Chapter Events

Few sights are more of a delight to behold than the Midwestern forest floor in early Spring. Even before the snow begins to melt, the race is on for our native woodland flowers. Within a period of only a few weeks or less, they must employ specialized adaptations to maximize sunlight and reproduction before the tree canopy closes. Come along with Amanda and Steve as we take you on a seasonal journey through the flora of the Spring forest. Along the way, we’ll take a closer look and explore their physiology, life strategies and folklore. We’ll share our favorite locations to see them and provide tips on incorporating some of them into our home landscapes. Approx 60 min

Steve Sass and Amanda Smith are the co-founders of Indiana Nature LLC. Their ventures include the IN Nature and Ecometrid brands, and the ecological education website indiananature.net. Through environmental outreach such as the Facebook Group “IN Nature,” which contains the Great American Indiana Nature (GAIN) projects, they have engaged thousands of Hoosiers to collaboratively build a database of moth, butterfly, tree, and wildflower populations in the state. They have collectively served in numerous capacities for Indiana environmental organizations, including land trusts, native plant societies, and Audubon societies. Amanda resides in Hamilton County and is the Superintendent of Natural Resources and Education for Hamilton County Parks, while Steve is a small business owner in South Bend. One of their most recent collaborations has been co-authoring a comprehensive, new Natural Resources Management Plan for the city of South Bend Venues Parks & Arts department.