ATHENS, Ohio — Athens County veterans are taking to the hiking trails surrounding Athens as part of a new veterans support group, Boots on the Trail.
The nonprofit, established in June, is run by Athens County residents Bill Hayes and Ryan Leach. The two men founded the group for ecotherapy, which the group’s website defines as “connecting with nature to improve mental and emotional well-being.”
“We’re just a couple vets that really like being out on the trail and know what it does for us,” Hayes said. “We want to share that with as many veterans as we can.”
Hayes joined the U.S. Army after Vietnam and served until just before the Gulf War, serving on a mortar team. Leach served in the Army from 2002 to 2010, serving two tours in Iraq.
The group meets twice a month at Strouds Run State Park for a few hours of light trail maintenance, such as removing fallen branches or picking up litter. This small-scale maintenance fulfills the conditions for effective ecotherapy without taking up too much time.
“We want to do it on a small-scale so that people can fit it into their lives,” Hayes said. “Let’s say you’re a 38-year-old vet, you’ve got three kids, a wife and a job — it’s pretty hard to take three days and (go build trails).”
Even disabled veterans can participate, they said. They plan to organize a cleanup of the Blackhaw Accessible Trail at Strouds Run and have other ideas to accommodate any veteran.
“If we need to, we’re talking about doing work on the Hocking-Adena Bikeway to get veterans out into the woods that way,” Leach said.
Part of the group’s philosophy is giving former soldiers a goal to accomplish, Hayes said.
“The important thing is that we give them a mission,” Hayes said. “Veterans have a mission-oriented approach. Especially after Vietnam, when we went to an all-volunteer military, they came into the game with the goal of giving back to the community.”
Leach said that while the group has reached out to Ohio University’s veterans organizations, most participants are local residents. Many also attend the Athens-Hocking-Vinton Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board’s Ornery Vets Collective support group, Leach said.
More than 3,800 veterans live in Athens County, according to the U.S. Census; about 44% are under 65.
Hayes and Leach said that the group takes a non-obligatory approach to mental health — offering companionship, rather than discussion. However, Hayes noted that many veterans who come to the group’s outings naturally wind up talking about their challenges.
“There is a pattern,” Hayes said. “When you first get veterans out there the first thing they talk about is what their service was like, what they did and where they were. By the end of the day, they are talking about their problems, their issues, their struggles with healthcare or addiction. It evolves naturally.”
Hayes and Leach both said that ecotherapy isn’t a replacement for professional mental health treatment. The group views itself as complementary to traditional treatment and encourages all of its attendees to speak with mental healthcare professionals.
“We are not psychologists, we are not therapists, and we don’t pretend to be,” Hayes said.
Research into ecotherapy and its effectiveness is still ongoing but veterans’ groups have been quick to adopt the practice. An article from Smithsonian Magazine pointed out that ecotherapy is very similar to horticulture therapy, a practice which saw World War II veterans practice gardening as a form of mental health treatment.
Boots on the Trail is raising funds to buy tools used for trail maintenance. In addition to donations, the group plans to sell mugs, water bottles, patches and more to finance future projects.
“We’re in the process of learning how to fundraise,” Hayes said. “Our long-term goal is to build an endowment so that we can be totally self-supported. We want to spread this across the country.”
If you or someone you know is currently experiencing a mental health crisis please call the national suicide and crisis helpline by dialing 988. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Athens County Veteran Services Office offer a number of assistance programs for veterans facing crises.
