Sycamore Land Trustpreserving our disappearing landscape
HEADQUARTERS Cedar Crest, 4898 East Heritage Woods Road, BloomingtonMAiling ADDRESS P.O. Box 7801, Bloomington, IN 47407-7801
Email: [email protected] Web: www.sycamorelandtrust.org
2009annual report
THANK YOU2 3
pfrimmerhof FarmFirst conservation easement in Harrison county
sLT joined with southern Indiana native Sam Hays to place permanent protections on his family’s Pfrimmerhof Farm, 89 acres in Harrison County.
Hays decided the formerly agricultural land, named Pfrimmerhof Farm to honor his mother’s family, should remain healthy habitat for animals and open space for future generations to enjoy.
SLT’s conservation easement protects mature upland hardwood trees on 70 wooded acres. The property also includes 19 acres of bottomland on which the owner has planted thousands of native trees, including black walnut, swamp white oak, and swamp chestnut oak. Little Indian Creek flows across the property, and the conservation easement will help its water quality. Over time, the restoration area will become mature hard-wood forest—an oasis in a rapidly developing area.
SLT’s service territory expanded from 12 counties to 26 in 2008, now reaching south to the Ohio River. Pfrimmerhof Farm, near Corydon, is SLT’s first project in Harrison county. If you have friends and family in southern Indiana who might like to explore options for conserving their land, please let us know!
sLT worked with an anonymous donor to conserve forever White Oak Woods, 23.3 acres in Monroe County east of Bloomington. The gift of land is a memorial to the donor’s wife, who was fond of the woods.
Adjacent to Morgan-Monroe State Forest, the preserve has a wide stream with steep sandstone and shale bluffs. The 75-year-old woods are mostly large white oaks, red oaks, hickories, and sycamores, with an understory of spicebush and ferns. Interior forest birds like the Eastern Wood Pee-Wee and the Scarlet Tanager thrive in the contiguous woodland. SLT staff and volunteers will now take care of White Oak Woods, protecting all its plants, animals, soil, and water.
White Oak Woods is SLT’s fifth property fronting State Road 46—also known as the Old Nashville Road—bringing the organization’s protected acreage along the road to 370. These properties soothe the eyes and souls of drivers and bikers. The road joins Bloomington with Nashville and Columbus. It connects one of the nation’s top research universities with a 100-year-old artists’ colony with a city famed for architectural innovation and design. By helping protect natural land along the Old Nashville Road, SLT maintains the quality of one of Indiana’s most beautiful scenic byways.
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1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000Total acreage protected forever by SLT
land conservation
White oak WoodsFive scenic properties along the old nashville road
land DonorsPatricia AbplanalpAnonymous (4)Martha Barclay-GielGene and Peggy BaughHelen and Lynton CaldwellRobert and Laura CampbellMary Conard Larry and Sonja CooksonBart and Cinda CulverHindostone Products Inc.Charlotte GhuyrePaul and Barbara GreicoTim and Leslie HenkeEconobilt Development CorporationIrwin-Sweeney-Miller FoundationF. Hugh Latimer
Julia and Greg MarshallCharles and Barbara McCallaCharles McCalla IV and Teri BleuelThe Nature ConservancyKathy OakleyTony and Patti PizzoDavid Porter Patricia PowellMargaret PrughNancy RalstonBarbara RestleFreida Robertson Sassafras Audubon SocietyScott and Ruth SandersJack SteigerwaldBill and Naomi WayneVirginia Young
Conservation Easement DonorsMarilyn BowieEvelyn ChambersGary ChambersJanice Clevenger Sarah Clevenger Donald and Patricia CollerLarry and Sonja CooksonRay CrittendenDoug and DeeDee DayhoffMark and Rebecca EwingSarah Elizabeth FreySamuel HaysWilliam H. Hays IIIHarry Hollis
Janet Hollis Martha HollisSusan Hollis BassetMary ParkerJohn PeineRichard Peine Thomas Peine Ray and Rita RustKevin and Barbara SheehanGary and Pequita SissomKaren Green Stone Robert Stone Sarkes Tarzian, Inc.James and Myriam WoodGladys and Al Wright
W e appreciate all who have invested in nature’s infrastructure over the last 19 years by working with slt to place everlasting protections on their land:
1 fee-title property added
2 conservation easements added
107 acres added
5,559 total acres protected at end of 2009
Cover photos by Jeff Danielson; photo of two girls by Carroll Ritter. Photos pages 2-3 by Jeff Danielson.
land stewardship environmental education
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Feedback from elementary school students: “This place is so pretty. Everything works together. It is so still and quiet.”
