Native flowering plants are part of the prairie area at Touch the Earth Natural Area. Courtesy photo by John Lawrence
Enhancements at one of Sycamore Land Trust’s nature preserves is the beginning of an effort by the Bloomington-based land trust to provide more information in a consistent manner at 16 of its 50 nature preserves that stretch from north of Bloomington down to the Ohio River across various Indiana habitats.
“We want a consistent look and feel so when you drive up to a Sycamore Land Trust property, it looks the same,” said Ann Conners, development director.
Touch the Earth Natural Area — located between Nashville and Columbus, just off Ind. 46 — was the first preserve to have the enhancements completed. There’s now an eight-vehicle parking lot surrounded by a split-rail fence that opens to hiking trails, where visitors will learn more from the kiosk and other signs along the path. At Touch the Earth, the kiosk near the parking area isn’t yet complete. When it is, there will be information about the people who lived in the area before white settlers came, as well as information about the flora and fauna on the property.
Touch the Earth was once farmland that is transitioning into woods and prairie. Photographs of that transformation will be part of the display. A $3,000 grant from Bartholomew REMC helped fund the parking area and kiosk. Another grant of $20,000 from Cummins Inc. will help the land trust pay for removal of invasive plants and restoration of the natural habitat of the area. Removing invasive plants and encouraging and planting native plant species is an ongoing effort at all the land trust’s preserves, Conners explained.
“Once we acquire a property, then the hard work starts,” she said, explaining staff and volunteers work to remove invasive plants that may have taken over while introducing or encouraging native plants to thrive.
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