Ruder Preserve

Right across from Yager Stadium, Three Valley owns a 13.5-acre property at the corner of Bonham Road and Shadowy Hills Drive. It connects to the Miami Natural Areas trails. Given it’s unique location with multiple connections and the quality of its mostly floodplain forest, 3VCT has decided that Ruder Preserve should be a focus of our efforts to preserve land, with this piece serving as an ark for species that can repopulate the damaged ecosystems surrounding it.

What does restoring Ruder Preserve involve?
Although the forest has lots of mature trees and a bountiful layer of wild ginger on the forest floor, it is full of bush honeysuckle and other invasive species. So the first step in restoration is to remove those species that interfere with the survival of our native species of trees, bushes, and wildflowers.

Where are we now?
We are continuing to remove bush honeysuckle in different areas of the preserve. While that continues over the next several years, we will plant native species, manage invasive species in areas already cleared, build further trails, and add educational signage. We will probably add other things we will discover as we go along. We want this place to be a healthy and thriving natural habitat we can enjoy.

We could use all kinds of help! Here are some of the things we could use:
  • Chain saws and people who know how to use them.
  • People to help paint stumps and haul honeysuckle into piles. 
  • Food for our willing volunteers – if you don’t or can’t do the physical work of this project, would you be willing to provide lunch? A grassy area at the entrance of the Ruder Preserve is a nice spot to spread out a light lunch of sandwiches or pizza and drinks. Although it is not a necessity to feed our volunteers, it goes a long way toward showing our appreciation for their help and making them want to come back and help again.

If you can offer any of these things, please contact the TVCT office (513-524-2150) or Donna McCollum (513-756-0202 or mccollds@miamioh.edu)

Thank you in advance for the generous donation of your time and effort to help restore and maintain the Ruder Preserve.

Short Term Volunteer Opportunities


  • Ruder Preserve—Oxford, OH Any dry day. Ruder Preserve has added additional boardwalk this summer, and is in need of volunteers to stain/seal the new decking, railing, and spindles. All materials are provided on-site. Contact Donna McCollum with additional questions.
  • Community Outreach (or Tabling): Do you like to talk to people and get them excited about conserving land near our home? Do you enjoy local events, festivals and county fairs? We need your help! We always go to events in pairs (usually in 2 hour shifts) and have lots of printed materials available at our table to help tell our story. Call the office at 513-524-2150 or email office@3vct.org.
  • Special Events: Many different skills needed from set-up to greeting guests and everything in between. Want to be part of the action? Call the office at 513-524-2150.
  • Hands-on Conservation Work: The Ruder Preserve, located in Oxford is the site of ongoing; planting, invasive removal, and restoration work. Occasionally we will have opportunities to create habitat, often in conjunction with either the Ohio EPA and/or the MetroParks of Butler County (or another organization). If you’d like to be contacted when these opportunities exist, please let us know! Call the office at 513-524-2150 or email office@3vct.org.

Long Term Volunteer Opportunities

Looking for something a little more challenging? Something you can do once a week (or month)? Perhaps something you could even do for 20 to 40 hours a week during a vacation, school break or sabbatical? Here are some opportunities to challenge you and get those creative juices flowing!
  • Become an Easement Monitor – Keeping the Trust in compliance with state monitoring requirements is a crucial behind-the-scenes task that relies on a committed team of core volunteers. Many supporters of the Trust are unaware that every farm protected by an easement must be monitored annually to ensure that it remains in compliance with easement restrictions. As an Easement Monitor you would be asked to travel with a partner to tour and document participating farms and prepare a written report to be kept on file in the office. To become a monitor, you need to participate in a short training program, commit to completing 6-8 monitoring visits (or as many as you would like!) per year. You will receive a name tag for identification while representing the Trust. Other benefits are the pleasure of being outdoors on beautiful protected farms, meeting local easement landowners, and making new friends. You can also contribute by inviting a friend to train and monitor with you! Call Randy at the office, 513-524-2150 or email him at revans@3vct.org
  • Committee Work: We have many committees headed by Board Members that could use your help. Are you interested in Finances? Outreach and Membership? Development? Land Protection? All of these are committees that could use your help! If you’re interested, please call the office, 513-524-2150 or email director@3vct.org
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