This year, Shirley Heinze Land Trust is celebrating its 45th anniversary, and we’ve launched a series called “45 Stories for 45 Years.” Throughout 2026, we are sharing stories about our organization, the people who make our work possible, and the land we protect. On Friday, May 1, Evie Kirkwood (Shirley Heinze Land Trust Board President)
45 Stories for 45 Years: A Priest, a Book, and Some Botanists Read More »
My name is Sharon Kenning, and I’ve lived in Northwest Indiana all my life, starting out in the Miller area of Gary, Lowell, and the last 46 years in rural Valparaiso. My husband and I have 10 acres of mostly wooded property and some old farm fields. I have always enjoyed wildflowers, gardening, traveling, and
45 Stories for 45 Years: Sharon Kenning Read More »
Poems by Dale Nichols The Return of the Sandhill Cranes Against a crisp blue sky Where the sun and the wind have arisen I harken their voice in the distance Tiny specks I just barely envision Legions in v-formations Parading from wing to wing Back at last from fall migrations As harbingers of spring Loudly
45 Stories for 45 Years: Beverly Shores in the Spring Read More »
By Billie Kerner; Jibek Mbwakawen, Inc. After the arrival of the sandhill cranes signaling spring in my Potawatomi culture, we wait for the third thunder to communicate that it is time to plant our corn. For many Indigenous peoples, including the Potawatomi, the Three Sisters garden is more than a method of agriculture. It
This article was originally written by Thaddeus Lipinski and published on February 17, 2025, by the South Bend Tribune. It’s 8:45 p.m. on a warm spring night at Lydick Bog Nature Preserve, seven miles west of South Bend. As darkness creeps over the pond, a concealed orchestra comes to life, and the bog begins to
Indiana’s Disappearing Frogs Read More »
Over the last 2 years Porter County Farm Bureau’s partnership with Shirley Heinze Land Trust has flowered in ways we could have only imagined. Our most recent example is Shirley Heinze’s support for our “Take Care, We’re Farming Around Here” public safety initiative. 21 years ago, while serving as Trustee of Porter Township I championed
Northwest Indiana is a highly industrialized region, and despite significant legislation and safeguards, industrial by-products such as heavy metals still sometimes manage to find their way into our local watersheds. These occurrences are rare, but establishing a water quality monitoring program is important for understanding the current health of our local watersheds, which are of
Protecting Our Streams: Why Water Quality Matters Read More »
November Marsh By Dale K. Nichols (Board Member) Dear friends of Shirley Heinze Land Trust: This is the ninth in a series of “snapshots” featuring our Beverly Shores/Great Marsh preserve that I began writing in March of this year. I hope you have enjoyed reading them, and that you have learned a bit about our
Shirley Heinze Snapshot 9: The Great Marsh, November 1, 2023 Read More »
Fall Asters By Dale K. Nichols (Board Member) Dear friends of Shirley Heinze Land Trust: This is the eighth in a series of “snapshots” featuring our Beverly Shores/Great Marsh preserve. As we near the end of the growing season, the fall asters are in bloom. Though perhaps not as showy from a distance as many
Shirley Heinze Snapshot 8: The Great Marsh, October 3, 2023 Read More »
By Dale K. Nichols (Board Member) Dear friends of Shirley Heinze Land Trust: This is the seventh in a series of “snapshots” featuring our Beverly Shores/Great Marsh preserve. You will recall that my last blog post, dated August 15, focused on several of the pink and purple blossomed plants that were then dominating the Great
Shirley Heinze Snapshot 7: The Great Marsh, September 13, 2023 Read More »
