Volunteer Spotlight: Cox Woodworkers Shine in 2025

Mar 30, 2026

by Volunteer Services

Our Cox Woodworking volunteers continued to shine in 2025. This group of 14 dedicated long-term volunteers served over 1,331 hours in 2025 contributing to a number of high impact projects. This team of volunteers is featured multiple times in this year's Volunteer Impact Report with projects that supported a variety of parks including restoring and installing garden gates at Aullwood Garden MetroPark, crafting and installing new barn doors at the Carriage Hill Riding Center, and partnering with Conservation to create bat condos. Learn more below and view more stories of volunteer impact in this year's Volunteer Impact Report.

Bat Condo Collaboration by Megan Rude, Conservation Coordinator
Bat condos are an excellent way to support Ohio's bat populations by providing large roost in spaces

that can house hundreds of bats at once, addressing the shortage of natural roost sites such as old trees and barns. Unlike smaller bat houses, bat condos offer multiple internal chambers with varied temperatures and microclimates, allowing bats to select ideal conditions for maternity colonies and day roosting. This makes them ideal for species such as the endangered little brown bat and big brown bats (Ohio species of concern). By installing bat condos near fields, forests, or water, we can help reduce mosquito and crop pest populations naturally while also supporting the recovery of bats affected by habitat loss and white-nose syndrome.

With the rapid growth and urbanization that Huber Heights is currently undergoing, I thought that Carriage Hill MetroPark would be a great place to debut one of these condos. Using blueprints from the Wisconsin Division of Natural Resources, the Cox woodworking group was able to modify the plans from a multi-day construction on site in the field, to a full construction in the woodshop with single day installation. They then constructed the condo in a matter of months! We are still working to get the condo installed but are hoping for an early 2026 installation, just in time for the summer bat season. (Pictured Right: Cox Woodworkers in front of their newly crafted Bat Condo.)

New Cellar Doors & Barn Doors at Carriage Hill MetroPark by Uriah Langmeyer, Park Technician
The Cox Woodworkers crafted and installed new cellar doors for the historic farm and new barn doors for the Riding Center at Carriage Hill MetroPark.

To craft the cellar doors, the group used the original blueprints from the late 1880's. The wood was milled at the park, and the fasteners were handmade by the historic specialists. Everything besides the paint was made to be original. The project itself was not complex, but the level of craftsmanship from all involved was top-notch.

The finished product looks just as the original doors would have looked. This kind of project is where this group truly shines. (Pictured Right: Cox Woodworkers installing new barn doors at the Riding Center.)

Gates to the Secret Garden by Beth Langford, Horticulturalist
In the late 1960's/early 1970's Marie Aull had wooden gates installed at the entrance of her and her late husband, John Weston Aull's beautiful and peaceful garden. Oh, the stories those gates could tell, if they could, of the many visitors who passed through into the gardens throughout the seasons, throughout the years. In the late 1990's the gates were moved and were lovingly cared for by two sisters who often frequent the gardens, Karen Offenbacker and Kristie Gunter.

After a number of years, the sisters decided to return the gates with the hope of them being reinstalled. The dark brown wooden gates stood in solitude in the Aull house basement for several years until 2023 when they were temporarily placed at the front entrance for the 100th Anniversary of John and Marie's wedding.

Jump to 2025 and say hello to volunteer James Glynn. James volunteered a number of times at Aullwood Garden and learned the story of Marie's wooden gates. He understood the historical significance and sentimental value they held. As part of the Cox Woodworking team, James surveyed the gates and assisted with the process of placing the gates in the Cox Woodworking cue. The woodworking team took great care in restoring the gates to their former beauty and soon will once again be placed permanently at the Aullwood Garden front entrance.

So, when you visit the gardens this season and see something "new", you are seeing something timeless and something local MetroPark patrons have lovingly helped to restore, and Marie would graciously beckon you to come through the Gates to the Secret Garden and enjoy the timeless peace that awaits. (Pictured Right: Horticulturalist Beth Langford with volunteer James Glynn opening the newly installed gates.)

Thank you, Cox Woodworkers, for dedicating your skills and time to projects that truly make a difference for our parks! Interested in joining our Cox Woodworking team? Learn more here. Meet more AMAZING MetroParks volunteers in our Volunteer Spotlights on Get Connected.

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