It’s time to plant the new porch roof attached to the Case Nature Center at Cool Spring Preserve!

PVAS Host: KC Walters and Bob Schwartz

Free and open to the public. For safety reasons, this volunteer day is restricted to adults. Registration is required and limited to 15 participants.

PVMN Volunteer Credit Eligible.

**This volunteer workday was originally scheduled for October 5, 10am-2pm, but has been moved to October 13, 9am-12pm**

Recently, PVAS invested in a porch roof extending over the back patio of the Case Nature Center to provide shelter for year-round outdoor programming. It was designed as a living roof to use the power of native plants for insulation. Now, it’s time to plant the roof! Following the guidance and a planting plan created by Bob Schwartz, we need to get about 1,000 plants into the soil up on the roof.

• Walking Distance: Little to no walking
• Activities: A variety of tasks are available. We will need some people to lift and move heavy objects like pots of soil. There are also jobs that can be completed while sitting the entire time.
• Exposure: Full exposure/no shade but we will have a shade tent available.
• Terrain: We will primarily be on a flat roof.
• Restroom: Indoor, flushing restrooms will be available.
• Parking/Where to Meet: Cool Spring Preserve has about 20 parking spaces. The group will assemble inside the Nature Center.
• What to Bring: Dress for the weather and bring water! Bring gardening gloves if you have them. Small stools or kneeling pads or similar items are also recommended to help you be comfortable. Please pack a lunch. We will take a break to eat.

Register Here!

About our Hosts:

About KC: KC, a Shepherdstown native, is our Associate Director of Conservation and Operations. KC is a Shepherd alumna, and holds a M.S. in Biology, with a focus in forest ecology, from James Madison University. Her master’s thesis evaluated the long-term effectiveness of treating hemlock trees for hemlock woolly adelgid infestation in Shenandoah National Park. During her college education, she interned with The Conservation Fund: Freshwater Institute and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. After graduation, she worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in southeastern Louisiana where she served as a forestry technician and became a certified Wildland Firefighter. KC then returned home to Shepherdstown and worked with Sustainable Solutions LLC as the Lead Natural Resources and GIS Technician.  She joined the PVAS Team in April 2018 as the Land and Conservation Manager.  Just shy of five years later, in January 2023, KC was promoted to the Associate Director position she holds today. KC enjoys riding horses, working with her dog, Paisley, on agility training, and stewarding the natural resources on her own property.

About Bob: Originally from Chicago, Bob earned an undergraduate degree in Forest Ecosystem Science and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin- Madison and is about to complete a Master of Science in Environmental Biology and Climate Change from Hood College in Maryland. Bob serves as Western Watershed Forester for the Maryland Forest Service where he works with private and public landowners to improve forested watershed health through facilitation of cooperative conservation and restoration projects. In his free time Bob is a book nerd, loves to explore far and wide to find cool habitats, and work in his native plant garden. He lives in Brunswick, MD with his wife Ellen and their cats Ollivander and Remus.