Meltzer Woods aerial, by Kyle Doles

National Self-Care Awareness Month: Find Your Zen in Nature

September is National Self-Care Awareness Month, a time to focus on personal health. One of the best ways to boost well-being is to spend time in nature.

We believe that everyone deserves access to nature. Part of our land protection mission is to enable Hoosiers to enjoy the benefits of the outdoors. Many studies show that time in nature promotes mental health and reduces stress. It can even enhance problem-solving skills. 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.
Nature preserve boundary sign at Betley Woods

The Nature of a Preserve

What makes a nature preserve? And if a nature preserve is not state-dedicated, is it really a nature preserve? It sure is!

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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.
Hooded warbler

Southern Johnson County gets more protected land

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2022

The Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc. (CILTI) has acquired 109 acres of environmentally significant forest land in southern Johnson County, resulting in a total of more than 1,500 acres in that area that is protected forever.

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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.
Betley Woods at Glacier's End

 $1 Million Gift from the Betley Family will Enhance Protected Lands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dec. 21, 2021

Newly renamed preserve now called Betley Woods at Glacier’s End

The Central Indiana Land Trust Inc. (CILTI) has received a $1 million gift from Leonard and Kathryn Betley and their family to support reforestation and land protection, as well as to establish an endowment for the Hills of Gold Conservation Area.

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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.
Worm-eating Warbler

The Misnamed Bird: Worm-Eating Warbler

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

Despite its name, the worm-eating warbler prefer insects, spiders, other arthropods and especially caterpillars over earthworms. It is a small songbird, approximately the size of a goldfinch. The upper plumage is brown, while the underside is lighter. It has black stripes on its head, including two that appear to go through its eyes.

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Ed Pope

Guest Blogger

Ed Pope is a retired engineer from Rolls-Royce and a CILTI member since 2002.
Blossom Hollow, by Karen Wade

Road Trip: Southern Johnson County

We asked Karen Wade, one of our board members who lives in Johnson County, to recommend some attractions near the Laura Hare Preserve at Blossom Hollow. She offered this guest post.

Did you know that Johnson County is known as Festival Country Indiana? And you bet we’ve got festivals and events aplenty; just take a peek here. There’s literally something happening all year long, from craft fairs to car shows to fundraising galas. We have theater, movies, and comedy shows, wine and beer tastings, yoga (with and without goats), and the list goes on. Continue reading

Karen Wade

Board Member

Before retiring in 2017, CILTI board member Karen Wade worked for Eli Lilly & Co. In retirement she volunteers for a number of environmental and equine pursuits including Indiana Master Naturalist Certification and Meadowstone Therapeutic Riding Center.
Northern parula warbler

Northern Parula Builds Nests of Moss

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

The northern parula is a small warbler, roughly half the weight of a goldfinch. Its body looks slightly chubby, and its bill is thin and tail is short. White crescents line the eyes, and the plumage is bright yellow on the throat and chest. Males have a brown patch between the throat and chest. Most of the remainder of their feathers are a bluish-gray.

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Ed Pope

Guest Blogger

Ed Pope is a retired engineer from Rolls-Royce and a CILTI member since 2002.
Purple coneflower at Nonie Krauss

Exploring Nonie Werbe Krauss Nature Preserve in High Summer

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

I drove up to Nonie Werbe Krauss Nature Preserve with my son one early morning in a failed effort to avoid the heat. It’s late summer now, and wildflowers and pollinators are my new joy, as the migratory birds have largely moved north and stopped their mating melodies. Binoculars in our hands, we set off into this preserve for the first time, not knowing what we’d find. 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.
Dr. Elizabeth Barnes explains the difference between Brood X cicadas and other insects

Fact and Fiction: An Entomologist Talks Brood X

The arrival of Brood X periodical cicadas—while patchy in Central Indiana—has given us all something to talk about. Love them or leave them, hate them or taste them, their 17-year emergence is a memorable one.

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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.