About
The Environmental Education Program includes lessons, games, story books, and hands-on activities. The program also offers public and educational hikes, guided outdoor activities, nature-based learning, and nature journaling for participants of all ages and abilities.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Price: 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’s Environmental Education Program connects people of all ages to the outdoors through meaningful, hands-on activities, including guided hikes and outdoor learning opportunities. Programs are adapted for each classroom’s needs and tailored to each group’s needs, including working with Indiana state educational standards. Nature-based learning activities are also brought to summer camps, retirement homes, and community groups throughout the year. A sample Native Plant Project involves students of all ages in growing native plants and enhancing outdoor spaces with native plantings at schools and community spaces, where participants learn about differences between native and non-native plants and investigate how native plants support biodiversity and the health of natural resources. Nature journaling is used as a tool for students of all ages to enrich their experience and develop observation skills.
Sycamore Land Trust was founded in 1990 and serves 26 counties in southern Indiana. Sycamore manages over 150 protected properties totaling 11,809 acres and maintains over 30 miles of free hiking trails on 13 public nature preserves. Its mission is to preserve the beauty, health, and diversity of southern Indiana’s natural landscape through strategic land conservation and environmental education. Sycamore 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 that champions land and water protection for all of Indiana. In 2019, Sycamore became an accredited land trust through the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, and Guidestar has given Sycamore the Gold Seal of Transparency.
The organization’s 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). Alex Sienkiewicz has spent more than a quarter century in conservation work across the United States, served as Chief of Resource Stewardship and Science at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, led a team managing the park’s scientific research and resource stewardship portfolio, was district ranger for the Yellowstone Ranger District of the Custer Gallatin National Forest, was a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C., has served on nonprofit boards, and received the Jim Posewitz Professional Conservationist Award in 2018 for contributions to Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Chris Fox’s career has included tracking copperbelly water snakes through wetlands and following the endangered Kirtland's warbler from the Bahamas to Michigan. Isabel Jensen earned a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Policy from Purdue University and is pursuing a Master of Public Affairs–Master of Environmental Science dual degree at Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Noah Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs with a degree in Environmental Management from Indiana University.
Last updated May 14, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Price: 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’s Environmental Education Program connects people of all ages to the outdoors through meaningful, hands-on activities, including guided hikes and outdoor learning opportunities. Programs are adapted for each classroom’s needs and tailored to each group’s needs, including working with Indiana state educational standards. Nature-based learning activities are also brought to summer camps, retirement homes, and community groups throughout the year. A sample Native Plant Project involves students of all ages in growing native plants and enhancing outdoor spaces with native plantings at schools and community spaces, where participants learn about differences between native and non-native plants and investigate how native plants support biodiversity and the health of natural resources. Nature journaling is used as a tool for students of all ages to enrich their experience and develop observation skills.
Sycamore Land Trust was founded in 1990 and serves 26 counties in southern Indiana. Sycamore manages over 150 protected properties totaling 11,809 acres and maintains over 30 miles of free hiking trails on 13 public nature preserves. Its mission is to preserve the beauty, health, and diversity of southern Indiana’s natural landscape through strategic land conservation and environmental education. Sycamore 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 that champions land and water protection for all of Indiana. In 2019, Sycamore became an accredited land trust through the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, and Guidestar has given Sycamore the Gold Seal of Transparency.
The organization’s 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). Alex Sienkiewicz has spent more than a quarter century in conservation work across the United States, served as Chief of Resource Stewardship and Science at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, led a team managing the park’s scientific research and resource stewardship portfolio, was district ranger for the Yellowstone Ranger District of the Custer Gallatin National Forest, was a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C., has served on nonprofit boards, and received the Jim Posewitz Professional Conservationist Award in 2018 for contributions to Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Chris Fox’s career has included tracking copperbelly water snakes through wetlands and following the endangered Kirtland's warbler from the Bahamas to Michigan. Isabel Jensen earned a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Policy from Purdue University and is pursuing a Master of Public Affairs–Master of Environmental Science dual degree at Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Noah Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs with a degree in Environmental Management from Indiana University.
Last updated May 14, 2026.
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