North Chapter Events & Activities
Coming Up
Saturday, May 4, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Eastern
Hike at Potato Creek State Park
Meet at the Quaking Aspen shelter at Potato Creek State Park to join a guided hike with Indiana’s State Botanist, Scott Namestnik. The hike, hosted by Friends of Potato Creek State Park, will begin at 2:00 and last two hours. We will hike the approximately 1-mile Trail 3, which traverses slightly hilly terrain through a rich forest filled with spring-blooming wildflowers.
Saturday, May 4, 9:30 a.m. Central
Hike at Moraine Nature Preserve
On Saturday, May 4, 2024, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Nature Preserves, is partnering with the Old Growth Forest Network to host a free guided hike at Moraine Nature Preserve in Porter County, Indiana. This easy to moderate hike will start from the Moraine Storage Building located at 285 East 650 North, Valparaiso, IN 46383. We will be starting at 9:30 am Central time at the Storage Building, which is not the main public parking lot for Moraine Nature Preserve. Instead, we will be walking in an upland forest area that is not open to the public. The hike will be led by Derek Nimetz, Ecologist, Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
More information about the guided hike at Moraine Nature Preserve can be found at Guided hike: Moraine Nature Preserve, Porter County – State of Indiana .
Saturday, May 11, 12:00 pm Eastern
INPS Member Meeting and Wildflower Walk
Bendix Woods County Park, Glenn Bauer Shelter*
INPS North Chapter Members and Guests (especially moms) are cordially invited! Join your fellow chapter members for an afternoon of food, discussion, and a walk in the beautiful surroundings. We’ll meet at the Glenn Bauer Shelter for pizza, snacks, and drinks. We have three new potential board members. We’ll introduce you to them and then have an election. The North Chapter Board would like to know what types of events and activities members are interested in. So, we’ll hold an interactive discussion with the membership. After the discussion, we’ll head out onto the famous Bendix Woods trails to see what spring ephemerals are in bloom.
Please RSVP with our SignUp Genius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4FA4A62AA2F4CE9-48388525-spring
And if you have problems with the link, please feel free to RSVP by emailing candice.smith6@gmail.com
*Vehicle entrance fees are in effect. They are: $4 In St. Joe county, $5 Out of county.
Past Events
July 2023
Hike at Elkhart Conservation Club
ECC members Judy Wenig-Horswell, Charlie Horswell, and John J. Smith led the hike through woodland and wetland that has a number of high conservation value plants, such as Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), striped wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata), pale Indian plantain (Arnoglossum atriplicifolium), puttyroot (Aplectrum hyemale), tubercled orchid (Platanthera flava var. hebiola), purple fringed orchid (Platanthera pyscodes), maple-leaved viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium, maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum), marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), and more. However, there are also many woody and herbaceous invasive plants in the woods and wetlands.
April 2023
Earth Day Weed Wrangle at Oppenheim Woods
7127 N Kalorama Rd, Leesburg, IN 46538
Hosted by The Nature Conservancy in partnership with Kosciusko County Water & Woodland Invasive Partnership. Come spend Earth Day caring for nature by removing invasive strawberry bush and privet from this wooded property!
We’ll work together to learn about invasives, how to ID them, and then remove as much as we can by hand-pulling All ages are welcome and no experience is needed
We’ll meet at 7127 N Kalorama Rd, Leesburg, IN, 46538
April 2023
Feathers and Fermentation Tour “Birds & Botany”
Join Wes Homoya – native Hoosier, avid birder, experienced guide, and passionate conservationist – as we explore nature and enjoy quality adult beverages.
Details: https://www.topshelf.tours/feathers-and-fermentation
April 2023
Native Seed Communities & Growing Natives from Seed
Growing your own native plants from seed is not only a lot of fun, but also incredibly easy to do!
In this upcoming presentation, Bill Daniels, Native Seed Communities Project Leader, invites you to join him to learn about Indiana Native Plant Society’s exciting project, Native Seed Communities. In the presentation, you’ll learn about the project’s scope and the many resources it offers on how to propagate native plant seeds. Bill will also provide a primer on growing natives from seed, with topics including recommended containers, soil mixes, and seedling handling.
April 2023
Hoosier Bryophyte and Lichen Foray
Sponsor: Ohio Moss and Lichen Association
Location: Laporte and Porter Counties, Indiana
Housing: Plenty of Motels in nearby Valparaiso and Chesterton IN. Also, nearby campgrounds 
Meeting Place and Time: Moraine Nature Preserve Storage Building, – 285 East 650 North, Valparaiso, IN 46383; 9 AM Central Daylight Saving Time (CDT)every day.
Location details: From Valparaiso, go north on SR 49 to CR 600 N, turn right and then immediately left on CR 200 E. Take CR 200 E north to East CR 650 North. Turn right, the entrance to the Nature Preserve’s Storage Building will be at 285 East 650 North Valparaiso, IN 46383. It will on the north side of the road.
Meals: Plan to pack lunches for field trips. Plenty of grocery stores and restaurants will be in Valparaiso to the south or Chesterton to the north. At least some of us may plan to eat out one evening.
