Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy

10/17/2026

Captain Don Sanders from The Delta Queen remembering his time on the Ohio. At the Hubbard Studio and Preserve 129 Highland Avenue Fort Thomas. Until 1 pm today.

10/16/2026

Conservation Easements protect land forever. Here’s a great opportunity to learn more about them.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 5th! In collaboration with the Campbell County Conservation District, Kentucky/CCCD and The Campbell Conservancy, the Campbell County Cooperative Extension Service is hosting a seminar on conservation easements at the Campbell County Environmental Education Center (1261 Race Track Road, Alexandria, KY, 41001). Speaker Jim Benton of the Campbell Conservancy Board of Directors will join us to discuss:

• What a conservation easement is (and isn’t)
• What an agricultural district is
• How the legal process works in Kentucky
• Financial implications: costs, taxes, and property value
• The monitoring and endowment requirements
• Federal and state programs that may help
• How to get started – local resources

Best of all, a meal will be provided for those in attendance! The meal will take place at 6:30pm, with the program beginning at 7:00pm.

Registration is required – please call (859) 572-2600 to register for this program. We hope to see you there!

10/13/2026

It’s always a great day when Thomas More University’s “Saints Serve” chooses us as a beneficiary of their volunteer work. Today, 23 students, most from the women’s softball team, cut honeysuckle, clipped and dug out overgrown plants, and cleaned up trash in the woods. This day of service occurs twice a year and benefits non-profits all over Northern Kentucky. We loved having them and can’t wait to see them next time.

10/06/2026

Americana at its best!
Announcing an Open Studio event on 10/17/26 at the Harlan Hubbard Studio and Preserve. The theme for the event is “Harlan Hubbard: His Painted Love of Riverboats.” Featured: five riverboat paintings and two woodcuts from the collection of David and Debra Hausrath, two paintings from the collection of Adrienne Greene, of the Greene Line Steamers family, and other private collection paintings, including the incredible one pictured here, which resides in the Fort Thomas Independent Schools Central Office. You’ll also visit with former Delta Queen Captain Don Sanders, who will share stories from his days navigating the Ohio. The Hubbard Studio and Preserve is at 129 Highland Avenue Fort Thomas KY 41075. Open Studio hours are 10am-1pm. This will be the last event of the season. Visits will begin again in Spring of 2027.

10/01/2026

🌳 You can’t replace a forest by planting trees if you destroy the soil first.

It’s easy to look at a wooded hillside and see trees. But a forest is an entire living system—and much of that system is beneath our feet.

Healthy forest soil contains organic matter, fungi, microorganisms, roots, nutrients, seeds, and countless other forms of life. The leaf litter and soil work together to absorb rainfall, support regeneration, reduce erosion, and sustain the trees above them.

In our urban and suburban forests, this living soil is particularly vulnerable to grading, scraping, compaction, heavy equipment, construction, and repeated traffic.

Once the forest floor is removed or severely compacted, planting new trees does not instantly recreate what was lost. A mature forest soil ecosystem can take decades—or much longer—to develop.

So when we talk about protecting forests in Fort Thomas and Northern Kentucky, let’s think beyond the trees.

Protect the soil.
Protect the leaf litter.
Protect the roots.
Protect natural regeneration.
Protect the forest floor.

🌱 A forest begins at ground level.

Topsoil LandConservation ForestEcology

10/01/2026

From the garden: the painted lady butterflies are active today, milkweed pods are waiting for wind, and our native bumble bees are gobbling up the last of the frostweed.

09/23/2026

Early fall colors in the garden: spicebush berries, New England aster, goldenrod.

09/19/2026

Friends, we are just a month away from our Payne Hollow Symposium, “Drifting Forward,” which will be kicking off on October 9, 2026. We are honored to be partnering with our friends at The Berry Center to welcome a pop-up shop stocked with Harlan Hubbard, Wendell Berry, and other titles from the Bookstore at the Berry Center.

The pop-up will be available on Friday evening and all-day Saturday of the Symposium, in the Center for the Fine Arts at Hanover College.

Visit our website to register for the Symposium by September 28! https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-payne-hollow-symposium-drifting-forward

We can’t wait to see you there.

09/19/2026

Happening now: Rick Stegeman shares memories of Harlan and Anna at the Hubbard Studio 129 Highland Avenue Fort Thomas. Featuring an original Hubbard painting of the shantyboats of Brent KY.

09/17/2026

Rest in Peace Annie Dillard