Adopt-a-Trail
Help your community. Sign up for the Adopt-a-Trail Program.
Your group will assist in maintaining assigned segments of the Prairie Grass Trail in Madison County, including cleaning debris from the trail and helping maintain trail safety by reporting hazards, obstacles, and any adverse trail conditions.
(Our thanks to Boy Scout Troop 102 who pioneered the program in 2004 by becoming the first organization to adopt a trail segment.)
Trail Segments
Wilson Road to Glade Run Road – Country Bunch 4-H Club
Glade Run Road to Spring Valley Road – Boy Scout Troop 104
Spring Valley Road to Maple Street – Boy Scout Troop 102
Midway Street to Roberts Mill Road – Prairie Raiders 4H Group
Trail Segments
Roberts Mill Road to Neil East Road – Chandler Masonic Lodge 138
Neil East Road to Neil Road – (Needs your help!)
Neil Road to Botkin Road – (Needs your help!)
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Trail Ambassadors
The Trail Ambassadors Program: All you need is a desire to help and share with others. No previous experience is needed, just a willingness to be a trail friend and a good person. It’s not formal, just a “program” that people can participate in to help us make our trails great experience for everyone.
Objectives:
- Trail travelers – Report trail hazards and provide information and assistance to trail users.
- Trail care – Pick up trash along the trail when you can, report any trail hazards so they can be remedied.
- Trailhead – Greet campers, provide information on local amenities, offer assistance, and encourage them to fill out Guest Cards to give us their feedback.
Trail Ambassadors Need:
- The ability to communicate positively w/others, including trail travelers, local community residents, and trail-adjacent property owners.
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Trail Ambassadors Must:
- Learn and follows basic “trail etiquette,” laws, and rules established for use of the trail.
- Set a good example at all times in language and attitude since you will be representing yourself, your community, the Friends of Madison County Parks & Trails, the City of London, and the Madison County Park District.
Prairie Remnant Management
Prairie Remnant Management:
The original Ohio prairies – with their diverse beauty of grasses and wildflowers – were mostly lost to the steel plow when it was invented in 1803. Thanks to FMCPT’s “Prairie Remnant Management” program, hikers and bikers along the Prairie Grass Trail can now enjoy the beauty of such pre-settlement day flora, such as Royal Catchfly, Queen of the Prairie, Purple Coneflower, and Wild Bergamot, along with prairie grasses such as Big Bluestem and Prairie Cordgrass.
With a sense of privilege and responsibility, in 2005 we began “polishing prairie jewels” and helping preserve a wondrous part of our natural heritage.
Special thanks to the expertise of:
- The late Jack McDowell, wonderful prairie restoration expert and part-time Land Management Coordinator with Columbus Metro Parks,
- John Silvius, Professor of Biology at Cedarville University, and,
- Julia Cumming, our dear friend with the Madison Soil and Water Conservation District.