All posts by Bruce Kingsbury

Our History, Outreach

House warming – Thanks for coming!

Photo credit: Jim Whitcraft

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our housewarming party on Sunday! We had a great time sharing the new space and our vision for the future. Special shout out to Jordan Marshall for leading the tree walk and Soarin’ Hawk Raptor Rehab for teaching us about some incredible birds. Big thanks to Purdue Master Gardener Program – Allen County, Purdue Extension – Allen County, and Purdue Fort Wayne Department of Biology for donating raffle prizes, and to Purdue Fort Wayne College of Arts & Sciences for donating shirts for us to decorate. We are so appreciative of the continued support and look forward to seeing everyone at future events!

Our History, Outreach

ERC Housewarming Party!

“Snacks, Swag, & s-Prizes!”

As many of you know, the ERC has begun to move into our own building on campus. This is very exciting!  The new facility will enhance our ability to hold events, host projects and promote sustainability efforts more than ever before. A lot of hard work has gone into making this dream become a reality, and we invite you to join us in celebrating this milestone at our ERC Housewarming Party.

  • What: ERC Housewarming Party
  • Where: The ERC (of course!) – the former Printing Services/Warehouse building
  • Date: Sunday October 13th
  • Time: 2:00pm-5:00pm
  • Cost: FREE!

We invite all of our friends, family, collaborators and the general community to stop by Sunday afternoon to tour the facility, see the progress we’ve made, meet our new Sustainability Coordinator, and if nothing else, enjoy some delicious snacks on us! We’ll also have some activities planned like a guided native tree walk along the river with Dr. Jordan Marshall, short ERC updates by Director Bruce Kingsbury, raffles for ERC swag, and munchies provided by some of our favorite local businesses. Come for the whole time or just stop by for a quick hello to show your support. Either way, we’d like to use this time to thank you for your encouragement and discuss how we can utilize your support for the future.

  • Event Schedule Thus Far:
  • 2:00 pm: Soarin’ Hawk Raptor Rehab Meet and Greet
  • 3:00 pm: Trees of Indiana guided walk with Dr. Jordan Marshall
  • 4:00 pm: Introduction and tour with Dr. Bruce Kingsbury
  • 4:30 pm: Prize winners announced
  • Snacks and refreshments served entire time

We hope to see you there!

Our History, Outreach, Sustainable Living

Meet Our NEW Sustainability Coordinator

Samantha Theisen is the Sustainability Coordinator for the Environmental Resources Center at Purdue University Fort Wayne. She came to Purdue Fort Wayne after obtaining her Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) with a focus in Natural Resources Planning and Sustainable Energy. Her degree concentrated largely in Land Use Planning and Social and Policy Sciences.

Samantha Theisen

“My heart is in higher education and I’m excited to be in a position that combines both my education and what I do in my free time. When I’m not in the office you can find me cooking, hiking, basking in the sun, binging reality TV shows, hammocking, or tending to my houseplants.”

Samantha has held several university setting positions during her time at UWSP and also has a wide array of experience in local government settings working on projects surrounding aquatic invasive species, brownfield redevelopment, bicycle and pedestrian route planning, agrotourism, nature-based recreation, and water quality monitoring, just to name a few. She is passionate about all things outdoors and preserving public open space so much that she lived a leave-no-trace lifestyle solely in U.S. National Parks for the first 5 months following graduation. She used this experience as a time to visit the backcountry of 22 national parks all while being an advocate of public lands and natural resource conservation. When you see her on campus or around the community, give her a warm welcome!