Home > Newsroom > Nonie Krauss Nature Preserve > Properties > Stewardship

Category: Nonie Krauss Nature Preserve

Controlled burn at Nonie Werbe Krauss Nature Preserve

Supporting a Prairie Preserve with Fire

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Supporting a Prairie Preserve with Fire

With a high plant diversity and stable plant populations, a prairie can provide habitat for a plethora of insects and birds. That’s one thing that makes our Nonie Werbe Krauss Nature Preserve so special. Almost 90 species of birds have been found on CILTI’s only prairie habitat nature preserve. Continue reading →

Phillip Weldy

Stewardship Specialist

pweldy@conservingindiana.org
574.286.9344
Phillip enjoys nature’s wonders from an up-close-and-personal perspective as he works to restore the natural places you love. He came to his stewardship role at CILTI after undertaking invasive species control and trail maintenance for Little Traverse Conservancy in Harbor Springs, MI.

More Trails to Trek in 2022

Posted on | Leave a Comment on 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

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.
Jamison Hutchins

Behind the Scenes with Stewardship Manager Jamison Hutchins

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Behind the Scenes with Stewardship Manager Jamison Hutchins

Our stewardship manager, Jamison Hutchins, recently took a walk through Nonie Werbe Krauss Nature Preserve while speaking with Freya Berntson. Freya’s podcast, Midwestoration, profiles people working in the conservation field.

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.
Dickcissel

Dickcissels Are a Lively Grassland Bird

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Dickcissels Are a Lively Grassland Bird

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

The dickcissel, slightly larger than a song sparrow, looks much like a miniature meadowlark. This grassland bird breeds in the Great Plains and the Midwest of North America. In winter they migrate to Mexico, Central America and the northern parts of Venezuela and Colombia.

Continue reading →

Ed Pope

Guest Blogger

ed@circlecitybicycles.com
Ed Pope is a retired engineer from Rolls-Royce and a CILTI member since 2002.
Planting trees in Parke County

Monitoring Land Protection with “Kermit” the Drone

Posted on | Leave a Comment on 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

gvankan@conservingindiana.org
312.286.2484
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.
Blossom Hollow, Photo by Dick Miller

Trek Our Trails Challenge features 5 popular nature preserves

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Trek Our Trails Challenge features 5 popular nature preserves

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 10, 2021

You’ve been cooped up for months, and it’s time to get out and explore some of the most beautiful places in Central Indiana. Soon, wildflowers will be peeking through the forest floor, birdsong will be in the air, and Indiana’s nature preserves will be coming to life.

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.
Grace completing the pack test.

Fired Up and Ready to Go

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Fired Up and Ready to Go

They came, they saw, they carried.

Members of our stewardship team completed a “pack test” recently as part of fire training. Their task? Carry a 50-pound backpack for 3 miles in less than 45 minutes.

Everyone passed, taking the team one step closer to being able to lead controlled burns on our properties. 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.
Callery pear blooming at Nonie Werbe Krauss Nature Preserve

Callery Pear: Not a Tasty Alternative

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Callery Pear: Not a Tasty Alternative

Part of a series on invasive species by guest blogger Ed Pope

Callery pear is native to China and Vietnam. It was introduced into Europe in the 1800s. It first arrived in the United States at Boston’s Arnold Arboretum in 1906. It was imported by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1916, when a disease called fire blight was ravaging commercial pear growers, who were looking to develop a fire blight-resistant pear tree. Continue reading →

Ed Pope

Guest Blogger

ed@circlecitybicycles.com
Ed Pope is a retired engineer from Rolls-Royce and a CILTI member since 2002.
Meltzer Woods photo by Jordan England

Announcing the Trek Our Trails Challenge

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Announcing the Trek Our Trails Challenge

Are you ready for a nature fix? There’s still plenty of time to participate in a yearlong challenge that you can enjoy on your own. Make your way to a nature preserve to get started in the Trek Our Trails challenge! 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 of Girls, Inc. girls at Blossom Hollow, by Mary Ellen Lennon

Many Hikes and Miles: Educator Grateful for CILTI Places and Programs

Posted on | Leave a Comment on Many Hikes and Miles: Educator Grateful for CILTI Places and Programs

We thank Marion University professor Mary Ellen Lennon for this guest post.

As an educator, I have enjoyed the use of Central Indiana Land Trust resources and properties for student programming. I could not be more pleased to speak of the organization’s mission to students. And as a budding naturalist raising two young conservation ecologists, I eagerly scan my email in search of the next invitation to a public hike or talk sponsored by the land trust. Continue reading →

Mary Ellen Lennon

Guest Blogger

Mary Ellen Lennon is assistant professor of history at Marion University.