics more accessible. This out-of -the-classroom approach to learning and teaching works at making memorable connections between teachable subjects and people’s lives. Around the region interpretive signs ad value to the areas where they sit.

Ora E. Anderson Nature Trail – 2 miles North of Nelsonville, Hocking County
Named for artist, poet, writer and Ohio Department of Natural Resources Hall of Fame inductee Ora E. Anderson and running along the abandoned ground from one of the country’s earliest railroads, this trail is an intriguing as it is beautiful, especially when everything is in bloom.

Boch Hollow Nature Preserve – Logan, Hocking County
This 607 acre nature preserve has a unique mission to create a gigantic outdoor classroom for environmental learning, for local students and the public.

Though environmental education is a huge part of our education efforts, it is by no means our only educational focus. The hills of Southeastern Ohio contain many more interesting assets than just its beautiful flora and fauna The boom and bust economies that existed in this area have left behind some of the most interesting history in the United States. From classic, unique architecture, the lives of the people who inhabited the buildings, to the cultural, artistic and musical traditions that followed those people, the Winding Road’s outside of the classroom approach is sure to bring Southeast Ohio history, culture and nature alive for people of all ages.

Southern Perry County Incubation Center for Entrepreneurs (S.P.I.C.E) Workshops/Classes – New Straitsville, Perry County

Southeast Ohio History Center Education Programs and Geneology – Athens County

County Historical Societies

Each of the nine counties along the Winding Road has dedicated individuals who work in their historical and heritage societies who work to find and display the incredible stories within the boundaries of each Southeast Ohio County. See what there is to learn!

Fairfield County Heritage Association

Hocking County Historical Society

Meigs County Historical Society

Morgan County Historical Society

Perry County Historical and Cultural Arts Society

The Pioneer and Historical Society of Muskingum County

Vinton County Historical and Genealogical Society

Washington County Historical Society