Phalen Leadership Academy Youth on the White River

Embracing Nature: A Recap of 2023

In the year 2023, our commitment to connecting people with nature led us to offer several outdoor activities. From volunteer days to guided hikes and special events, it was a year filled with exploration, education, and environmental stewardship. 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.
Blue Bluff Nature Preserve

Celebrating our Board Members, Outgoing and New

Like many nonprofits, we rely on a volunteer board to guide our work. These are individuals who care about the natural world and are happy to share their time and expertise to protect it. This month brings changes as several board members’ terms have come to an end. With four board members rolling off and four new ones joining, it’s a good time to express our gratitude to these committed individuals. 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.
White River view from Oliver's Woods

A Big Thank You to our Generous Donors

Our members’ generosity is astounding. When we got word of an ambitious 2023 year-end match challenge last month, we were a bit concerned at first. Raising $250,000 to meet the Efroymson Family Fund’s challenge would be a stretch, especially in such a short time frame. 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.
Founders Fen

CILTI takes ownership of Hancock County site including unique fen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Seeks to buy adjacent land to fully protect feature rich in biodiversity and environmental impact

The Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc. (CILTI) has received ownership of a 9.8-acre Hancock County site from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), allowing it to protect forever a biodiverse and environmentally significant feature known as a fen. Continue reading

Jen Schmits Thomas

Media Relations

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.
Looking north across Snake Creek with Fern Station in the distance

CILTI expands Putnam County protected lands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fern Cliff Addition adds to protected lands connected to Coca-Cola’s patented green glass

The Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc. (CILTI) has added to protected lands in Putnam County with the purchase of 27-acre Fern Cliff Addition.

Continue reading

Jen Schmits Thomas

Media Relations

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.
Cliff Chapman and Mr. Grinch at closing

Whoville-area property preserved for education and recreation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rugged landscape donated to CILTI, opened to visitors for first time

Mount Crumpit and adjacent lands outside Whoville have been sold to the Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc. (CILTI) so they may be protected in perpetuity. Landowner The Grinch agreed to the sale in the wake of a cardiac episode that prompted him to consider how access to the land could benefit area residents. Continue reading

Jen Schmits Thomas

Media Relations

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.
Witch hazel

Connecting with the Beauty of Winter

The arrival of winter turns nature monochromatic, leaving what might seem like a bleak landscape. The leaves have turned and mostly fallen, and most native plants go dormant.

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.
Lee Casebere at Mounds State Park

A Pitch to Join the Land Trust

Guest post by Lee Casebere

I’ve always been interested in nature. Curiosity about the “goings on” of nature is in my blood, my bones, and my soul. For that, I consider myself one of the lucky ones to whom it came naturally. I’m fortunate that it has remained important to me my entire life. Continue reading

Lee Casebere

Guest Blogger

Lee Casebere, a longtime CILTI supporter, is a naturalist, ecologist, and nature photographer. He is the retired assistant director of Indiana DNR’s Division of Nature Preserves.
Mossy Point, by Emily Persic

Help secure a historic match!

Exciting news: Our generous partners at Efroymson Family Fund have presented us with our biggest ever year-end challenge. Every gift up to $250,000 will be generously matched by the family! Donations must be made by December 31, 2023 to count toward this match. 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.
The Milnes at Blossom Hollow

Why We Give

Guest post by Marc and Leah Milne

In the face of massive habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation on top of the ever-looming threat of climate change and the pervasive persistence of invasive species throughout Indiana, it’s easy to lose hope in a bright future for the natural world. To believe in a future where we all cherish and protect the critically important biodiversity that surrounds us is to be a perpetual optimist in a reality that rarely reflects such dreams. Continue reading

Marc and Leah Milne

Guest Bloggers

Marc and Leah Milne both teach at the University of Indianapolis.