A three-day gathering in the heart of Pocahontas County that connects forest, food, and Appalachian tradition — and it’s open to anyone willing to make the drive to Hillsboro.
Yew Mountain Center held its seventh annual Forest Farming Field Day Weekend on May 1–3, 2026, welcoming the public to its 500-acre property on Lobelia Road in Hillsboro, Pocahontas County. The event features demonstrations in forest farming practices including medicinal herb cultivation, mushroom production, and maple syrup, along with wild edibles walks and traditional Appalachian music. The weekend is designed to connect participants with both the ecological richness of the central Appalachian highlands and the traditional land-use practices that have sustained communities in this region for generations.
Yew Mountain Center is currently running a $1.5 million campaign to purchase its property outright and secure its future as a community education resource. The Forest Farming Field Day is both a fundraising opportunity and a demonstration of the center’s core mission: experiential education rooted in the ecology and culture of this specific landscape. In a county where outdoor recreation and cultural heritage are increasingly driving the local economy, YMC serves as a place where those two threads come together in a program that’s genuinely rooted in the land.
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