Educational Outreach Program

Accomplishments

Over the past several years, Shirley Heinze Land Trust has continued to expand its education and outreach efforts with great success. We conduct an annual hike program to demonstrate the rich ecological diversity in Northwest Indiana and adjacent areas. In addition, we host an annual neighborhood to educate residents about our precious natural areas. We continue to deliver public presentations to community organizations and conduct special hikes for after school programs such as the Boys and Girls Club.

Shirley Heinze Land Trust is deeply committed to environmental education programs for our youth. With many of our preserves located adjacent or in close proximity to schools, we have a unique opportunity to partner with teachers and students to increase their exposure and knowledge of our precious natural lands. We are a strong proponent of the burgeoning movement in the Chicago Metropolitan Area termed, “No Child Left Inside.” In this ever-increasing digital age of the Internet and iPods, this campaign seeks to reconnect our children with nature through directed outdoor play and self-discovery, thus fostering generations of children who care enough for nature to protect it.

The following projects were recently launched:

• Working alongside Gary Community School Corporation, through Groundwork Gary, we are engaging teachers and students in environmental education and ecological restoration and management. Our involvement has contributed to the implementation of a US EPA 5-Star Restoration Grant aimed at training teachers and students about ecological management and to the beginning of the “Gary Green Teams” project of Groundwork Gary;.
• Guided hikes for students and teachers at Ivanhoe South nature preserve, BaillyMiddle School, and Deep River Outdoor Education Center in Gary;
• Development of an in-school program at the City School of Hobart’s Ridge View Elementary School.
• Expanded trailhead infrastructure at Ivanhoe and Bur Oak Woods Nature Preserves for increased public access and interpretive education

Goals

At this critical juncture, we seek to expand our efforts to educate the broader community regarding the importance of protecting our natural areas and the physical and mental health benefits of reconnecting with our natural world.

Key priorities for our education and outreach program include:

• Increasing the number of classroom field trips at preserves and presentations to local groups;
• Promoting media interest in our activities;
• Developing or improving a minimum of one guided nature trail per year featuring numbered stops on trail and corresponding interpretive information in a brochure available in kiosk;
• Recruiting additional volunteers;
• Encouraging and coordinating scientific research in our nature preserves.

Interns Support SHLT Mission in 2008

Three local university students gave valuable support during 2008 in our newly expanded intern program.

Heather Wisniewski, a senior at Valparaiso University, fulfilled her internship requirement for graduation by working with us from September to November. She provided a variety of services in the office and in the field, contributing to our fundraising efforts and working on data base management, mapping, and stewardship projects.

Jon Finger, also from Valparaiso University, came to us through an internship program coordinated by the Calumet Stewardship Initiative. He performed fieldwork with us from June to August, performing such tasks as invasive species control, planting native species for habitat improvement, vegetation monitoring, and trail maintenance.

Will Taylor, a senior at Indiana University Northwest, volunteered with us as part of a public management course. He worked extensively in the field in October-November, helping with brush clearing, firebreak construction, seed collection, and other stewardship activities. He also helped update property maps and records.