ACRES' Ecological Reflections project will fund robust scientific research and commission art and humanities through 2217. As we amass 200 years of science, artwork and writings on Wing Haven, we will gain insight on how people view their connection to nature, the impacts of land use and how Indiana's changing land ethic alters the landscape.
In nature's time frame, 200 years isn't very long. But natural areas that thrive for millennia can be altered overnight by human activity.
Ecological Reflections is a nationwide network of programs dedicated to long-term, interdisciplinary reflections at sites of ecological or cultural importance. The ACRES Land Trust 200-year project compiles commissioned work by artists, humanities scholars and scientists as an investigation into how a particular place changes through time.
ACRES Wing Haven preserve near Angola, Indiana — featuring an artist studio and rich diversity of plants, birds, mammals, and aquatic species across three major ecosystems: glacially carved kettle-hole lakes, upland forests, and rolling grasslands and meadows.
2017 – 2217
A "short-term" project of 200 years helps you and future generations visualize land in the scale of forever. Curating work in the arts, humanities and sciences from a specific place over two centuries will provide a wealth of content, inspiring people to see land and its protection in a new way.
ACRES is working with professionals to outline art and humanities commission guidelines and science protocols. To fund the project, ACRES has placed seed money in an endowment and will use interest on this endowment to pay artists and scientists. ACRES' goal is for the endowment to reach $1 million.
Are you an artist or humanitarian interested in contributing to this project? ACRES is currently accepting proposals.
Ecological Reflections is a nationwide network of long-term interdisciplinary programs.
Visit the Ecological Reflections Main Site →
This preserve is owned and protected by ACRES Land Trust, but also given additional protections under the Indiana Nature Preserves Act (1967). ACRES was instrumental in creating the Nature Preserves Act that protects hundreds of places statewide.
Located near Angola, Wing Haven has a rich diversity of plants, birds, mammals and aquatic species in three major ecosystems: glacially carved kettle-hole lakes bordered by a wetland fen system, upland forests and rolling grasslands/meadows.
This chain of glacially-carved kettle-hole lakes, known as the Seven Sisters, includes Gentian Lake and Little Gentian Lake, named by Helen Swenson for the purple gentians that bloom on the lakes' edges. The preserve hosts one of the largest concentrations of marl flats and fens in a small area in northern Indiana.
Wing Haven habitat also supports reptile and amphibian species, including a state-endangered and federally-threatened snake: the eastern massasauga rattlesnake — a small, thick-bodied, venomous, but timid rattlesnake that spends its days hunting rodents and small amphibians in wetlands.
Wing Haven trails are open daily, from dawn to dusk.
Wing Haven Trail Map
Fringed Gentian — Fred Wooley
Sandhill Crane — Savanna Vaughn
Massasauga Rattlesnake — Fred Wooley
Trillium
Water Lilies — Savanna Vaughn
Jefferson Salamander — Shane Perfect
When it came time for Helen Swenson to leave the land she loved, she worked with ACRES to ensure that it would be protected forever.
While managing Potawatomi Inn at Pokagon State Park from 1937–1948, Helen and Ben Swenson purchased 400 nearby acres as their homestead. They lived here, on part of that land now preserved by ACRES, in cabins built from reassembled logs. On land adjoining the northwestern edge of this preserve, they built and operated Wing Haven Resort. There, Helen used her artistic talents to decorate each guest house in the colors of birds native to the region. After Ben's death in 1954, Helen continued to operate Wing Haven Resort for 15 years.
In nature, Helen saw art everywhere. In her artist's studio, she created paintings that captured the splendor of budding flowers and the rich colors of the earth. Helen's greatest joy was to introduce others to the beauty and quietude of nature.
"I have always found more satisfaction in knowing a few things intimately than a lot of things briefly." —Helen Swenson
An artist and nature lover, Helen revelled in the joy of small experiences on this land — the return of favorite birds after a quiet winter, nursing a damaged tree back to life, or marveling at the thousands of trilliums that bloom here each spring. Helen Swenson remained at her beloved Wing Haven until her death in 1983.
A gifted artist, Helen was inspired by the ever-changing colors of her beloved Wing Haven. She rarely sold her paintings and photographs, preferring instead to give them away.
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Lupke Foundation, Inc.
Arts United
Geoff & Josie Fox Family Foundation
Edward & Hildegarde Schaefer Foundation
Dr. Samuel D., Martha B. and Mabel I. Sledd Foundation
Steuben County Community Foundation
Edward M. and Mary McCrea Wilson Foundation
This project is also made possible by the support of the Indiana Arts Commission, Arts United and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Our Ecological Reflections project spans two-hundred years. That's a big commitment! We honor this commitment with your support. You can help us invest in this project — and others — by becoming an ACRES Land Trust member.
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