“I look at this little caterpillar. There is a place for her in this big huge world.”
“My favorite activity was the bird nest because I won the contest. I had fun.”
Leaves and Trees Poem: “The way it looks is peaceful you see. The way it sounds comforts me.”
“Thank you for letting us know about the animals, but we also got to taste the inside of a cattail.
P.s. Best Field trip ever!”
new educator
the newest member of SLT’s staff is Betsee LaPointe, hired in June. Betsee has worked in EE programs in Florida and Massachusetts
and brings a strong ability to integrate math and science into outdoor settings. She helps EE Coordi-nator Carroll Ritter build lesson plans that enhance required and desired school curricula. Along with volunteer experts, SLT staff provided tailor-made, hands-on activities that educated 3447 students in 29 schools during the last school year.
Fossil documentation at dishman-Hopper Quarry
sLT’s Volunteer of the Year was Calvin Parrott of Orleans, year-round stew-ard for the 13-acre Dishman-Hopper Quarry in Orange County. Calvin not only excelled at typical stewardship duties – keeping the preserve clean and
maintaining trails and signs – but also documenting dozens of important natural features using GPS technology and photography. The abandoned whetstone quarry’s sedimentary structures are some of the nation’s best fossils to reveal cycles of tides when Indiana lay under a prehistoric ocean. Some are now in the Smithsonian and Indiana State Museums.
Habitat restoration at cookson preserve
sLT staff and volunteers continued restoration efforts at the 80-acre Cookson Preserve in Greene County, thanks to almost $6,000 in cost-share funding committed by the Natural Resource
Conservation Service’s Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program. SLT’s proj-ect involves planting 3,900 hardwood trees on seven acres; treating 12 acres of invasive fescue, a non-native grass that is poor wildlife habitat; and treating three acres of Japanese honeysuckle vines that shade and choke out native plants. SLT volunteers and staff at the Cookson Preserve previously planted 400 indigenous trees and controlled non-native autumn olive bushes.
Habitat restoration at Beanblossom BottomsSLT is starting another significant restoration project at the Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve (BBB) in northwest Monroe County, thanks to $10,000 committed in 2009 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Part-ners for Fish and Wildlife Program along with a $7,000 grant from the Dr. Laura Hare Charitable Trust. Over eight acres in the State-Dedicated Nature Preserve portion will be treated for three years to eliminate the en-croachment of reed canarygrass. A wide variety of native grasses, sedges, rushes, and wildflowers thrive elsewhere in the preserve, but invasive
reed canarygrass dominates sections and degrades the ecosystem’s health and habitat value. If you are interested in improving wildlife habitat on your own property, techni-cal assistance and cost-share opportunities are available to private landowners. More information is available at http://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-wild/2352.htm.
School Year 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
EE PROGRAM GROWTH
Counties Served 2 4 7 5
Schools Involved 4 11 18 29
Teachers Assisted 7 16 21 32
K-12 Students Engaged 250 785 3196 3447
K-12 Student Hours 583 3258 6977 7378
College Students Helping 0 8 14 16
Adults Engaged 70+ 100+ 132 155
number of schools and learners Keeps growing
sLT’s Environmental Education (EE) Program continued to harness the interactive synergy of children, college students, and adult volunteers. Kids studied soils, water quality, forests, invasive plants, and geology.
SLT worked in cooperative programs with Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the U.S. Forest Service, and city parks departments. Hikes and educational events throughout the year helped grow the next generation of conservationists as well as SLT’s visibility. When asked how he learned about an SLT expedition, one hiker observed, “SLT is everywhere!”
Photo by Emilie Snell-Rood
Above left: Jana McGee spots BBB’s mated pair of eagles on their nest, aided by SLT Assistant Director John Lawrence. Below: Fourth-graders show insect collec-tions during Lake Griffy Nature Days. left,opposite page: SLT’s Environmental Educators, Carroll Ritter and Betsee LaPointe. Above: Family and friends enjoy a walk on the BBB Environmental Education Trail.
Photo by Erin Hollinden
Photo by Carroll Ritter
Photo by Carroll Ritter
Photos by Calvin Parrott
Photo by John lawrence
governor’s award for environmental excellence
the Indiana Department of Environmental Management presented a 2009 Indiana Governor’s Award for Environmental Excel-
lence to SLT’s EE Program. The award recognized SLT’s innovative work in connecting people with nature and building understanding of southern Indiana’s natural heritage. It honored SLT’s educa-tors for helping teachers meet state science stan-dards; boosting kids’ academic performances; and promoting mental, physical, and emotional health.
