Project Title
Heritage Rings, Senior Capstone at The Ohio State UniversitySponsor
Ohio Department of Natural Resources / State Parks and Watercraft DivisionThrough research informed by primarily Talon Silverhorn, citizen of the Eastern Shawnee, and additional methodology (survey and interviewing), I found that Indigenous Knowledge is something the state parks and it’s visitors could benefit from. Through imparting Indigenous Knowledge, those who visit Ohio’s State Parks, are equipped to become better stewards.
Why these three components?
For state park visitors that want to be better stewards by picking up trash as they walk the trails, and the notebook is for them to log their names. This encourages other park goers to participate.
Why Hocking Hills?
The busiest Ohio state park, bringing in millions of visitors a year. The more visitors there are, the likelihood of litter and waste increases.
Why Ash Cave?
Has a rich history of Indigenous people who had passed through the area: Shawanwaki (Shawnee), Hopewell, Adena. Leveraging the rich history the area has, and the Indigenous knowledge the original stewards have to offer is vital to Heritage Rings.
Each state park has its own unique ring that can be located at a Heritage Ring found on the most popular trails. For my project I focused on on Ash Cave in Hocking Hills State Park.
Geocatching is another component with Heritage Rings. It’s available to all park visitors within the OuterSpacial app. The app itself can still be used offline, permitting visitors to still collect Heritage Rings while off the grid.