A farewell from Abby Henkel
Thank you for a wonderful 4 1/2 years!
Dear Sycamore friends,
I can’t believe it, but my last day as the Communications Director for Sycamore Land Trust is here. Next Monday, I’ll be starting a new position as the Development Manager for the Environmental Resilience Institute at Indiana University. I’m excited to help this amazing team of experts address climate change in Indiana and beyond. And while I’ll miss so much about my Sycamore life, I’m not going far, and you know I’ll always be a Sycamore member. Thank you all for making this such a memorable experience!
Because I don’t know when I’ll see all of you in person again, I wanted to write a little farewell post to say thanks and share some memories. And if you like what you see, maybe you should apply for the job! Check out the job description.
Since my first day here in June of 2016 (pictured at right), I have had such a wonderful journey. The most wonderful part of this job has been the chance to get to know so many amazing people. The Sycamore community is full of passionate people who care about this land, the habitats it supports, and the people and wildlife who all benefit from it. People with incredible stories from a lifetime of conservation activism and work. Everyday folks who want to get involved as volunteers, members, hikers, and advocates. Together we’ve accomplished so much. I like to think of the true beneficiaries of our work as the beavers, bobcats, songbirds, frogs, and countless other species that have safe and permanent homes because of all of us.
Some of my favorite projects have been my role as editor of The Twig, producing the Annual Impact Report, planning the program for the Annual Celebrations, the Reel Rock Film Tour, crafting the fundraising campaigns, and hosting Sycamore Socials at local businesses. I’ve loved every chance to meet with all of you in person and learn why you care about this work. Sometimes we’re on a trail learning about trees or lichen. Other times we’re at a brewery, a coffee shop, or a front porch. Wherever Sycamore supporters are, good things are happening.
Walking the new boardwalk with some close friends of Sycamore, including some of the builders of the original boardwalk!
Then there are all those special moments you can’t predict. Showing up early one chilly November morning to film the boardwalk crew at Beanblossom Bottoms and witnessing the frost on the plants, and Chris Fox tuning out the rest of the world to identify a birdsong. Exploring Hoot Woods and hugging its 300-year-old trees shortly before we announced acquisition of this lovely old-growth forest. The fox that would show up outside my office window every April, sometimes at the same time every afternoon for a week or two, when Susan Haislip Daleke would always tolerate my running into her office to holler that “my” fox was back. Rushing with the whole staff to Lake Monroe to look for an eared grebe (we didn’t see it). Hiking the Beanblossom Bottoms boardwalk on a hot summer night to look for the cypress firefly. Bushwhacking through a steep, hilly forest in Martin County with Mike Homoya to see the rare filmy fern. Walking the boardwalk with my partner on a rare night at Beanblossom Bottoms when we were the only people there, when we turned the corner to see a great blue heron blocking our path on the boardwalk.
I could go on and on, but I decided to share some of my favorite photos from the past several years that help to show what impact this job has had on me. I hope to see many of you around Bloomington as we continue to work together to care for our environment here in Indiana and beyond.
Hugs,
Abby
Out in the field
As Communications Director, I spend a lot of time behind the screen. So whenever I get the chance to see humans or plants or animals IRL, I take it. Here are just a few memories from out in the field. Click a photo to see it full-size.
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- Unveiling the new signage at the soon-to-be-reopened Beanblossom Bottoms boardwalk
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- Official dedication of the new trail portion at the Laura Hare Nature Preserve at Downey Hill
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- A volunteer thank-you party at Switchyard Brewing Co, catered courtesy of Laughing Planet
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- Beekeeping with Barbara Restle
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- Exploring a cave in Shoals, IN, with Mike Homoya to view the filmy fern he found here
Office Life
It’s not all playing in the woods, though. Sometimes you have to spend time in the office. And if you do, let it be a beautiful mid-century modern home out in the woods. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first pulled up to Cedar Crest for my interview. I could work here??? Turns out, you can be very productive in a lovely office setting that feels more like a home.
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- My office. Not a bad setup!
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- High fives for a great Holiday Open House with volunteer and member Austin Roach
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- Members of the Development Committee one morning at Cedar Crest
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- I love our mailing volunteers! These folks will get together any time of day to prep mailings (I lure them with snacks).
