World Water Day: A hike at the EcoLab

What a fun way to spend World Water Day!

A group of 8 people stood outdoors on a gravel trail. There is a large pond behind them as well as bare trees, and brown leaves on the ground. They are dressed for a cool day.
Sierra Club members and friends enjoyed a nice walk and talk through the Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab. Photo: Kasey Grau Jackson.

I joined the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter and Indiana Conservation Voters for a walk through the Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab on Marian University’s Indianapolis campus. What a beautiful spot! It was my first time, and it did not disappoint.

A group of 8 people in an outdoor classroom, which is wood with a domed roof with a circular hole in the middle. Some are standing and some are seated on wooden benches.
The group stopped for a talk about a glaciers in the outdoor classroom at the Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab. Photo: Kasey Grau Jackson.

Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Director Robyn Skuya-Boss led our group of nature lovers through the wetland and lowland forest, stopping along the way in the outdoor classroom to talk about this year’s World Water Day focus: glacier preservation.

A white and green sign explaining about beaver presence at the EcoLab.
Beavers live in the EcoLab, a 75-acre wetland and lowland forest. Photo: Kasey Grau Jackson.

Did you know that the White River and Great Lakes — and many of the wetlands across Indiana, in fact — can trace their origins to the last glacial period? That’s just one fun fact that was presented on our walk. We talked about conservation issues facing our state, looked for the first signs of spring (we found bluebells!) and kept our eyes peeled for the beaver colony at Jens Jensen Pond. (We saw their lodge, but didn’t see them. Maybe next time!)

A handful of small bluebell flowers growing in the ground. The flowers are bell-shaped and a blue/purple color with green leaves.
Beavers live in the EcoLab, a 75-acre wetland and lowland forest. Photo: Kasey Grau Jackson.

At the end of our walk, Robyn left us with a beautiful parting gift: A reminder that even when things feel heavy and uncertain, there’s always hope.

“Joy is resistance,” they said. “The only way through the wilderness is together.”

Learn more about the Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab.

Join the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter for an upcoming hike.

Kasey Grau Jackson, secretary of the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Executive Committee.


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