May 2025

Growing With the Next Generation by John Brittenham Earlier this spring, Blue Heron Ministries partnered with Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site and Oak Farm Montessori Freshman Evelyn Brittenham to apply for a NIPSCO Environmental Action Grant. With guidance from Blue Heron Ministries, namely her father John Brittenham, Evelyn applied for an Environmental Action Grant to plant native wildflowers and sedges in the formal garden at the Gene Stratton-Porter Historic Site. The goal was to showcase how native plants can be used in formal flower garden settings. On Earthday this past April, it was announced that Blue Heron Ministries had received the grant from NIPSCO and the exciting work of bringing the proposed project into fruition began. Evelyn had been working throughout this past year to learn how to start and run a small native plant business as part of an FFA (Future Farmers of America) Supervised Agricultural Experience project. These SAEs are activities chosen by students and supervised by teachers that give the students real-world work-based experience in different areas of agriculture, focusing on career-oriented skills and knowledge. As part of her SEA, Evelyn has been growing several native plant species, and she was able to supply Blue Heron Ministries with the 250 plants for the Gene Stratton-Porter planting. Evelyn was also able to supply Blue Heron Ministries with over 250 additional plants for several other small projects BHM was working on this spring. Then on May 26th, Evelyn joined her father, Blue Heron Ministries employee John Brittenham, and her grandfather, Gene Stratton-Porter employee Steve Brittenham for a three-generation planting project. Evelyn helped design the layout, place the plants, plant them in the ground, and finish by giving all the happy new plants a nice drink of water. Asked what her favorite part of the project was, Evelyn said “I liked arranging all the plants in a way that would look nice and then seeing all the work I did once it was all done.”

Preparing for the planting. Some of the persistent, herbicide resistant plants had to be removed from the flower beds. Here Evelyn is removing star-of-Bethlehem bulbs that persisted even after the bed was sprayed.

Evelyn shows off the happy little plants soon to go to their new home next to the arbor at Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site.

Drilling the holes with a 3-inch auger makes planting plugs much quicker and easier.

Where to put them, where to put them? Evelyn thinks through how best to lay out the native plants.

That plants have been laid out and now it is time to get them in the ground.

After all the plants are planted, they get a nice drink of water. This not only helps wet the soil so the roots can absorb the water, but it also helps collapse any small air pockets in the soil created while planting the plugs. Any air pockets left in the soil can dry out roots and stress the plants.

Happy little plants and happy planters. The end of a planting project is always very satisfying.

There are very few things as gratifying as watching and being part of plants growing. What is even more gratifying though is being part of the growth of young adults like Evelyn as they learn the practice of growing things and caring for the earth. The world is full of things to cause stress, fear, and anger, but it is also full of things that cause peace, hope, and joy. Keep an eye out and watch for these things, the good things that are growing. Then learn how and take the time to help them grow. The world needs more of that.

Honeybee swarm at Nasby Fen by Nate Simons

Click the picture to watch the video of the swarm. Then, listen as Blue Crew member Phil narrates a story about honeybee swarms, related to him by Mr. King, a local beekeeper.

View from the Crew by John Brittenham

At the end of burn season each year, the Blue Crew gathers for ice cream at Scoops in Angola. Nothing works up an appetite for ice cream like burn season.

Our new wheels have arrived! Blue Heron Ministries is the proud owner of two brand new Polaris Sportsman 450s. Keep an eye out for them in upcoming view from the crew posts. I guarantee they will never look this good again!

Caught this silhouette in the morning at the BHM prairie. This beautiful oak casts its shade far into our prairie in the morning sun.

I go sky high while chaperoning my kid’s class at Camp Crosley near North Webster, IN. I found out I’m not young anymore, I was motion sick for the rest of the day!

Hanging out with plant lovers and nerds. This large group gathered at Lindenwood Nature Preserve near Fort Wayne for one of INPS annual plant swaps. I love native plant swaps!

My babies are growing! It is so exciting to see seedlings sprouting out of the plug flats in the spring. Grow babies grow.

My spring has been all about growing and planting plants. My family and I plant over 500 native plant plugs at the front of our driveway to greet everyone driving by.

If you plant them, the weeds still come! Here Eva and I weed a planting on Clear Lake. Last year’s plants looked great though.

The same project near Clear Lake. Most of the plants survived but several did not make it. So, in go the replacements. Good luck buddies. Grow well.

Nothing works up an appetite for ice cream like a day of planting plugs. Okay, almost anything works up my appetite for ice cream.

Spring isn’t always about planting and growing things. Here the crew is out at our Nasby Fen restoration project going after invasive species. Just like in the garden, always weeding.

Upcoming Events

Sedge Plug Planting! June 12th at 10AM 2025. Join Blue Crew member Eva Curtis to plant plugs of Carex stricta on Thursday, June 12th, at 10AM! Please meet at coordinates: 41.641696,-85.261744. You can park in the grass just west of the wetland plot.  This site will be used for the seed collection of an important wetland species that is a potentail host plant for the endangered Mitchell’s Satyr butterfly! By growing more of this sedge species to collect seed from, Blue Heron Ministries can continue to restore wetland habitats which support countless wildlife species. Email evacurtis2000@gmail.com to RSVP!

Carex strica photo by Beth Williams

June Seed Collections June is sedge seed collection and lupine seed collection season. We need lots of volunteers to collect lots of seed, to be used at our Badger Barrens addition and for the Nasby Fen Restoration. Watch for details about collection times and locations.