April 2023
North Chapter INPS Wildflower Hike
John J. Smith, hike leader
ACRES Land Trust’s Edna Spurgeon Woodland Reserve
Spurgeon Woodland Preserve is a very well preserved rich, mesic forest, with a moderate, 1.25 mile loop trail. We will hike through beech-maple and oak-hickory sections of the reserve. In addition to seeing lovely, big trees and a variety of understory trees and shrubs, there will be a fine ground cover of ramps (aka wild leeks) and spring ephemerals. On April 29 the flower display may include 3 Trillium species, 4-5 Viola species, several Carex species, yellow and white trout lily, Dutchman’s breeches, squirrel corn, bishop’s cap, bellwort, blue cohosh, wood poppy, and/or others.
For a description of and directions to Spurgeon, see https://acreslandtrust.org/preserve/edna-w-spurgeon-woodland-reserve-2/
Spurgeon woods ON March 28, 2022. Big patches of ramps had recently emerged. Lots of the tiny Harbinger-of-Spring and several big patches of Hepatica were blooming; both of these ephemerals will likely be past flowering by April 29, but there will likely be more than 15 species in flower.
March 2023
Presentation by INPS Treasurer Scott Namestnik
Orchids of St. Joseph County, Indian
On March 15, INPS member Scott Namestnik will be presenting to the St. Joseph County Izaak Walton League in South Bend on the orchids of St. Joseph County. Guests can attend. Note in the description below that anyone interested in attending must RSVP in advance by calling the number and leaving a message, and there is a $10 fee to attend (and get dinner).
March Dinner Program “Orchids of St. Joseph County, Indiana”
We welcome Mr. Scott Namestnik to the IKES (20400 Darden Rd, South Bend, IN 46637) on Wednesday, March 15th. Scott is a driving force in preserving habitat and wildflower identification. He is the botanist at the Indiana Natural Heritage Data Center, which is part of the Indiana DNR-Division of Nature Preserves. He has 20 years experience with the flora of the Great Lakes region. He has co-authored two books, “Wildflowers of the Midwest” and “Wildflowers of the Indiana Dunes National Park”. He supports many organizations, and has been instrumental in preserving valuable habitats. Did you know that wild Orchids are native to Indiana and St. Joe County? Scott will describe in detail our native orchids and where you might be able to find them. His expertise on native wildflowers and flora is unparalleled! This is a program that should not be missed! See you on the 15th!
Photo by Scott Namestnik
March 2023
Free Virtual Presentation
Speaker: Professional Entomologist & arachnid specialist Sarah Rose, Ph.D.
“Spiders and Restoration Ecology: An Endless Web of Possibilities”
Dr. Sarah Rose will be presenting an overview of her dissertation research looking at the spider community response to disturbances and how this knowledge can benefit restoration ecologists. Her work included research in areas impacted by wildfire, prescribed fire, a tornado, and urbanization. Sarah earned her Bachelor of Science in Evolution and Ecology with a minor in Natural Resource Management from The Ohio State University. Then, after working on a bird project, was recruited into the Direct Ph.D. program there. She earned her PhD in 2017. Since then she has been working on the field guide, Spiders of North America, Princeton Press [link below] and is currently looking for a university teaching and research position.
Sarah also recently appeared on the podcast “Nature’s Archive: Episode 58 – Astounding Spiders” which you can listen to here: https://podcast.
You can purchase Spiders of North America here: https://press.princeton.
Photo provided by Sarah Rose
February 2023
Virtual Workshop with Bill McKnight (The Mad Botanist)
Amazing Fungi: Friend and Foe
This presentation will be relevant to anyone interested in natural history, esp. gardeners and foragers. The talk has an accompanying handout FUNGI (pdf). Moreover, there will be a Q&A session after the talk. Bill majored in botany at Eastern Illinois University in the 1970s. Wesley Whiteside was one of three mycologists in the Botany Dept at Eastern. How things have changed at university. Whiteside, who was a gifted instructor, taught four different mycology classes! Bill took all of them. Whiteside was also a phenomenal botanist and gardener. Bill dedicated his Rantings book to him.
March 2022
Not Frozen in Time: Exploring Old Growth Forests in Northern Indiana
Virtual program by Deb Marr View slide show
Old growth forests refer to forests that have not been logged (or otherwise disturbed by humans) for several hundred years allowing trees to reach their max lifespan. These forests are rare in Indiana and provide an opportunity to study a mature forest ecosystem. We will explore the history of forests in Indiana with a focus on Bendix Woods Nature Preserve. In October 2021, we completed a survey of trees in the Nature Preserve (over 20,000 trees) that builds on surveys that were done in the 1960s and 1980s. The surveys allow us to track how forests are changing over time, think about effects of climate change, and “see” what is dynamic vs. stable in these ancient forests.
Deb Marr is an Associate Professor of Ecology at Indiana University South Bend. Her research interests include ecology and evolution of plant diseases, plant-insect interactions in urban areas and in nature preserves, and restoration ecology.
October 2020
Hike in St. Joseph County
Spicer Lake County Park, 50840 County Line Road, New Carlisle, IN 46552
This incredible nature preserve has been protected and we would love to have you join us in this late season hike in St. Joseph County. We will spend about an hour enjoying the cool fall weather and, hopefully, the brilliant fall colors! Easy hiking trails and boardwalks wander through forest, wetlands, fields and two lakes. We will look at the plants as well as the birds and other wildlife.