Category Archives: Wildlife

Conservation, Ecology, Environmental Education, Outreach, Wildlife

“Wetland Wildlife: More than Mosquitoes” – a World Wetlands Day event

Join Dr. Bruce Kingsbury February 2nd at Purdue Fort Wayne’s Environmental Resources Center for an evening presentation on “Wetland Wildlife – More than Mosquitoes.” This presentation is the final event of a day of activities for the community to celebrate World Wetlands Day, and is scheduled to occur in our new location. We are also contemplating expanding the ERC event to include a dinner and other happenings, so please stay tuned on that! 

Earlier in the day across town folks can enjoy a Wetland Hike hosted by ACRES or a Wetland Bird Sit with Allen County Parks. Want to learn how a wetland is working to clean up our rivers? Then visit Camp Scott for an informative hike hosted by the City of Fort Wayne. Want to get your hands dirty with wetland restoration? Join LRWP and INPAWS for a wetland plant propagation workshop. Events are spread across the day and participants can attend all events for a special prize at the end of the evening. Details below. To learn more about World Wetlands Day please visit www.worldwetlandsday.org.

2019 World Wetlands Day Official Schedule:

10am – ‘Share the Trails’ hike, presented by ACRES Land Trust, location is the Tom and Jane Dustin Nature Preserve, 1802 Chapman Road, Huntertown, IN 46748. For more information, please contact Lettie Haver at lhaver@acreslandtrust.org.

12pm – Camp Scott ‘Wetlands at Work’ hike, presented by the City of Fort Wayne, location is Camp Scott, 3615 Oxford Street in Fort Wayne, 46806. For more information, please contact Susan Beck at 260-427-6213 or susan.beck@cityoffortwayne.org.

1:30pm – Wetland Seed Propagation Class, presented by Little River Wetlands Project and INPAWS, location is the LRWP office, 5000 Smith Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46804. Space is limited, please email Betsy Yankowiak at b.yankowiak@lrwp.org to secure your spot, or for more information.

3:30pm – Wetland Bird Sit, presented by Allen County Parks, location is at the Vera Dulin Wildlife Observation Center, Fox Island County Park, 7324 Yohne Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46809. For more information, please contact Ron Zartman at rzartman@allencountyparks.org.

7pm – ‘Wetland Wildlife – More than Mosquitoes’, presented by Dr. Bruce Kingsbury, location is the Environmental Resources Center, Purdue Fort Wayne, 2101 E. Coliseum Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46805. For more information, please email Dr. Kingsbury at erc@pfw.edu.

Conservation, Environmental Education, Lakes, Parks and Recreation, Recreation, Wildlife

Share the Trails: National Trail Day hosted by ACRES

AcresLogoACRES Land Trust invites the public to launch summer with a fun, engaging hike celebrating the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day. On Saturday, June 4, 10 am – noon, ACRES hosts a guided hike through Wing Haven nature preserve near Angola, Ind., while hundreds of thousands of individuals converge at parks, forests, and trails all across the country.

Wing Haven, a 254.8-acre nature preserve, features glacially carved kettle-hole lakes, bordered by a wetland fen system. In secluded areas, Sandhill cranes have established nests. Rolling meadows and surrounding uplands covered in an oak, hickory and red maple forest offer visitors a scenic hike through land that is protected forever by the local land trust’s members.

Lily Pads on Wing Haven's Little Gentian Lake, photo courtesy ACRES Land Trust

Hundred-year-old log buildings on the preserve serve as the caretaker residence and occasional event space for the nonprofit. The building are also reminders of the preserve’s former owners who donated the land to ACRES for preservation.

HelenSwensonACRESWingHavenWing Haven was once home to Helen Swenson and her husband Ben, who ran Wing Haven Resort, “a sanctuary for birds” from 1948-1972. Prior to running the resort, the Swensons were innkeepers at Pokagon State Park’s Potawatomi Inn. Helen was a graphic design artist, who studied at the Chicago Art Institute, a naturalist and an avid birder. The Swensons had the log buildings moved to the land for use as their home and as an art studio for Helen.

ACRES welcomes visitors to experience the great outdoors with neighbors, friends and family:

Share the Trails – National Trails Day

Saturday, June 4, 10 am – noon

Wing Haven, 180 W. 400 N., Angola, IN 46703
The hike will launch near the studio. Presented by ACRES volunteer Jill Noyes.

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Now in its 24th consecutive year, National Trails Day provides fun opportunities for the public to have a summer adventure of their own on nearby trails.  Founded in 1976, American Hiking Society is the only national, recreation-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s hiking trails, their surrounding natural areas and the hiking experience.

Together with its members, ACRES preserves 5,924 acres of significant natural area in northeast Indiana, northwest Ohio and southern Michigan forever. Explore more than 70 miles of trails for hiking, photography, birding, wellness, family and school visits, and adventure. Connect with ACRES Land Trust at 260-637-2273, acreslandtrust.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ACRES.LT.

Environmental Education, Outreach, Urban ecology, Wildlife

Want to help wildlife in your backyard?

Families4Nature logo

Registration is now open for our upcoming “Helping Wildlife at Home” program, geared towards children ages 5-12. We will meet in the ERC: room G53 on the ground floor of the Science Building on the IPFW campus. The program runs from 11 am – 1 pm.

It’s free to attend, but registration is required by either phone (260-481-5725) or email (erc@ipfw.edu). When registering, please tell us how many people in your party will be attending and provide a contact name, phone number and/or email for your group. Our program is limited to 30 people.

Helping Wildlife at Home
June 11th 2016

You don’t always have to go miles out into the wilderness to experience and help nature. Discover fun facts about native plants and animals and simple ways to make your backyard a certified wildlife habitat. Make a toad abode and receive seeds from wildflowers to plant so you can provide a hangout for animals that visit your house.