Land Management

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 …

UPDATE April 1, 2020: an additional spot is now open with no restrictions on county of residency. Huntertown, Ind., February 13, 2020 – ACRES Land Trust is seeking applications for two summer land management internships. For ten years, ACRES interns have helped care for the organization’s ever-increasing number of permanently protected places. 2020 Land Management …

As snow begins to fall, the ACRES land management crew gets ready to curl up with hot chocolate around the office fireplace where they will enter hibernation, a state of deep sleep maintained until early spring… ah…just kidding. The Land Management crew is hard at work during winter treating non-native invasive plants, managing properties and …

We did it! Last weekend ACRES held our final tire cleanup at the Walter H. and E. Marie Myers Nature Preserve on Flowers Creek. In total, with five years with volunteer, staff and intern effort, our teams have heaved 1,751 tires from this Miami County preserve. Caption, left: In 2020, warmer temperatures made for a …

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) …

“What did the fish say when he was swimming upstream and hit concrete?” “Dam!” Dr. Jerry Sweeten, ACRES board member, retired Manchester University biology professor and expert on low-head dam removal, enjoys a good laugh and talking waterways. He loves fish, river ecology, teaching and preservation. He’s led the charge in removing three low-head dams …

To keep pace with our growing acreage, ACRES has invested more time and resources in managing, restoring and enhancing land. In late winter and early spring, we put our new forestry mulcher to work shredding acres of non-native invasive autumn olive. The forestry mulcher, a barrel-like roller attachment for a skid steer, crunches up the …

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 …

Many thanks to the Olive B. Cole Foundation and the Lilly Endowment internship support through Manchester University for supporting the ACRES summer land management program. ACRES staff look forward to this annual influx of energy and support. We get much more accomplished with the boost to the workforce and we gain the satisfaction of supporting …

HUNTERTOWN, Ind., May 15, 2019 – This spring, ACRES Land Trust reforested 106 acres of marginal farmland, planting 55,000 native hardwood saplings on three of its regional nature preserves, setting a new pace in the nonprofit’s land management. Since 2016, the nonprofit has reforested 165 acres, planting nearly 100,000 trees on six preserves during a …

ACRES Land Trust is seeking applications for summer land management interns, matching students with expert mentors in protecting, acquiring and managing working and natural lands. The program, in its ninth year, helps ACRES care for our growing number of permanently protected places. ACRES is seeking grant funding for the internship program. “Going to Grass Lake with …

ACRES Land Trust’s land management efforts are growing. With your support, new heavy equipment is at work in the preserves – pulverizing non-native invasive plants and boosting our restoration and enhancement work. An end-of-year match provided by The Cairn Foundation boosted fundraising efforts to pay off equipment costs and purchase a new, stronger truck to …