The Edge of Appalachia – Adams County Fund is a continuation of The Nature Conservancy’s longtime commitment to Adams County, reflected most notably in the Richard and Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve System.
One of the most biologically diverse natural systems in the Midwest, this collection of preserves sits in Adams County and is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Cincinnati Museum Center. At more than 20,000 acres, it is Ohio’s largest privately owned nature preserve.
Grant and scholarship applications
2024 funding applications closed on Dec. 12. Read about the 2025 grant and scholarship recipients.
The Edge of Appalachia – Adams County Fund invests in projects serving Adams County, Ohio, that address one or more of these three focus areas:
- People and Nature – The fund supports projects primarily focused on protecting the environment, generating renewable energy and providing educational programs that emphasize hands-on learning and reflection.
- Education – The fund supports scholarships for students seeking degrees in ecology, forestry, wildlife ecology or related natural resource fields; trade, vocational or technical training in fields that contribute to energy efficiency, agriculture and land stewardship; and programs that foster diversity, equity, justice and inclusion (for example, Appalachian studies or women’s studies).
- Reducing Disparities – The fund supports programs that improve food security, educational achievement or medical care for groups disproportionately disadvantaged because of their race, income level, gender, religion, sexual orientation, mental health, veteran status, or physical and developmental disability.
Previous grant and scholarship recipients
A total of $100,000 in grants and scholarships were awarded from the Edge of Appalachia – Adams County Fund in 2025.
Grant recipients:
- Adams County Agricultural Society to create a natural resources trail – a concrete walkway enhanced with stamped animal and plant prints and educational displays highlighting animals and plants native to the area – in Shade Tree Park at the Adams County Fairgrounds, making the space more accessible for individuals with disabilities
- Adams County Commissioners to support the preservation and restoration of the historic Kirker Covered Bridge, which sustained major damage from an April 2024 tornado
- Adams County Public Library to add more Wi-Fi hotspots, which will be loaned to Adams County residents who lack adequate home internet access
- Adams County Travel & Visitors Bureau to improve a public canoe/kayak access site on Ohio Brush Creek near Serpent Mound, including constructing a driveway, parking area and steps to the waterway
- Adams County Shelter for the Homeless to support a renovation of its kitchen, which serves clients three meals a day year-round
- Buckeye Trail Association, Appalachia Foothills Chapter, to enhance the hiking experience in Adams County by upgrading trail structures to improve accessibility and ensure safety and installing informational signs and kiosks that highlight geological landmarks and elevations as well as historical and boundary markers
- Leadership Adams Inc. to support the enrollment of Adams County children in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio, which mails children one free book each month through their fifth birthday
- Manchester High School to support educational trips to the Edge of Appalachia Nature Preserve and the Cincinnati Museum Center, classroom workshops with educators from the Cincinnati Museum Center and other elements of the Adams County Rockstars program, providing students with an immersive, hands-on educational experience that spans local geology, biodiversity and conservation
- Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy to help expand access to free prescription medications, clinical pharmacy care and insurance navigation services to Adams County
- West Union Elementary School to implement a hydroponic gardening system through which students in the greenhouse and gardening elective classes will learn about innovative, space-efficient and sustainable gardening methods while cultivating vegetables and herbs to be used within the school
Scholarship recipients:
Three Adams County residents were awarded a combined $10,000 in scholarships from the Edge of Appalachia – Adams County Fund Scholarship. They are:
- Hunter Grooms of Seaman, a 2024 graduate of North Adams High School who is pursuing a degree in exercise science at Northern Kentucky University
- Kash Hayslip of Peebles, a senior at Peebles High School who plans to study natural resources law enforcement
- MaRhea Unger of Peebles, a senior at Peebles High School who plans to study agricultural business
The first grants and scholarships from the Edge of Appalachia – Adams County Fund, totaling $92,865, were awarded in February 2024.
Grant recipients:
- Adams County 4-H Advisory Committee to support experiential learning through a field trip to the Cincinnati Natural History Museum and a field day at an Adams County nature preserve, connecting local youth and their families to nature and to one another
- Adams County Public Library to add 60 Wi-Fi hotspots, which will be loaned to Adams County residents who lack adequate home internet access
- Adams County Travel & Visitors Bureau to fund interior design, displays and educational materials for the new Adams County Welcome Center at Adams Lake State Park
- Green Township to support the restoration and relocation of historical graves at Foster Cemetery that are at risk due to the erosion of the banks of Ohio Brush Creek
- West Union Elementary School to support the school’s Family STEM Nights for three years and experiential learning opportunities for students and their families
Scholarship recipients:
Three Adams County residents were each awarded $5,000 scholarships from the Edge of Appalachia – Adams County Fund Scholarship.
Edge of Appalachia – Adams County Fund review committee
The fund is advised by Adams Countians to address the issues that matter most to the community, including how these funds can drive economic growth and improve quality of life locally. We invite those who hold Adams County closest to their hearts to join their friends, neighbors and fellow community members as we work together to make Adams County an even better place to call home.
If you are an Adams Countian passionate about advancing quality of life in Adams County, we invite you to submit a nomination on behalf of yourself or others to sit on the Edge of Appalachia-Adams County Fund review committee. The nomination form is available here.
For more information and updates, please follow this webpage, FAO and TNC’s social media, or email info@ffao.org.