Education

Heritage Explorers Celebrate Homeschooling, Homesteading in Ohio’s Appalachia

The group’s founder, Tara Dodrill, said homeschooling and homesteading are connected because of independence and self-reliance.
Heritage Explorers Celebrate Homeschooling, Homesteading in Ohio’s Appalachia
Homesteader Melissa Renee teaches a foraging class at the Heritage Explorers Fest and History Fair in McArthur, Ohio, on Oct. 16, 2025. Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times
Jeff Louderback
|Updated:
0:00

MCARTHUR, Ohio—On a 60-acre homestead in the Appalachian foothills of southern Ohio, Tara Dodrill homeschools her 10-year-old grandson, Cole. For her family, homeschooling and homesteading are connected, and her experience inspired her to start an event that teaches hands-on skills for children interested in both.

The Heritage Explorers Fest and History Fair, which took place on Oct. 16, is an outgrowth of the Heritage Skills USA Homesteading Summit, formerly known as the Old School Survival Boot Camp, held every summer in Ohio.

Jeff Louderback
Jeff Louderback
Reporter
Jeff Louderback covers major news and politics, including the Make America Healthy Again movement and regenerative farming. Since joining The Epoch Times in 2022, he has covered national elections, the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presidential campaign, the East Palestine train derailment, and the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Jeff has 30-plus years of professional experience as a reporter, editor, and author.