Map by John Lawrence
2009 contributors
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$300,000 (donation of house)Darlene Gerster$25,350Helen Caldwell$10,000Donald and Patricia CollerDavid Porter Trust$5,000 to $9,999AnonymousBlue Ace MediaCommercial Service Ann Nolan$1,000 to $4,999Matt and Eva AllenAnonymousMike and Beverly BakerCarolyn BegleyBig Red LiquorsCharles Steele & AssociatesFrederick and Sandra ChurchillBart and Cinda CulverDesignscapeDuke EnergyESRIMark and Rebecca EwingFowler Tree Services, Inc.Elizabeth and John GallmanKenneth R.R. Gros LouisWilliam H. Hays, IIIHoosier Energy REMCRich and Christina HummelStephen IrishRick and Alice JohnsonJohnson VenturesMagellan ProfessionalMarkey’s Rental & StagingVicky MeretskyNatural Resource Conservation ServiceDel and Letty NewkirkBill and Kathleen OliverOliver WineryDavid ParkhurstKaren Pitkin and Kurt LarsonSam’s Club #6437Scott and Ruth SandersSarkes Tarzian, IncSt. John AssociatesJack SteigerwaldRob Stone and Karen Green StoneUpland Brewing Co.Bill and Mary WeeksLarry WeingartnerDon and Betsy WhiteheadJennifer L. Witzke Graphic DesignMyriam Wood$500 to $999Bob Agranoff and Susan KleinSandra and Ethan Alyea, Jr.Craig Barton and Kathy Truelove-BartonDavid and Ingrid BeeryBenchmark Home InspectionsBluespring Caverns ParkBuckbeech StudiosEco LogicAllen and Marian EnglandDoug and Blue GeigerDarlene GersterThe Herald-TimesHoover Investments, LLPThomas Hutton and Betsy HardingBob and Beverly KisselMonroe BankTim and Ann NiednagelPatti and Tony PizzoLinda Raymond and Michael CainRaymond and Rita Rust, Jr.Louise Schlesinger
Melinda SwensonTom Tarzian and Cathy SteeleJoan ten Hoor and James DobsonRobert TenerRon TriggMarcia Veldman and Steve CotterHelen Wiesler$250 to $499AnonymousRobert and Maryellen BiederBP AmericaMalcom BrownScott Burgins and Andrea MurrayNatalie CabanawCFC, Inc.
Dan and Debbi ConkleLarry CraneCynthia Bretheim Massage TherapyDr. Ruthann Berck and AssociatesRobert and Candice EnoRoxanne Flowers and Leigh GrundhoeferFM Bayne Fine Woodwork & DesignSarah Elizabeth FreyEd Furia and Kathryn PropstGwenette GaddisGraduate Student AssociationHenry and Alice GrayStephen and Vera GrubbsTed HarrisSamuel P. HaysHugh HazelriggBill and LuAnne HolladayFred Hubbard and Jen RichardsonJohn Bethell Title Company, Inc.Ervin Kattelman and Barbara SealEllen KettersonLaser and Family Dentistry, P.C.Lara Mears DreyerTony and Patricia MooreKathy OakleyOne World EnterprisesPanera BreadAngela ParkerJoe and Joyce PedenPeppertree FloralBrett PfingstonPorch Light IndianaRon Remak, General AgentJeff and Tori RichardsonCarroll and Martha Ritter and BoysEdward and Claire RobertsonKevin and Barbara Sheehan
Chief Justice Randall Shephard and Amy MacDonellJanet Stavropoulos and Michael MolendaGary and Anne SteigerwaldJudy Stewart and Michael FultonBen SwansonTwisted Limb Paperworks, LLCDon and Wendy WertzJohn and Sue West$100 to $249Academic and Scholarly BooksAim to PleaseFrank Akaiwa and Carolyn CookeDonald and Charlene AllenAmerican Family OrthodonticsPaul and Linda AndersonJudith AndersonBill and Kathy ArmstrongBrian ArnoldDoug and Diane BancelA. James BarnesJennifer Bass and Michael HamburgerBender LumberBloomington Montessori SchoolRichard and Kathyrn BonymanMary Lou BrownJoe BuehlerDana BumbaloughKathy BurnsDoris BurtonCairril.com Design & Marketing, Inc.Elaine Caldwell Emmi and Phil EmmiLedford CarterLee and Pat CasebereThomas and Arlene CookJean CreekRay CrittendenJames CrittendenJeff DanielsonDan DerheimerBob and Libby DeVoeJim and Bobbi DiehlWill DitzlerEleanore DodgeKeith DunlapEagle Pointe ResortJohn and Sybil EakinKyle EberleDick and Ginny ElderFARMbloomingtonSteve