Rural Action | Programs and Projects

Programs and Projects

Programs & Projects

The Sustainable Forestry program works with landowners, agencies and small businesses to develop sustainable practices, including cultivation of non-timber forest products such as mushrooms and medicinal herbs. We promote a holistic approach that ensures the productivity, health and biodiversity of our woodlands.

Rural Action Sustainable Agriculture is committed to building a strong and lasting farm economy in Appalachian Ohio. We focus on capacity building through producer and consumer education, developing local markets, and resource networking. Community partners are central to our work, and include producer alliances, OSU extension, public institutions, and other non-profit organizations.

Business Development offers a holistic approach to entrepreneurial development. Rural Action is a partner in AORIC (Appalachian Ohio Regional Investment Coalition). The AORIC partners received a grant from the National Rural Funders Coalition to support and develop entrepreneurs in Appalachian Ohio. We emphasize the growth of businesses in two focal sectors: value added field and forest products and experiential tourism that includes arts, heritage, recreational and cultural tourism. The Rural Action Business Facilitator helps entrepreneurs to overcome obstacles to venture formation and growth by establishing networks of community people providing support in all aspects of business development.

The Watershed Restoration program restores damaged watersheds in our region. Rural Action coordinates the Monday Creek Restoration Project, a partnership of 20 agencies and local residents. We also place Americorps*VISTA volunteers with restoration groups working in Raccoon Creek, Sunday Creek, and Federal Creek watersheds.

The Partners in Leadership Development (PLD) program and the Community Organizing & Support Initiative (COSI) develop leadership capacity and the revitalizing power of community teamwork. Both programs offer training, organizing, and support for community-based action teams.

The Job Skills Training program provides training and work experience to help low-income individuals acquire job skills.

The Safe Pest Control program advocates safe pest control in schools, homes, and communities by educating school personnel, pest managers and citizens in a 10-county area.

The Environmental Learning Program helps students in grades 1-8 in our rural school districts explore the wonders of nature. Through hands-on, environmental education activities we foster a sense of wonder, increase ecological literacy, and reinforce educational concepts. We also conduct in-service workshops for teachers and facilitate community-school partnerships.

The National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs, founded by the Frontier Natural Products Cooperative, is the research component of the Rural Action Reseach and Education Center near Rutland, Ohio. NCPMH works to preserve wild herb populations by developing cultivation methods for medicinal plants that are now wild-harvested. Rural Action took over Center management from Frontier in January 2001, and in autumn 2002 received the deed to the property.

The Rural Action Reseach and Education Center also houses the Appalachian Forest Resource Center (AFRC), coordinated by Rural Action. It is one of four regional US centers under the National Community Forestry Center (NCFC), which collaborates with the National Network of Forest Practitioners (NNFP) to develop research initiatives and local information resources. AFRC fosters and supports community forestry activities throughout the Central and Southern Appalachian region, extending from Pennsylvania to northern Alabama. AFRC works with communities where significant changes in the American forest products industry are being felt first, and frequently the hardest. We mesh people's knowledge with people-centered research so that citizen's lives --and the forest's health--improve steadily.

Rural Action's Arts and Cultural Heritage Program promotes community revitalization through local festivals, community murals, oral history collection, traditional music preservation and interactive drama.

The Rural School and Community Organizing Project mobilized a grassroots effort in rural Ohio to achieve school funding equity and school facilities that are safe, effective and community-based. Read more about it: a Rural Report edition from our archives provides some background information, and an editorial discusses school issues.
In 2003 the project was spun off from Rural Action as Ohio Fair Schools Campaign, with program coordinator Debbie Phillips becoming its executive director. Visit the Ohio Fair Schools Campaign website for more information.