ACRES blog - Page 2 of 33 - ACRES Land Trust

Shingle Oak Ridge

A Family Legacy of Conservation Some might say that the importance of land conservation came to them during a class, or they learned about it from a friend or realized that they desired to better understand their own property. However, ...

03/03/2025
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Black Creek at Hainerzerling-Ditmer Natural Area

Heinzerling-Ditmer Natural Area

ACRES emphasizes stewarding not only land but also relationships. Lifelong connections sometimes lead to permanent protection of more than one property. When the Heinzerling family sensed it was time to sell their 62-acre woodland in southern DeKalb County, they again ...

02/03/2025
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LaSalle Family Natural Area

“I never really thought of this place as my land,” said Amanda LaSalle as she sat next to her husband, Bill, in the kitchen of the home they have shared for more than 30 years. The log cabin-style house stands ...

12/18/2024
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Conservation Priority Areas: How ACRES Protects Natural Treasures

For ACRES, the idea of priority areas is not new. Since the 1960s we have targeted acquisitions in areas of geological, cultural and biological significance. Relatively recently, as we mapped these areas, we have labeled them “conservation priority areas.” While ...

11/26/2024
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Serene walking trail at ACRES Land Trust preserve

Nature’s Healing Power: Finding Peace Through Outdoor Grief Support

“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature— the assurance that dawn comes after night and spring after winter.” Rachel Carson, “The Sense of Wonder” Understanding Grief’s Impact Losing a loved one or experiencing another traumatic life ...

10/28/2024
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Pawpaw leaves at Lloyd W. Bender Memorial Forest

Always Learning From Nature

Over the last 18 years, I’ve visited ACRES preserves countless times, learning valuable lessons from nature itself. I live on an ACRES preserve and also volunteered to maintain Hathaway Preserve at Ross Run for 10 years. Even on the properties ...

10/11/2024
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John Laatsch: Volunteer Preserve Steward at Pehkokia Woods

A Dedicated Preserve Steward The Laatsch family protected their 97-acre property with ACRES in 2010, and in 2018, John Laatsch became a volunteer Preserve Steward. As a Preserve Steward, John is responsible for maintaining the preserve and trail system. Prior ...

09/30/2024
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Nature’s Verse: The Poetry of Erica Anderson-Senter

Erica’s love and appreciation of nature are clearly visible in her work. As a child, she watched nature-y cartoons like David the Gnome, and she spent a lot of time exploring the outdoors with her grandparents. She attributes her love ...

08/07/2024
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In Search Of Weasels

ACRES recently partnered with wildlife researchers to study the weasel, known to be elusive, cunning and downright adorable. Dr. Scott Bergeson, Assistant Professor of Animal Biology at Purdue University Fort Wayne, and his Graduate Teaching Assistant, Carsten White, led the ...

07/23/2024
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Wing Haven: Studying Long-Term Change

How do you comprehend and measure a timespan of 200 years? In familial terms, 200 years spans eight generations. In 200 years, someone’s great, great, great, great, great-grandchildren will be changing our world. Although 200 years isn’t long on nature’s ...

07/18/2024
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