Dinner and Speaker Sept 15

They say the third time's a charm! We welcome Mr. Dick Wilson to the IKES on Wednesday, September 15th. He was scheduled twice before, but we suspended our programs for the last year and a half. We are excited to start our dinner programs again! Mr. Wilson, an avid researcher on invasive species, will present a program rich in detail describing invasives of fish, insects and reptiles. Dick will provide an assortment of photos and explain the details of each. He will describe his interactions with these creatures and explain how global warming is expanding their reaches. Mr. Wilson will field any questions you might have. He will be introduced by John Manuszak who will give a brief presentation on local invasives.

This will be a great family event so be sure to bring the kids (free hot dogs) and a guest. See you at the IKES!

Dinner starts at 6:30 P.M. Program starts at 7:30 P.M. Menu: breaded pork chops with the trimmings

Cost: $10 adults free hot dogs for the kids!

Please call in your reservations by Monday, September 13that 574-272-3660. It is imperative so we have an accurate count for the caterer.

We are pleased to announce our annual Open House on Sunday, July 25th from 1-3 P.M. Thanks to membership secretary Sondra Casper who initiated online memberships, and folks wanting to get outdoors during the pandemic, we gained over 100 members. We want to invite new and existing members to come out for refreshments and meet our officers. We will be giving tours of the grounds and answering any questions you have. This is a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with your local chapter of the Izaak Walton League. Over 120 acres to explore!

We have two upcoming events for you to plan for. We are excited to start our dinner programs again! Our first program will be Wednesday, September 15th. It features member Dick Wilson, invasive animal species expert. Dick will present images from his extensive research. We are having our Fall Festival again! Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 20th. Once again, we will have silent auction items to bid on.

We rely on donations for the auction items, so start thinking now about what you can donate. This a fundraiser and funraiser!

We will continue planting starting this Thursday April 20th which is Earth day and continue through May 1st the day before the tree giveaway. Anyone who would like to help please contact Tim Kanczuzewski at 574-340-0842 as the help is much appreciated. We will plan on working for an hour or so every day after 5pm during the week and then a big push to plant on May 1st. This coming Saturday and next Saturday we will start at 10am at the main bridge.

On Sunday, May 2nd, from 2-4 P.M. we will be giving away seedlings to our members and the public near the bridge. Species include Redbud, Dogwood, and White Pine. On Saturday, May 24th, from 9-Noon, we will be participating in an Arbor Day, Earth Day event at Pinhook Park. We had over 200 hours of volunteer clearing and planting. Volunteers included Mike Connaughton, Sanders Elliot, Dennis Chapla, Jeff Fleenor, Judy Hawkins, Mike Hay, Kenson Kanczuzewski, Tim Kanczuzewski, John Loughran, Abbey Pruitt, Gail Reschley, Rodney Reschley, Marcus Rifley, Izaak Soprleder, Todd Sporleder, JC Sporleder, Josh Sporleder, Jason Thibaut, Rob Wishin, and Ursala Wishin.

The University of Notre Dame has, over the years, kept monitor on Juday Creek. View the latest report on the stream and fish health. View Report (PDF)