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Scarlet Tanager

Bright Bird: Scarlet Tanagers Favor Forest Interior

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Our spring newsmagazine featured Cliff’s top ten hidden gems of birding. Here is the first of a blog series on these birds, by guest blogger Ed Pope.

The male scarlet tanager is one of the most brightly colored birds you will ever see, if you can find one. Their preferred habitat is interior forest, and they spend much of their time up in the canopy. During the breeding season, the males have bright red plumage with black wings and tails. The females are more drab, with yellow-green plumage. The winter plumage for the males is similar to the female’s. Continue reading →

Ed Pope

Guest Blogger

ed@circlecitybicycles.com
Ed Pope is a retired engineer from Rolls-Royce and a CILTI member since 2002.
Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

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On Earth Day, we pause to give our gratitude to all you nature-lovers. We are so grateful for your ongoing support for nature. You are showing your connection and care for the earth in so many ways. Continue reading →

Shawndra Miller

Communications Manager

smiller@conservingindiana.org
317.370.2464
Shawndra is in charge of sharing our story and connecting you to our work. Through our print and online materials, she hopes to inspire your participation in protecting special places for future generations.
Photo by Ben Valentine

Finding Home in Meltzer Woods

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First in a series on the Trek our Trails Challenge by guest blogger Ben Valentine

“The word ecology is derived from the Greek oikos, the word for home.” ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.” ― Gary Snyder, poet  Continue reading →

Ben Miller

Land Protection Coordinator

bmiller@conservingindiana.org

Ben Valentine

Guest blogger

Ben Valentine is a founding member of the Friends of Marott Woods Nature Preserve and is active in several other conservation organizations. He leads a series of NUVO interviews with Indiana's environmental leaders, and he cherishes showing his son all the wonders of nature he grew up loving.
Witch hazel

The Year that Was

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It’s no secret that the difficult events of 2020 spurred, for many, a greater connection to the natural world. That connection was reflected in monetary support for land protection. As we look back at “the year that was,” we are still overwhelmed by the level of generosity shown our organization. Continue reading →

Shawndra Miller

Communications Manager

smiller@conservingindiana.org
317.370.2464
Shawndra is in charge of sharing our story and connecting you to our work. Through our print and online materials, she hopes to inspire your participation in protecting special places for future generations.
Scarlet tanager

Forest Interior Habitat: A Haven for Songbirds and Eastern Box Turtles

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Part of a series on CILTI’s conservation targets by guest blogger Ed Pope

Although most of Indiana was wooded when Europeans first arrived, forest interior habitat is very rare today. Most forested land was cleared for farming, and while small woods can be found on many farms, there are very few large unbroken tracts of forest remaining. Continue reading →

Ed Pope

Guest Blogger

ed@circlecitybicycles.com
Ed Pope is a retired engineer from Rolls-Royce and a CILTI member since 2002.
Spalding siblings in Melzer Woods

A Legacy of Land Protection

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Thirty-five acres of Shelby County agricultural land came under protection this year, right next to the venerated old growth forest of Meltzer Woods. The Land Trust purchased the property from the Spalding family, descendants of the forest’s original champion, Brady Meltzer. The land had been in the family since 1857. Continue reading →

Shawndra Miller

Communications Manager

smiller@conservingindiana.org
317.370.2464
Shawndra is in charge of sharing our story and connecting you to our work. Through our print and online materials, she hopes to inspire your participation in protecting special places for future generations.
Constance Macy as E. Lucy Braun

A Giant in her Field

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Dr. E. Lucy Braun, whose pioneering work in forest ecology paved the way for today’s conservationists, stepped out of history to greet attendees of our Spirit and Place Festival hike. The old growth forest of Meltzer Woods offered a stunning backdrop for her comments as she looked back at the past 100 years. Continue reading →

Shawndra Miller

Communications Manager

smiller@conservingindiana.org
317.370.2464
Shawndra is in charge of sharing our story and connecting you to our work. Through our print and online materials, she hopes to inspire your participation in protecting special places for future generations.
Photo by Greg Hess

Your Gift Goes Twice as Far

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We are honored that a generous donor has offered a matching challenge grant to close out 2020. All contributions will be doubled during this season’s giving campaign, as the Efroymson Family Fund will match all gifts received by December 28, 2020, up to $75,000. Continue reading →

Shawndra Miller

Communications Manager

smiller@conservingindiana.org
317.370.2464
Shawndra is in charge of sharing our story and connecting you to our work. Through our print and online materials, she hopes to inspire your participation in protecting special places for future generations.
Meltzer Woods

Land Trust buys 35 acres, will plant 20,000 trees to expand Meltzer Woods

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 7, 2020

The Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc. (CILTI) is expanding the 60-acre Meltzer Woods Nature Preserve in Shelbyville by buying an adjacent 35-acre agricultural field, where it will plant more than 20,000 trees. The purchase totaled approximately $260,000 and was made possible through CILTI’s Evergreen Fund for Nature and members of the Land Trust. A portion of funds provided came from American Electric Power (AEP), Indiana Michigan Power’s parent company, under a legal settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, eight states, and 13 citizen groups. Continue reading →

Jen Schmits Thomas

Media Relations

Jen@jtprinc.com
317-441-2487
An award-winning communicator and recognized leader in Central Indiana’s public relations community, Jen helps us tell our story in the media. She is the founder of JTPR, which she and her husband John Thomas own together.
Eastern Box Turtle

Declining Eastern Box Turtles Benefit from Tree Plantings

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Creating future habitat for Eastern box turtles and many other species, we kicked off our million tree initiative this year. We’ve pledged to plant one million trees over the coming years in strategic sites, linking up hundreds of acres of fragmented land to benefit sensitive wildlife. Our tree-planting efforts so far buffer Meltzer Woods, Glacier’s End, Mossy Point and Wallace F. Holladay Preserve. Continue reading →

Shawndra Miller

Communications Manager

smiller@conservingindiana.org
317.370.2464
Shawndra is in charge of sharing our story and connecting you to our work. Through our print and online materials, she hopes to inspire your participation in protecting special places for future generations.