News Release
The 50th episode celebration of the monthly “Wild Wednesday” radio program on February 4 included a look back, some talk about the present, and a discussion of future plans for The Edge of Appalachia Preserve.
“Wild Wednesday” has been a partnership of C 103 Country and The Nature Conservancy in Ohio since 2022. Each program focuses on a timely topic and often includes guests from the community who visit, work, or partner with the preserve.
“The Edge is a special place and an important part of Adams County,” said Martin McAllister, community engagement specialist at The Edge for The Nature Conservancy in Ohio. “This radio program is an excellent way to communicate with the community about conservation and our work here locally. We know that nature and people are intricately linked, and the benefits that nature brings can help support communities, especially here in Adams County.”
The most recent episode of Wild Wednesday can be found on the C 103 Country archive page. Catch each month’s broadcast at 10 am ET on the first Wednesday of the month.
“We are proud to broadcast the Wild Wednesday program to help our audience learn more about what’s actually happening out there at The Edge of Appalachia Preserve,” said Kimberly Smith, traffic manager at C 103 Country. “Throughout the program’s four years of broadcasting, we’ve welcomed questions from our audiences and been happy to share the stories about how people in our community are invested in The Edge.”
For the 50th show, McAllister was joined in C103’s West Union studio by C103 Hosts Matt Hilderbrand and Brandon Rigdon, and Rich McCarty, a naturalist with The Nature Conservancy in Ohio.
“Brandon and I both had the pleasure of having experiences at the Edge as kids, and we continue to have those experiences as adults,” Hilderbrand said at the beginning of the program. “It has been really fascinating over these 50 episodes to learn about so much that I, as someone who has grown up in this area and spent most of my life, may completely take for granted. Even if I take a walk in the woods, I might walk by something that’s really cool to folks in the know like you.”
During the show’s run, which started in April 2022, guests have included range of people including local farmers who partner in land management, wildlife officers who discussed hunting options on TNC land, scientists, tourism officials, library staff who partner on programming, economic development experts, and outdoor recreation leaders and volunteers. McAllister has also hosted TNC staff who help with private land management, educational programs, volunteer efforts and hunting permits.
“I think it’s just a great way for folks out there who are interested in nature and the preserve to learn about it. Maybe they’re not even able to get out, but this is one of the ways they can learn,” McAllister said during the 50th program.
Part of the 50th show’s lineup included answering questions gathered from the community for the broadcast, and the hosts and guests also repeated common inquiries they get. For example, one of the questions asked about managed fires at the preserve.
“We do prescribed fire to maintain systems,” McCarty said. “Fire is set with a goal, with a plan, under some very controlled parameters and limits.”
Another question was about logging. “TNC has started a sustainable forestry initiative,” McAllister said. “It’s how we can improve the composition of the forest through some harvest. Our goal is not to make money, our goal is to improve the forest. But there are ways you can use techniques to do both.”
The C103 hosts also asked if TNC is a government entity. “We are not a government entity,” McAllister said, noting that TNC is a not-for-profit organization, like more than 250 others registered in Adams County.
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