Photo Credit: Honeylocust Moth by Jim McCormac
These activities will take place on Friday, October 25, 2024. Registration is required and enrollment is limited. Register early to secure your spot, but no later than October 20. Be certain that you’re not enrolling in concurrent sessions.
If you find you cannot participate in something you’ve signed up for, please notify us at activities@indiananativeplants.org so we can give your spot to someone else.
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Tour Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park
1850 West 38th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Open to 60 participants. Free.
The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park is a 100-acre rural oasis situated in the heart of Indianapolis. A living sculpture park focused on experimentation, public interaction, and community engagement, it includes a 35-acre lake, woodlands, wetlands, and the largest native pollinator meadow in Indianapolis.
Lisa Milton and other Newfields staff/guides will lead us through the park, especially the pollinator meadow. Prepare to walk up to one mile and dress for the weather.
The parking lot entry is about one-half block west of the main Newfields entrance and is located off the exit ramp for North White River Parkway East Drive. If driving, the park entrance can be accessed only from westbound 38th Street.
https://discovernewfields.org/do-and-see/places-to-go/virginia-b-fairbanks-art-nature-park-100-acres
1:00 to 2:30 p.m.
Tour Nonie Werbe Krauss Nature Preserve
Southwest corner of 116th Street and Eller Road, Fishers, IN
Open to 25 participants. Free.
Lying alongside the White River, this property offers views of glorious summer wildflowers in season, with a mix of prairie plants and oak savanna. Along the river to the south, bottomland forest is growing, the result of restoration efforts in 2008, when Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc. (CILTI) planted over 19,000 trees here.
Jamison Hutchins, CILTI Stewardship Director, will tell us about ongoing restoration work in this nature preserve, including a prescribed burn of the prairie in spring of 2024. CILTI and Davey Resource Group have worked to remove Callery pear trees encroaching from nearby suburbia, as well as clearing bush honeysuckle, primarily along the White River. Fall is a good time for native asters in this preserve.
Wear closed-toe shoes that can stand up to mud. Ticks and chiggers can be an issue, so long pants are a good idea. The terrain is flat. There are no restroom facilities.
Directions: From Interstate 69 and 116th Street in Fishers: Head west on 116th Street about 3 miles to Eller Road. The property is on the southwest corner of that intersection. Public parking is available behind Riverside Middle School (10910 Eller Road). Staff will meet you on the bridge by the playground.
https://conservingindiana.org/preserves/nonie-werbe-krauss-nature-preserve/
1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Explore Native Plants and Bird Habitats along Conner Prairie Trails
Conner Prairie, 13400 Allisonville Rd, Fishers, IN 46038
Open to 30 participants, $10 donation per participant to Conner Prairie and Indiana Wildlife Federation.
Enjoy an autumn stroll with fellow INPS conference attendees! Explore the recently opened Trails at Conner Prairie while discovering native plants, learning about wetland habitat restoration efforts, and witnessing bird habitats. This guided hike will be co-led by Aaron Stump (Habitat Programs Manager, Indiana Wildlife Federation) and Michelle Morton (Nature Engagement Specialist, Conner Prairie).
Some binoculars will be available to borrow, but participants are welcome to bring their own. At the conclusion of the guided walk, participants are welcome to visit the grounds of Conner Prairie at a discounted rate.
https://www.connerprairie.org/
2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Tour Holcomb Gardens at Butler University
4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Open to 25 participants. Free.
Located in the heart of Butler University’s campus, Holcomb Gardens encompass twenty acres of hillside overlooking a small manmade lake and the historic Indianapolis Central Canal. The grounds include waterfalls, a garden house, a gazebo, the poets’ corner (a niche of stone benches inscribed with quotations by famous poets), and the philosophers’ bench (a similar area with philosophers’ quotations).
Dr. Julia Angstmann, Director of Butler’s Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability (CUES), will present a short history of Holcomb Gardens, then review the exciting effort to renovate Holcomb Gardens using native plant species in collaboration with INPS’s Landscaping with Natives team.
Wear comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate attire
There is limited parking at Holcomb Gardens around the loop but plenty of space in the parking garage at 4682 Sunset Avenue.
2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
4:00 to 5:30 p.m.
Hike Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve
10410 Hague Road, Fishers, IN 46038
Two hikes, each open to 15 to 18 participants. Free.
Come explore a nature preserve where Pileated Woodpeckers and Great Horned Owls find themselves a home amidst subdivisions and restaurants. Fairy shrimps persist in the flat wooded wetlands. Warblers and other migratory birds take shelter and forage in the leaves on the ground and in the canopy. Small areas of nature can make a big impact, and this is a wonderful place to enjoy and, if so inclined, learn about what makes it possible and the benefits it provides.