FergusonBurnell FischerJohn FischerBob Flynn and Yvonne WittmannFossil RainFrench Lick ResortThomas GallagherStephen and Tamara GalvinPeter GiordanoSpencer GoehlClint Goodin and Nicohl Birdwell GoodinJim GoreJess Gwinn, RLS and Maureen ForrestElizabeth Gwynn and Leroy MysliwiecCharles and Sandra HainzB. Frank HallDonald HallJohn Hamilton and Dawn JohnsenAvrom and Claiborne HandlemanJennifer HartJeff Hartenfeld and Jen RobinsonRon HawkinsAnne and Chris HaynesJulia Heiman and Johan VerhulstStephen and Ann HeimannRonald HellmichSusan and Jim HengeveldDawn HewittRobert and Joan Hongen
Hoosier Heights Indoor Climbing Facility LLCKatherine HopkinsMarjorie HudginsHank Huffman and Ellen JacquartRoger Innes and Karen Jepson-InnesJackson Hewitt Tax ServiceBruce and Lea JaffeeJazzercise Fitness CenterJenny JohnsonWerner Jorck and Barbara Watt JorckEmanuel and Barrie KapelsohnSamuel and Phyllis KazdanMike KelleySylivia and Jack KingBill and Robin KlenkeKerry Krutilla and Shuchuan ChiuMarc LameJeremy LarsonDavid and Sharon LarsonF. Hugh and Dorothy LatimerLawrence Family Glass BlowersStine LevyMike Litwin and Mary BlizzardKathleen LobleyDan and Beth Lodge-RigalGuy LoftmanWilliam and Violet LynchMorton MarcusEmily MasonKathleen MatthewsLeah Helen MayJeff Mease and Marie MetelnickPat and Sue MedlandPhyllis MenkeTony and Trina MescherGreg and Sue MeyerJennifer MiersCharles MitchLaura Mojonnier and Armin MoczekMonroe County Parks and RecreationJudge Edward W. Najam, Jr.Nature’s Way, Inc.Andy NealDavid NordDonald NuetzmanThomas and Mary Lu OrrJohn OsmanVincent and Elinor OstromKaren Pacific and David ShipleyRoger and Carol ParksNathan PateRichard PeineRichard and Harriet PfisterReza Pishgahi and Lois Hutter-PishgahiJoyce PolingKeely PorterFrona and Ron PowellFranklin and Brenda ProsserDon and Jean RhoadsJim and Sheryl RichardsLiz RichardsonDeborah RobinsonKathy and Al RuesinkDavid and Marlen RustMark RyanDavid Schaefer
Jack SchererScholars InnNicole SchonemannCynthia SchultzHutch and Kevina SchumakerKimberly SchwantPhyllis SchwitzerDon and Melinda SeaderSteve SeitzingerTim ShierLinda Simon and David SabbaghMarion SinclairEliot and Pamela SmithTed Smith-PetersonSt. David’s Episcopal ChurchJon Stafford and Linda Berg StaffordEric StolbergCathy StoneAl and Lee StrickholmPaul and Susan SullivanGregg and Judy SummervilleJo Throckmorton and Jillian KinzieTim Tilton and Joann AlexanderCliff and Joan TravisUnitarian Universalist Congregation of ColumbusMaria and Paul ViterisiCarolyn WaldronMoira Wedekind and Vladimir DerenchukKurt and Lisa WeisnerMary Beth WertElizabeth Willey SpaltWininger Stolberg Property GroupLarry and Mary WiseJack Wittman and Rita PaschkeTom and Sara WoodWilliam and Danna WylieDavid Yeomans
FoUnDATion SUPPoRT$10,000Anonymous$7,500Namaste Foundation$6,000Smithville Charitable Foundation $5,046Macy’s Foundation$5,000Harry Cobey Foundation$1,000Duke Energy FoundationSam Shine Foundation, Inc.$900Flowers Family Foundation$467Lynton K. and Helen W Caldwell Fund of the Community Foundation of Bloomington & Monroe County$400Lorenz Family Charitable Trust$305Environmental Fund for Indiana$150Pfizer Foundation Matching Gift Program
YEllow PoPlAR BUSinESSES ($5000 or more per year)
slt is only able to keep its conservation promises through the generous support of individuals, businesses, and foundations who invest in this special place. Your contributions sustain southern indiana’s natural heritage of biological, geological, and agricultural wealth. You help private landowners secure permanent protections on their lands, according to each family’s unique needs and wishes. You are creating a proud legacy for future generations.
