Field Notes Archives | ACRES Land Trust

Mimicking Succession

ACRES protects more than natural areas. Working lands, such as agriculture fields in production, are also protected. ACRES currently protects about 500 acres of farmland, and some of this land will be restored to forest or wetland. This year, the ACRES Land Management team will use a different strategy to restore forest. A farm field ...

11/04/2020
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ACRES Research: Endangered Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake

ACRES lets nature take its course on the preserves, with the exception of eradicating invasive species. Normally, an endangered or threatened species found on an ACRES property is recorded but not actively managed. This year ACRES is working to develop a management plan based solely around one specific, scaly species. Buzzing cicadas, croaking frogs and ...

09/24/2020
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Oak Farm & Detering Partnership: Learning Land Protection through Meaningful Work

In a nonprofit partnership, students and staff at Oak Farm Montessori School, near Avilla, Indiana, have partnered with ACRES for the last few years. Our first collaboration, students growing seedlings for ACRES in the school’s greenhouse, quickly blossomed into more, led by Brett Bloom. by Brett Bloom I am the Ecoliteracy Coordinator at Oak Farm ...

06/02/2020
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Fighting for the Forest: Volunteers battle autumn olive on the Tom and Jane Dustin Nature Preserve

Did you know that autumn olive was once planted by many conservationists, including Tom and Jane, to provide wildlife habitat? Today, this invasive shrub is a prime target for removal on ACRES preserves and on managed land across the U.S. Why? Because its beautiful brush (with sweetsmelling spring blooms, signature silver-backed leaves and red berries) ...

10/24/2019
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We’re so much more: seeing beyond ACRES trails

Each time ACRES acquires a new property, we send “preserve postcards” to our members. Like birth announcements, the postcards welcome new land to our trust and thank our members for making this work possible. It’s a fun way to celebrate our newly protected places with our supporters. Recently, a few ACRES members and preserve enthusiasts ...

07/02/2019
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Trine conservation students to help ACRES manage Beechwood, engage in land ethic

This semester, Trine University students enrolled in a Conservation course will help ACRES Land Trust as part of a land management immersion, focused on caring for the Beechwood, Foster and Majneri Nature Preserves, adjacent to Pokagon State Park. Students will work at the preserve 8-10 weeks, battling non-native invasive species, learning land management strategies and ...

02/20/2019
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Fossils: Nature’s Clues

[Editor’s note: While it may be difficult to imagine today’s snow-covered Midwest was once a shallow sea, explorers of last Saturday’s Creek Stomp – Winter Edition at Hathaway Preserve at Ross Run had the opportunity to see firsthand what ancient wonders this place holds. If you missed the event or if you did indeed stomp ...

02/01/2019
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Season send-off: summer wrap-up

We had a busy and delightful summer chocked full of community events, news, and happenings. Thank you for joining us. Let’s have more fun over the rest of 2018! In the meantime, here is a look back at some of the good times we had during the past warmer months. Members-Only Video Release Party In ...

09/19/2018
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Challenging Steps Stewarding Land: Walking Quog Lake with Botanist Scott Namestnik

Scott Namestnik’s eagerness to explore Quog Lake last summer was quickly replaced with trepidation. “It has to be the most challenging site on which I’ve ever conducted a survey,” he said of the ACRES Land Trust property in LaGrange County. Namestnik works for Orbis Environmental Consulting, which ACRES hired to conduct a “floristic quality assessment” ...

06/18/2018
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Land Preservation, Conservation, and Succession

Ecological oases are isolated postage stamps of biological richness surviving in a vast landscape of monocultures controlled by blade or plow. As we locate and preserve these remaining oases—these hidden gems, we realize they have progressed for years through a dynamic ecosystem striving to protect itself from periodically emerging environmental impacts. Conserving land by preserving ...

03/14/2018
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