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 timescale, overnight, human activity can alter natural areas thriving for millennia.
In 2017, ACRES joined an initiative to help people begin to understand the kinds of ecological changes that can occur over a few centuries: our 200-Year Ecological Reflection project at Wing Haven. Curating work in the arts, humanities and sciences, this project will provide a wealth of content, inspiring people to see land and its protection in a new way.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
ACRES chose Wing Haven as this project’s focus because of its 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. It’s also a perfect place for artists to be inspired by nature, just as it was for land donor and artist Helen Swenson when she and her husband, Ben, called Wing Haven home.
By amassing 200 years of science, artwork and writings on Wing Haven, we are gaining insight into how people view their connection to nature, the impacts of land use and how Indiana’s changing land ethic alters the landscape.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Each year, ACRES works with one artist and one scientist to produce something meaningful from Wing Haven. Over the past six years, artists have created everything from poetry to oil paintings to chamber music, all inspired by nature in this nature preserve. Scientists have conducted a tree survey, a survey of Little Gentian Lake, a plant species inventory, a bumblebee survey and more! Over time, these two approaches to documenting a specific portion of land will tell a story of change in both the environment itself and in humanity’s connection with it. Even though no one reading this article in 2024 will see the end of this ambitious project, we hope to produce something meaningful for generations to follow.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2024 ACRES Quarterly, mailed to members each season. The 20-page Quarterly features ACRES news, stories and events. You can subscribe by becoming an ACRES member with a donation of $20 or more. Click here to learn more!