Each year Shirley Heinze Land Trust conducts an annual direct-mail appeal from October to December. Money raised through the annual appeal is crucial to our operating budget. Look for our annual appeal in your mailbox this fall or read below, and please respond generously. Thank you for your annual support!

Dear Friend of Shirley Heinze Land Trust,

My name is Dale Engquist, and I am the President of the Board of Directors of Shirley Heinze Land Trust which has been protecting and restoring ecologically significant natural areas in Northwest Indiana since 1981.

Whether you live in Lake, Porter, or LaPorte County, we are working hard to protect and restore our precious and rare ecosystems that are unique to Northwest Indiana today and for future generations.

We believe that ecologically significant areas that are unique to our region deserve to be protected and restored. We also believe they enrich the quality of life in our community…don’t you agree?

And, we’re also working hard to inspire and educate people of all ages about the value of land conservation, most importantly school children in our area schools. We want to raise the next generation of stewards who will protect these precious ecosystems and our wildlife habitat in Northwest Indiana.

First, here’s some brief highlights of our key accomplishments this past year:

…we added 150 acres to our largest existing state dedicated nature preserve…Ambler Flatwoods in Michigan City;

…we acquired the Little Calumet Wetland Project Area in Chesterton adjacent to Brummitt Elementary School which has innumerable benefits for the permanent preservation of wetlands and recreational opportunities for local residents….mark my words…there will be residents bird watching and kayaking out there soon;

…we initiated large scale restoration projects including the continuation of oak savannah restoration at our Bur Oak Woods nature preserve in Hobart and interdunal wetlands restoration projects at our John Merle Coulter Nature Preserve in Portage and at the McAllister in Beverly Shores;

…we launched our Mighty Acorns environmental education program in the Hobart school system where we served five 4th grade classrooms last year. The program was so successful that we are slated to serve twenty classrooms this year!…this means all 4th and 5th grade students in the Hobart school system will be exposed to one of our many project areas in our 250-acre Hobart Marsh Complex;

…and last but not least, we increased public access to our nature preserves including a new parking lot that was installed at our Ivanhoe South Nature Preserve in Gary and a one mile trail on a 90-acre addition at our Ambler Flatwoods Nature Preserve…we are slowly building the infrastructure so that community residents can explore firsthand the value of these precious boreal flatwoods in Michigan City.

Secondly, I am writing today to ask you for a gift in support of our groundbreaking work in land conservation in the Southern Lake Michigan Watershed. We are at the forefront of a bold movement to not only protect priceless natural land in Northwest Indiana but to restore its natural beauty as well.

Our current holdings include over 1,300 acres in Northwest Indiana and five of our properties are state-dedicated nature preserves. Further, these nature preserves are acquired through tax sales, direct purchases and generous donations by property owners.

We receive no tax support and require no municipal services to fulfill our mission. Individual supporters who recognize the importance of protecting valuable land in Northwest Indiana are primarily what make Shirley Heinze Land Trust’s work possible.

We need and want first-time financial contributors like you who recognize the importance of land conservation in enhancing the quality of life and the natural beauty in their own community.

I encourage you to visit our preserves to see what we have accomplished. Visit www.heinzetrust.org for directions. And if you would like to volunteer, visit our website for a list of volunteer workdays or email volunteer@heinzetrust.org or call (219) 879-4725 for more information.

Our continued success in preserving our ecologically and precious natural landscapes relies on the loyal support of our current donors and new supporters like you!

Again, send in your gift today so that we may continue our important work to protect and restore our rare natural areas and enrich the quality of life in your community.

No gift is too large or too small. I look forward to you joining our family of supporters who care about land conservation and our precious natural areas “in our own back yards” right here in Northwest Indiana.

Sincerely,

Dale Engquist
President