Jeanette Jaskula presenting at Oliver's Woods

Jeanette Jaskula Is Mothing in Indiana

This month’s Golden Hour was led by Jeanette Jaskula, the President of Friends of the Sands and a moth enthusiast! What’s so special about Jeanette’s passion for moths is that it goes against the grain of common wisdom. People sometimes think of moths as lesser, believing moths are dull in color, gross, and (creepily) only out at night. You’ll also always hear the butterfly glorified over the moth. But Jeanette introduced the joy of moths, reminding attendees of moths’ stunning colors, patterns, and important roles in our ecosystem. ⁠ Continue reading

Bridget Walls

Communications and Outreach Intern

Bridget is our first ever Communications and Outreach Intern. She is a graduate of Marian University, where she combined English, studio art, and environmental sciences in her degree studies. As treasurer for Just Earth, the university's environmental club, she helped plan events encouraging a responsible relationship between people, nature, and animals.
Using a plant identification book

April is Citizen Science Month

You probably already know that April is Earth Month and National Native Plant Month, but did you know that April is also Citizen Science Month*?

Citizen science is when members of the general public help conduct scientific research. It involves real people reporting observations and collecting real data that matters to them.

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Grace van Kan

White River Steward

Grace grew up roaming the woods, creeks and wetlands around the Chesapeake Bay watershed. From an early trout-raising project to a “gap year” spent restoring coral reefs in Thailand, her interest in aquatic conservation has only grown. Now she cares for several riverine nature preserves as CILTI’s White River Steward.

More Trails to Trek in 2022

It warmed our hearts to see people out enjoying our nature preserves in our inaugural Trek our Trails Challenge last year. This year, there are a few more trails to trek, and the challenge continues! We’ve expanded from five preserves to six, and extended a trail at one of our most beautiful preserves. Continue reading

Shawndra Miller

Communications Manager

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.
Birds and poetry at Oliver's Woods

A Year in Nature

In 2021, we offered a variety of ways to get out in nature throughout the year. From guided hikes to volunteer days to special events, it was a great year to get outdoors.

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Shawndra Miller

Communications Manager

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.
Grace leading a hike at Oliver's Woods

White River Docent Program Seeks Volunteers

Have you ever attended one of CILTI’s guided hikes and thought that you might enjoy leading a hike yourself? Have you been inspired by a guided hike or program that you’ve participated in? Consider becoming a White River Docent! Continue reading

Grace van Kan

White River Steward

Grace grew up roaming the woods, creeks and wetlands around the Chesapeake Bay watershed. From an early trout-raising project to a “gap year” spent restoring coral reefs in Thailand, her interest in aquatic conservation has only grown. Now she cares for several riverine nature preserves as CILTI’s White River Steward.
Photo by Greg Hess

The Wonder of the Monarch

(This piece was originally published in the September issue of Urban Times)

That monarch butterfly winging through your neighborhood has a whole story to tell. It’s a story of habitat loss and endangerment, but also wonder. Weighing less than a gram, this iconic species will take an incredible journey this fall. Continue reading

Shawndra Miller

Communications Manager

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.
Planting trees in Parke County

Monitoring Land Protection with “Kermit” the Drone

If you are a CILTI member and received this summer’s newsletter, you probably noticed the unique vantage point of our cover photo. Seen from the sky, our cover shot showed the stewardship team hard at work, planting young trees on the edge of a lush forest in Parke County. To capture this photo, we used a relatively new tool (or some might say toy): a drone. Continue reading

Grace van Kan

White River Steward

Grace grew up roaming the woods, creeks and wetlands around the Chesapeake Bay watershed. From an early trout-raising project to a “gap year” spent restoring coral reefs in Thailand, her interest in aquatic conservation has only grown. Now she cares for several riverine nature preserves as CILTI’s White River Steward.
Early Brood X Cicada

Brood X is coming (but please don’t believe it’s an “invasion”).

by Traci Willis, Outreach Specialist

Many headlines have begun to default to negative metaphors such as “invasion” or “infestation” when reporting about the upcoming periodical cicada emergence called Brood X. It’s true that at their highest concentration, there may be 1.5 million cicadas per acre in some areas. While that can feel overwhelming, cicadas aren’t harmful to people or pets, and they don’t bite or sting. In reality, they’re nearly defenseless! Continue reading

Traci Willis

Outreach Manager

Traci has always loved nature, channeling her passion into creating habitat for bees and butterflies (and taking stunning photographs of them). She coordinates our outreach efforts.
Dutchman's Breeches watercolor by Gillian Harris

Serving Science through her Art: Gillian Harris

Bloomington resident Gillian Harris, illustrator of the award-winning children’s book Wake Up, Woods, will be part of our Wake Up to Spring event at Oliver’s Woods this Sunday, along with Michael Homoya. Gillian’s stunning watercolors are a feast for the eyes. We asked her to share more about her work in this blog post.

How did you get your start illustrating the natural world?

I’m really interested in native plants, and I’ve been drawing all my life. I put the two together logically. I started out drawing more animals and then got more into botanical illustrations, which I enjoy. Continue reading

Shawndra Miller

Communications Manager

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.
Yellow-rumped warbler

Celebrating the Forever Promise

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

It’s finally spring and I feel the need to get away from the city and cornfields to celebrate winter’s end. The Laura Hare Preserve at Blossom Hollow—brimming with wildflowers and more red-headed woodpeckers than I’ve ever seen in one day—seems like the perfect spot to do so. Continue reading

Ben Miller

Land Protection Coordinator

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.