2008 Wildflower Pilgrimage
Schedule of Events "CONDENSED"

IF IT RAINS. Field trips will go on rain or shine. However, in the case of extremely torrential rains, please come to the Visitor Center to check for notice of possible alternative activities or give us a call at 937-365-1935.

Questions before the event-- call 937-335-0101

Questions during the event, please call our manned information line at 937-365-1935 or come to the  Information Center below

Wildflower Pilgrimage Information Center at the Appalachian Forest Museum Gatehouse
Hours: Thursday 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm; Friday - Sunday 8:00 - 5:00

Headquarter Directions. The Appalachian Forest Museum is located four miles west of Bainbridge and fifteen miles east of Hillsboro. Turn south on Cave Road. The center is one mile down the road. For better directions, go to www.highlandssanctuary.org/directions/directions.htm

Please note, meals and evening program require advance registrations and carry additional fees.

April 17, 2008 Thursday Evening

8:00 pm Program at Appalachian Forest Museum. Unexpected Miracles -- The Remarkable Story of the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System at Appalachian Forest Museum Accompanied by award-winning photography, tells the story of how a small grass-roots effort went from one small cause to a large-scale preservation effort in just a few years. Here is a tale that will leave you with a sense of hope for the future, and one that will take you on a visual tour of the Arc of Appalachia's collection of botanically significant preserves. Presented by Nancy Stranahan, one of the two non-profit's founders.

The Eulett Center program at the Edge has been regretfully cancelled due to the building not being completed.

April 18, 2008 Friday

7:45 - 8:45 am Breakfast at the Appalachian Forest Museum

Friday All-Day Field Trips. Beginning and ending times vary with trip chosen.

6:30 pm Dinner & Program at Paint Valley High School 
Directions from the west: From Cave Road, turn right on Hwy 50. Go through Bainbridge. Paint Valley High will be 3.0 miles further east. Go past Seip Mound State Memorial. The high school will be shortly thereafter on your right.  From the East: Paint Valley High is  west of the outskirts of Chillicothe on Rt. 50. When coming west, watch for the traffic light on Veteran's Parkway Road outside town. The school is 19.4 miles further west.  After you pass the parkway, you will go through Slate Mills and then the little town of Bourneville. The School will be shortly thereafter on your left. To get to the cafeteria, drive in the main entrance, veer to the right and park near the second flagpole. Walk through the breezeway between the high school on your left, and the elementary school on your right. Straight across the courtyard will be a single glass door. Enter here.
After dinner program: Silent Witness -- the photographic artistry of Arc founder, Larry Henry. Appalachian Forest Museum.  Larry Henry has an eye for beauty in nature that most people don't slow down long enough in nature to notice. Whether it's a soft bird feather floating on the edge of the water at dawn, the downy bud scales falling off the irrepressible unfolding of a wood poppy in the spring, or the ghostly twinflower caught in a ray of light - Larry's photography is all about light -- both the outer light that all of us can see, or the inner light that requires the eye of a poet to be revealed. The presentation will be of pictures never before seen, set to music and poetry. Prepare to be transported!

--OR--

8:00 pm Satellite Program at Shawnee Lodge. Introduction to the Little Smokies of Ohio by Jenny Richards in the Raven Rock Room. Save room after dinner for dessert! Jenny, Shawee State Park's naturalist, will take you on a virtual photographic tour of Ohio's largest state forest, introducing you to the region's remarkable natural history. From pink ladyslippers, spotted mandarin, and birdsfoot violets to yellow fringed orchis, baby bobcats, and timber rattlesnakes -- Shawnee is a naturalist's paradise throughout the year. If you don't have directions, please go to www.highlandssanctuary.org/directions/Shawnee.Lodge.htm

April 19, 2008 Saturday

7:45 - 8:45 am Breakfast at the Appalachian Forest Museum

Saturday All-Day Field Trip. Beginning and ending times vary with trip chosen.
6:30 pm Dinner & Program at Paint Valley High School. $16.00 for dinner and program.  See Friday for directions.
After dinner, A Sweeping View of Ohio's Rich Natural History by Guy Denny  No extra fee but does require pre-registration as seating is limited. Somebody had to tell this story! With Ohio's rich collection of physiographic areas, its long complex geologic biography, its epochs of glacial advances and warm retreats, one simply cannot grasp Ohio's rich natural history without understanding the immense, transformation forces of its past. Guy Denny, a dedicated naturalist, retired Chief of Natural Areas and Preserves, retired Director of Ohio Biological Survey, and active non-profit conservationist, has been a life long explorer of Ohio. He knows its waving prairies, sand barrens, dissected hill country, and peat-filled bogs as good or better than anyone else living in Ohio today. Fortunately he has condensed his wisdom into a powerpoint presentation that, combined with his time-honored teaching skills, gives the participant an introduction to Ohio's natural history that is as educational as an academic course, as beautiful as an art gallery, and as fun as a field outing -- all in the amount of time a crow could fly from Barrier Ridge to Buzzard's Roost!

April 20, 2008 Sunday

8:15 - 9:15 am Breakfast at the Appalachian Forest Museum

Sunday Half-Day Field Trip. Beginning and ending times vary with trip chosen, but most trips end just after lunch.