About
The Environmental Education Program includes lessons, games, story books, hands-on activities, and nature journaling, along with guided outdoor activities such as public and educational hikes on free public hiking trails. Participants may take part in nature-based learning projects like growing native plants, enhancing outdoor spaces with native plantings, and learning about the differences between native and non-native plants. The program also offers activities such as removal of invasive trees, Weed Wrangle at Beanblossom Bottoms, Preserve-a-Preserve events, Little Hikers events, and building and maintaining trails, as well as a virtual lecture titled “The Lives and Times of Midwest Amphibians” and access to a free, printable “Birds of Southern Indiana” coloring book featuring 23 bird species.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Price: Our Environmental Education (EE) program connects people of all ages to the outdoors through meaningful, hands-on activities. We bring lessons, games, story books, and activities to schools across southern Indiana, completely free of charge. Our events are free for Sycamore members ($5 for non-members).
Sycamore Land Trust is a nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1990 whose mission is to preserve the beauty, health, and diversity of southern Indiana’s natural landscape through strategic land conservation and environmental education. The organization manages 11,809 acres on over 150 protected properties and maintains over 30 miles of free hiking trails on 13 public nature preserves, and its Environmental Education Program connects people of all ages and abilities to nature through guided hikes and outdoor learning opportunities. Sycamore Land Trust serves 26 counties in southern Indiana, works with schools and community groups of all ages, partners with schools such as Clear Creek Elementary, Templeton Elementary, and Glenwood, and brings nature-based learning activities to summer camps, retirement homes, and community groups throughout the year.
The Environmental Education Program is a STEM/STEAM partner and a supporting member of the Indiana Land Protection Alliance (ILPA), a nonpartisan network of land trusts, conservation partners, and community members, and it engages with community media and organizations through coverage and collaborations noted in Indiana Public Media, The Bloomington Herald-Times, Greene County Daily World, Brown County Democrat, The Evansville Courier and Press, Notre Dame Magazine, WFYI Indianapolis, and others. In 2019, Sycamore became an accredited land trust through the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, Guidestar has given Sycamore the Gold Seal of Transparency, and in 2018 Executive Director Alex Sienkiewicz received the Jim Posewitz Professional Conservationist Award for contributions to Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
The leadership team includes Alex C. Sienkiewicz (Executive Director), Chris Fox (Land Stewardship Director), Susan Haislip Daleke (Administrative Director), Kate Hammel (Communications Director), Isabel Jensen (Environmental Education Fellow), Noah Johnson (Land Steward), and Christina Marshall (Membership Coordinator). Staff credentials include Alex Sienkiewicz’s more than a quarter century in conservation work across the United States, previous service as Chief of Resource Stewardship and Science at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, district ranger for the Yellowstone Ranger District of the Custer Gallatin National Forest, and earlier work as a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Forest Service at D.C. headquarters. Additional staff credentials include Isabel Jensen’s Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Policy from Purdue University and her pursuit of a Master of Public Affairs–Master of Environmental Science dual degree at Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and Noah Johnson’s Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs with a degree in Environmental Management from Indiana University.
Last updated May 13, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Price: Our Environmental Education (EE) program connects people of all ages to the outdoors through meaningful, hands-on activities. We bring lessons, games, story books, and activities to schools across southern Indiana, completely free of charge. Our events are free for Sycamore members ($5 for non-members).
Sycamore Land Trust is a nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1990 whose mission is to preserve the beauty, health, and diversity of southern Indiana’s natural landscape through strategic land conservation and environmental education. The organization manages 11,809 acres on over 150 protected properties and maintains over 30 miles of free hiking trails on 13 public nature preserves, and its Environmental Education Program connects people of all ages and abilities to nature through guided hikes and outdoor learning opportunities. Sycamore Land Trust serves 26 counties in southern Indiana, works with schools and community groups of all ages, partners with schools such as Clear Creek Elementary, Templeton Elementary, and Glenwood, and brings nature-based learning activities to summer camps, retirement homes, and community groups throughout the year.
The Environmental Education Program is a STEM/STEAM partner and a supporting member of the Indiana Land Protection Alliance (ILPA), a nonpartisan network of land trusts, conservation partners, and community members, and it engages with community media and organizations through coverage and collaborations noted in Indiana Public Media, The Bloomington Herald-Times, Greene County Daily World, Brown County Democrat, The Evansville Courier and Press, Notre Dame Magazine, WFYI Indianapolis, and others. In 2019, Sycamore became an accredited land trust through the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, Guidestar has given Sycamore the Gold Seal of Transparency, and in 2018 Executive Director Alex Sienkiewicz received the Jim Posewitz Professional Conservationist Award for contributions to Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
The leadership team includes Alex C. Sienkiewicz (Executive Director), Chris Fox (Land Stewardship Director), Susan Haislip Daleke (Administrative Director), Kate Hammel (Communications Director), Isabel Jensen (Environmental Education Fellow), Noah Johnson (Land Steward), and Christina Marshall (Membership Coordinator). Staff credentials include Alex Sienkiewicz’s more than a quarter century in conservation work across the United States, previous service as Chief of Resource Stewardship and Science at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, district ranger for the Yellowstone Ranger District of the Custer Gallatin National Forest, and earlier work as a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Forest Service at D.C. headquarters. Additional staff credentials include Isabel Jensen’s Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Policy from Purdue University and her pursuit of a Master of Public Affairs–Master of Environmental Science dual degree at Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and Noah Johnson’s Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs with a degree in Environmental Management from Indiana University.
Last updated May 13, 2026.
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