The hikes will be led by Danesa Stolz (former Chief Naturalist for Ritchey Woods) and Crystal Deboer (Employee of Stantec and longtime INPS hike leader at Ritchey Woods).
The trails range from narrow to wide and house the normal ticks, mosquitoes, and such. Trails can be muddy depending on the weather, so closed-toe shoes/boots are preferred. Wear bug spray and weather-appropriate clothing.
https://www.playfishers.com/facilities/facility/details/Ritchey-Woods-Nature-Preserve-19
2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Explore Butler University’s Friesner Herbarium
Gallahue Hall, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Open to 12 participants. Free.
Join Herbarium Director Marcia Moore to learn about the role of herbaria in plant taxonomy and ecology. The Friesner Herbarium is a systematic collection of more than 100,000 dried, pressed, and preserved plant specimens. This third largest herbarium in the state grew out of the personal collections of Dr. Ray C. Friesner, Professor and Chair of the Botany Department, 1920-1952. The specimens, with their carefully documented labels, comprise a reference library on historical distribution, habitats, and timing of flower and fruit production.
2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Tour Butler University’s Apothecary Garden
Parking lot behind the Holcomb Building and the Pharmacy Building, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Open to 12 participants. Free.
View firsthand the plants from which leaves, flowers, and roots are now taken for use in capsules at your local pharmacy. Descriptive labels make it easy for you to get to know more than 30 medicinal plants reflecting medicinal plant traditions spanning both continents and centuries.
Biologist Ken Eilert will introduce you to plants in the garden, show you which ones are native to Indiana, and talk about ongoing research in the Butler Biology Department using medicinal plants.
Parking is available in the parking garage at 4682 Sunset Avenue.
https://herbarium.butler.edu/project/apothecary-garden/
4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Master Vermicomposting
Dining room of the Exhibition Center, Hamilton County 4H Fairgrounds, 2003 Pleasant Street, Noblesville, IN 46060
Open to 100 participants. Free.
Did you know that 145 billion meals’ worth of food goes to the landfill annually? In this workshop, urban agriculture educator Brooke Alford guides us to explore vermicomposting or composting with worms. This form of composting is an excellent way to reduce food waste and, in turn, carbon emissions. We will discuss what can and cannot go into a worm bin, how to manage a bin, and how to build a bin. And, if you like, you can take home some red wriggler worms to start your own bin!
4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Discover an Arboretum Within: Crown Hill Cemetery & Arboretum
Crown Hill Cemetery, Waiting Station, 3402 Boulevard Place, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Open to 45 participants. $10 donation per participant to Crown Hill.
Experience fall color compliments of the trees at Crown Hill. Led by Carrie Tauscher, our arboretum director and ISA Certified Arborist, this tour will take a closer look at some of the remarkable trees in the cemetery, which is widely regarded as “the single best place for tree lovers in the city.” Come to appreciate the views and learn about the history behind our amazing (and sometimes not so amazing) trees. Our tour will highlight current efforts, trials, and successes in the process of becoming an accredited arboretum through ArbNet. It will include a stop at our 2022 Pollinator Garden, the 2023 South Woods Learning Trail, and our newest project, a low prairie planting that will be newly seeded prior to the tour.
Be prepared and dress for an outdoor walking tour in a park-like setting. Terrain is uneven and can vary from turf to pavement and mulched trails. Please bring your own reusable water bottle.
https://crownhillhf.org/arboretum/
5:00 to 6:15 p.m.
Walk the EcoLab Wetlands
Marian University Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab, 3200 Cold Spring Road, Indianapolis, IN, 46222
Open to 20 participants of all ages. Free.
Join David Benson on a 1.25 hour walk of the historical wetlands at the Marian University Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab. This tour will involve a trip around the 110 year old landscape designed by famous landscape architect and native plants pioneer, Jens Jensen. Your guide will discuss the human and natural history of the site, the importance of wetlands in Indiana, and the Jensen Aesthetic Ecological Restoration approach. We will see historic remnants from the location’s early years, beaver lodges and canals, various wetlands like fens and sedge meadows, a beautifully maintained prairie, and so much more.
Meet at the St. Francis Colonnade just west of Allison Mansion on the Marian University Indianapolis campus. Please wear comfortable closed-toe shoes. Trail is mostly gravel and will involve going up/down about 7 stairs with no handrail. Please also bring any supplies you will need to be comfortable outside (water, sunglasses, etc.).
https://www.marian.edu/nina-mason-pulliam-ecolab/about-the-ecolab/index.php
