Field Notes

Photo by Jarrid Spicer 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. …

When you serve ACRES donors and members in protecting land, you’d better spend some time walking it, wondering over it – and working it. You also need to appreciate natural cycles. In 2016, ACRES Land Trust launched quarterly staff development days in honor of seasonal changes. The ACRES Office is closed for the spring and …

Last January I walked alone in a preserve, enjoying the brittle cold, the silence of fresh snow. Cedar Creek flowed beside me, black, swift and clear beneath a fragile film of ice shelves. And then—fur and bright eyes. Two river otters poked their heads over ice on the creek’s far bank. We three held still, …

Lauren Farrell, an intern from Huntington North High School, shares her experiences and her view on preserving natural places – for good. Lauren Farrell, an intern from Huntington North High School, shares her passion for the outdoors and her work with ACRES over the past 4 months: Because of my interest in nature and the …

In 2015, Brett Bloom and his wife, Bonnie Fortune, began posting Instagram photos of their family’s ACRES hikes. Their fun, frequent images and notes reveal deep connections to place and deep thinking about land use. To better understand their perspectives, writer Teresa Vasquez and her son Miles (6) recently explored Vandolah Nature Preserve with Bonnie, …

Editor’s note from Carol Roberts, ACRES Quarterly editor and board vice president: Tom was my friend, neighbor, mentor in the natural world. I cared more about nature after seeing it more closely through his eyes. He fought passionately and persevered to protect the Indiana Dunes, Wyoming’s Red Desert…his beloved Cedar Creek. While Tom’s vision was …

Every fall we all set our clocks back, but we each approach the extra hour differently, some sleeping in, others simply appreciating the luxury of extra “found” time. I see autumn as a slowing of pace, the perfect time for us to take note of nature, to take stock of what happened during the busy …

Deer and hikers are foraging deep into ACRES Land Trust woodlands across the area to gather … tropical fruit. Yup, the paw paws are ripe and dropping sweetly. Ripe paw paws are yummy, mushy fruit with a banana-pineapple-mango taste (if you can get to them before the raccoons!). They hang and fall from skinny trees …

Are you headed into the woods, wetlands or prairies for your first, or first-in-a-long-time hike? Are you wondering what to bring, wear or even what you’ll see or what you can do in an ACRES preserve? While some folks are comfortable walking into the woods as they are, in all seasons, many people ask ACRES …