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There is no better place to go. Scioto County is one of the most forested and pristine counties in Ohio and is home to the 63,000-acre Shawnee State Forest, two state nature preserves, Tremper Mound Preserve, and several other Arc of Appalachia Preserves. This region of steeply, dissected hills – known as the Little Smokies – produces exceptionally dazzling light displays of many firefly species, especially when the late-season fireflies are at their peak in late June.

Tuition: $300 for the weekend per person including breakfasts and packed lunches on both Saturday and Sunday. The full registration fee is required at the time of registration. Registrants will be covering their own expenses for lodging, dinners & transportation.

To Register: Click on the registration button above and follow the instructions. When you are finished you will see the link that will take you to our payment center. You will not be registered until the registration fee is paid. Once we have your submitted form and a receipt of payment, you will be sent an emailed confirmation.

Cancellation Policy for Event Registration: Reservations are fully refundable through May 15. After that time, unless there is a waiting list, cancellations cannot be processed. You can gift your registration to another or ask us to mark your fees as a tax-deductible donation to the Arc.

Questions? If you have any questions or problems of any kind, contact our Education Coordinator, Cassidy Drummond, at 937-794-3360 or info@arcofappalachia.org

Workshop Hub: The workshop hub is the Manor House at the Arc’s 702-acre Tremper Mound Preserve, located five miles north of Tremper Mound. The Manor House is a sprawling 1948 building within view of Tremper Mound proper, a 2000-year-old sacred Native American Indian mound that once served the funerary rites for the Hopewell Culture on the northern fringes of the Great Portsmouth Works, a larger sacred site that covered 35-square miles. The Manor House includes a meeting room where we will be hosting the event, a dining room and kitchen from which we will serve breakfasts and lunches, and five bedrooms which can be optionally rented.

Transportation. Registrants will provide their own car transportation to various field trip locations. Carpooling can usually be arranged with other willing participants. Where destinations have limited parking, car sharing is encouraged. Be sure to bring some pocket money for snacks and meals. The lodge offers an ATM.

Lodging. The Manor House offers convenient lodging for participants in a group house setting, including both private rooms and bedrooms shared with another registrant of the same gender with their private bed. Bathrooms are in some cases private, and in some cases shared in the hall. Linens and towels are provided.

If you prefer alternative lodging: Portsmouth, which is only 4-5 miles away, has a number of lodges that can be searched online, including several on Airbnb. Shawnee State Park Lodge offers rooms but, unfortunately, is a 25-30 minute drive from Tremper Mound, and for that reason only, is not recommended. Because will be firefly-watching until close to midnight, and because we will be breakfasts at Tremper Mound, you will want to lodge as close to the preserve as you can, if not at the manor house itself.

Meals. We will be supplying simple but healthy breakfasts and lunches for participants and can adjust the menus for those who are vegan, and gluten-free. Many dining options are available in West Portsmouth and Portsmouth. You will have ample time to eat dinner in town on Friday and Saturday nights before firefly-viewing.

Physical Condition Required: Participants should know that normal outdoor summer temperatures are often in the 80’s and 90’s. Nights are usually cool and comfortable. There is very little hiking required to watch fireflies at night. We will be offering a few optional hikes during the weekend to nearby trails for which moderate hiking ability may be required. We will let you know in advance about all such hiking options.

Airports and Nearest City: Our two nearest airports, Columbus and Cincinnati, are almost equidistant. Both are 1 hour and 50 minutes away.

Cell Service & Wi-Fi: Phone service is spotty for many servers, other than on and around major roads such as US 52, parts of State Route 125, and in the Portsmouth area. At the moment we do not have WI-FI at Tremper Mound Manor House but hope to have it in place prior to the event.

A word about the weather: We will be spending most of our time in the field, so please pack clothing that will allow you to be comfortable for a variety of weather conditions. The program will go on rain or shine. Note: if we experience a rain downpour it will cease firefly activity. However, fireflies rebound quickly once the rain lightens up. The only unexpected weather condition that will seriously decrease firefly spectacles is a cold night. Below 65 degrees, firefly flashing decreases. Below 60 degrees flashing essentially stops. In southern Ohio, the low to mid-nineties are common daytime highs. Nights tend to cool off, usually dipping back into the seventies or high sixties. June’s rare hot nights produce the showiest light displays, so hot nights are good nights! If you work daily in an air-conditioned environment, it might be wise to prepare by taking mid-day walks so you can begin adjusting to outdoor temperatures and high humidity.

Recommended Books: If you wish to learn firefly species over the weekend and beyond, we highly recommend purchasing Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs: Identification and Natural History of the Fireflies of the Eastern and Central United States and Canada by Lynn Faust. This is the first beginner-friendly identification book ever published and it is truly excellent. If you have this book in hand, you will be referring to it often during the weekend, and it is a good place to keep your observation notes. Cost is around $25.00. Another excellent firefly book is Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies by Sara Lewis. This book is in story telling format and presents the fascinating natural history of fireflies, including their poetic and inspiring impact on humanity over the ages.

RECOMMENDED PACKING LIST

Please read this list in advance of the trip so that you have time to gather what you wish to bring.

• Small Folding Chair to sit back and watch the light show! It is important to pack a folding chair in your car trunk. Watching fireflies for the most part is a passive activity and a chair can really heighten your enjoyment of the performance. 

• Water bottle

• Binoculars - the close-up focus ones are great for day field trips, if you happen to have them.

• Personal care items: soap, shampoo, etc. (important if you are staying at the manor house)

• Informal outdoor clothing for both wet and dry weather. 

• Both Sturdy hiking shoes and sandals 

• Flashlight for your navigation, unless you want to use your phone. 

• A pencil flashlight, preferably red, for firefly viewing at night (phones are too bright)

• Insect net if you have one and chasing fireflies sounds like fun, in which case bring a small collecting jar for short-term viewing.

• Daypack or satchel to carry water and lunch on your day field trips; and a reusable sack to put your lunch items in

• A small notepad to jot notes in & pen or pencil.

• A first aid kit if you so desire

• A Ball cap, sun hat, or umbrella is handy to keep out of the sum

• Pocket money for snacks or gift shop purchases, cash for catered breakfast (pay on receipt)

• Insect Repellent. Please read our recommendations below.

• Firefly ID  book if you want one - see our recommendations above

Should I prepare for ticks, chiggers, biting insects and poison ivy? The Shawnee region in June does not support high numbers of uncomfortable biting insects. We do not have black flies and only a very few deer flies and mosquitos. We will not be walking through poison ivy so long as you stay on the trails. Chiggers do not typically peak until July and August. You may encounter a few ticks in the open fields, and chiggers in tall grass if you choose to wander off trail (which is another good reason not to). If any of these challenges are new for you, let us know and we will do our best to orient you to them, help mentor your adjustment, or minimize exposure. That said, no exposure to insects is not a realistic expectation for field studies. We have developed a fantastic home-made repellant for flying insects, ticks, and chiggers made of essential herbal oils that is stunningly effective and 100% natural.

Please click here to learn about the considerable hazards presented by ticks and chiggers, and prepare your own insect repellant that is safe to use, affordable to make, and will give you the confidence to enjoy the out-of-doors.