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- The fox that shows up outside my window quite often. I think my patronus is a fox.
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- Susan during the week leading up to the Annual Celebration….we’re here all hours and anything goes
Team Sycamore
What would an organization be without the team members who keep it going every day? I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside folks with so much integrity and passion for what they do. Every day I’m driven by the support of our members and the fact that they’re putting their trust in us to carry out this work.
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- Launch day for the first printing of For Forever shirts with Madison Mann, an intern at the time, at Friendly Beasts Cider Company
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- With Susan at the Evansville Year in Review, 2018
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- With Chris Fox trying out the new truck donated by Centerpoint Energy
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- Sycamore staff on a hike at Scarlet Oak Woods (pic: Robert Stoffer)
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- With Susan and Ann at the Bloomie Awards in 2017, when our 2016 ad in Bloom Magazine won the Grand Bloomie!
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- This was the team when I started at Sycamore
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- One of my first hikes with the staff, at the Laura Hare Nature Preserve at Downey Hill back in fall 2016
Annual Celebrations
I love our Annual Celebration, and really missed seeing everyone this year! But celebrating with our online 30th Birthday Party ended up being really fun (once the video production was finished and I got to sit back and enjoy a cupcake). Thank you all for making it so special! You can view it any time on YouTube.
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- I often had the onerous duty of picking up the beer and wine. 😉 Just kidding, I love visiting these wonderful businesses that support our work and keep our guests refreshed. They are so generous and enthusiastic!
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- My first Annual Celebration, in 2016, with my parents and Paige Freitag. I think this was the moment my mom and Paige reconnected unexpectedly after working together (and sometimes opposing council) as lawyers in Indy several decades ago!
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- Singing with some members of the Ooolites and Malcolm Dalglish at the 2018 Annual Celebration.
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- With my partner, Jessi Roman, at the 2019 Annual Celebration.
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- A wonderful memory with Ned Caldwell, one of the donors of our office Cedar Crest, at the 2019 Annual Celebration. Ned passed a way just a few weeks after this, but his sister and my friend Elaine was quick enough to capture this happy moment in a photograph.
Partnerships & Events
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- Carrying the Accredited flag at the Land Trust Alliance Rally in 2019…a dream of mine since I saw other land trusts carrying that flag at my first Rally in 2016!
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- With Paul Bippus of World Arts Printing, holding up an award for the printing of The Twig. World Arts and our designer, Danielle Lucas, always work so hard to make our publications look flawless.
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- I love our Arbor Day Tree Giveaway volunteers, and the chance to hand out 400 native tree seedlings to happy Hoosiers
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- Speaking before the crowd at the Reel Rock Film Tour at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, November 2019
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- With Jessi at the grand re-opening of Beanblossom Bottoms, May 2019. Jessi knows how to sling some merch!
Special plants and wildlife
What does all of this come down to? For me, it’s about caring for the wildlife, plants, bugs, ecosystems, and human inhabitants that all benefit from this work. Conservation plays a critical role in addressing the causes and affects of climate change, and that’s the number-one driver in my motivation to work toward Sycamore’s mission. I’ve been fortunate to learn so much more than I used to know about individual species and the critical roles they play in the ecosystem. I also appreciate them simply for their inherent worth and right to exist.
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- Butterfly weed at Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve
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- A barred owl by Chip Methvin, Beanblossom Bottoms. Owls are always so magical and elusive to me.
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- These stately bald cypress trees call Eagle Slough home.
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- Yellow-shafted northern flickers are one of my favorite birds. I love their bright yellow under-wings. Steve Gifford is an amazing photographer and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. I love his photos from Eagle Slough Natural Area, like this one, and Columbia Mine Preserve.
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- I remember when Chip Methvin shared this photo of a bobcat that he took one morning at Beanblossom Bottoms Nature Preserve. It still takes my breath away!
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- I discovered Rick Malad’s insect photography while I was researching insects for the summer 2020 issue of The Twig. That research, and his photos from the Malad Preserve (protected by a Sycamore conservation easement) have helped me learn to love bugs and get over some of my creepiness about them!
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- In another life, I would have been a herpetologist. I get a thrill every time I see a snake! This is an endangered timber rattlesnake at Brown County State Park, but we believe they also make their home on some Sycamore properties.