Thank you!
11 Foundation supporters 40 Business supporters 156 neW memBers 781 total memBers
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Blue Ace Media was honored as conservation Business of the Year. Jo throckmorton and his staff helped put our best foot forward by donating services to produce a video about the case for joining slt—about how quality of life is tied to quality of place. Watch it at www.sycamore-landtrust.org/videos. thank you, Jo and Blue ace media, for painting slt’s picture in a beautiful, succinct, and persuasive way.
Legacy Circleif you have included slt in your will or estate plans, please let us know so we can thank you, during your lifetime!
volunteers
STAFFExecutive Director Christian Freitag
Assistant Director John Lawrence
outreach Coordinator Erin Hollinden
Environmental Education Coordinator Carroll Ritter
Environmental Educator Betsee LaPointe
SPEA Fellow Katie Mauldin
BoARD Mike R. BakerDoug DayhoffJohn Gallman, PresidentGeorge J. Korinek John M. Kyle IIITerry Marbach, TreasurerVicky MeretskyPatricia PizzoCarroll Ritter Andy RogersJoan ten Hoor, SecretaryMaria ViterisiW. William Weeks
Board MeetingsBoard meetings are open to SLT members and usually take place the second Monday of every other month, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Call 812-336-5382 to confirm and for directions to Cedar Crest.
ADviSoRY BoARD Wilfred C. Bussing IIISteve FergusonKenneth R.R. Gros LouisBaron HillSteve HowardRick JohnsonMark KruzanJames MadisonEdward W. Najam, Jr.Del NewkirkAnthony PizzoRonald F. RemakScott Russell SandersRandall T. ShepardVi SimpsonJudith StewartEric C. StolbergTom TarzianDebbie TurnerMaryrose WamplerDon Whitehead
graphic Design Jennifer Witzke
Board memBers & staFF
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Above: IU-SPEA Fellow Katie Mauldin, Assistant Director John Lawrence, IU-SPEA Intern Ben Mertz, Outreach Coordi-nator Erin Hollinden, and Executive Director Christian Freitag.
Katie Mauldin is SLT’s 2008-2010 IU-School of Public and Environmental Affairs Fellow. Earning a partial scholarship, she worked 10 hours per week as SLT’s Outreach Specialist, managing volunteers, securing contributions, planning events, databasing, and more. After two years as an invaluable member of the SLT team, Katie now graduates with a Master of Public Affairs and heads back home to Texas for a job with the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Ben Mertz is SLT’s 2009-2010 IU-School of Pub-lic and Environmental Affairs intern. As SLT’s Stewardship Specialist, he completed a tree-la-beling project at the Ghurye Arboretum, battled invasive plants on four preserves, and gave logis-tical support to Outreach and EE Programs.
274 volunteers helped slt on outdoor workdays, long-term property stewardship, events, environmental education, technology, clerical tasks, and more. We thank them all!
Photo by Chris Eller
Phot
o by
G. L
ynn
Huff
ord Joan ten Hoor retired as
editor of SLT’s quar-terly newsletter, The Twig, handing the job over to Erin Hollinden, Outreach Coordinator. Over 10 years, Joan shepherded the
newsletter through many incarnations; from six black-and-white pages to a slick, colorful, 16-page booklet. As SLT’s protected land grew exponentially, so did the content and quality of The Twig. This evolution leapt forward with the contracting of graphic designer Jennifer Witzke, who volunteers half of her Twig time, turning simple text and photos into the impres-
sive publication it is today. Joan continues to serve as Secretary of SLT’s Board of Directors, a position she has also held for 10 years. As a Board Member, she helps make important land acquisition decisions, plans and implements special events, and introduces new people and ideas to the enter-prise. Thank you, Joan, for being a fastidious and thoughtful editor and secretary and also a great ambassador for SLT.
the twig
Sycamore Land Trustwww.sycamorelan
dtrust.org
PRESERVING OUR DISAPPEARING
LANDSCAPE
Volunteer Opportunities: Get muddy this spring! page 8
EE Outings: Introducing the L’il Hikers Club page 8
Phot
o by
Hug
h H
azel
rigg
spring 2010
twig editorship changes Hands
indiana university interns
Financial Data for Fiscal Year July 2008-July 2009
Membership and other gifts 50%
Foundations33%
Investments & Rental 11%
Corporations 6%
Income $480,623 Expenses $349,524
Programs 69%
General Management 16%
Development,Volunteerism,and Events15%
Remaining assets were invested in stewardship endowment, legal defense fund, operating reserve, and interest-bearing investments.
Photo by Carroll Ritter
