​Once a month Little River Wetlands Project (LRWP) hosts a public forum, Breakfast on the Marsh. It is usually held at Indiana Wesleyan University Fort Wayne along the border of Eagle Marsh. The speakers present on some aspect of nature or being green. In October 2023 Jeff Gard of Aqua Indiana spoke on waste management. It is no small challenge to talk about poop at a breakfast meeting and hold the attention of the audience but Jeff was able to do this.
 
Aqua Indiana gathers local wastewater, water from toilets and sinks, and treats it so that the water is clean, and the solid material is removed. Jeff has multiple science degrees including chemistry. He initially worked in water treatment. This is a chemical process that kills toxins in the water. After 15 years he moved to waste management. This is a biological process that breaks down unwanted toxins and organism in the wastewater.
 
Jeff described the process of treating the waste. The treatment allows for the water to return to rivers and streams without hurting the environment. It eventually becomes drinking water for people living downstream from the treatment  center.  The treatment center is a compound with various buildings assigned to different tasks. Microbes are used to remove ammonia, phosphates, and to degrade organic waste.
 
The process must follow strict regulations. There is a screening process to remove foreign waste such as plastics and metals. There is a chopping area and an aeration center to introduce increased oxygen. Finally, there is a disinfection point and laboratories to assess progress and the health of the microbes.  The treated water is separated from the treated solid waste. The solid waste is referred to as cake, but it is not cake! It is often used locally as fertilizer.
 
Aqua Indiana is a supportive neighbor of Eagle Marsh. This include providing signage for trails and participating in public events.  Aqua Indiana is owned by Essential Utilities whose slogan is, Protecting earth’s most valuable resource, water. That commitment was evident during Jeff’s presentation. In the future he will provide us with a tour of the facility. I look forward to filming that experience.

The first weekend of February was one of the weekends that started off frustrating and disappointing and then somehow redeemed itself in a big way. I had registered to attend the Indiana Wildlife Federation 2024 conference. The focus was on Indiana waterways, and I looked forward to learning a lot and connecting with fellow greenies. However, I had to cancel. Then I thought, well, it is World Wetlands Day, why not attend the wetland hike at Eagle Marsh. Again, because of a sore knee, I had to stay home. While pouting I navigated social media and discovered that Notch Hostel in the White Mountains of New Hampshire had a fireside chat series. For those of us not staying at the hostel we could attend virtually. The disappointing weekend began to brighten up.   

Notch Hostel has an active Social Justice approach to hiking and engaging nature. This includes being inclusive to people of color, women, people with ability challenges, Indigenous Peoples, and members of  
 the LGBTQ+ community. This inclusive approach is consistent with the values of this blog. If we are to address climate change in any effective way it will take all of us. If we are not to be discouraged from such a formidable challenge, we need the grounding and healing that comes from being in nature. That involvement in nature must be for all of us.  

 The fireside chat represented one of the communities often excluded or at least not consistently warmly welcomed into the green and hiking communities, the trans community. The talk was on Queering the Triple Crown. The speaker, Lyla “Sugar” Harrod is the first openly trans woman who has completed thru hiking the three national trails that make up the Triple Crown. That includes the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. She had hiked over 2500 miles. Her presentation was engaging, her insights useful, and her example was inspiring.  She provided practicle advise for hiking while out and freely referred to the wisdom of others.

 Now this is not the first time this blog has addressed LGBTQ issues and contributions to the larger Green Community. In LGBTQI-A and Being Green the blog addressed issues of safety, belonging, career opportunities of LGBTQ folks in a variety of green settings. This included hiking, conservation, gardens, and farming. It identified resources for members of the LGBTQ community.  However, the focus was on the larger, umbrella community (LGBTQ) and a broader sense of what is involved in being green. Lyla usefully narrowed the focus to the Trans community and the hiking community.  

 Lyla began her fireside chat addressing the larger context. She addressed what is queering or what does it mean to queer something. This action, this verb, referred to the act of challenging traditional norms or assumptions about gender, orientation, and identity. It requires a questioning of traditional hierarchal relationships and of gender expectations. Interestingly, she pointed out that many in the hiking community already question traditional norms. She stated that thru hikers are dismantling conventional wisdom by “blowing up their lives.” She was referring to rejecting traditional career paths and conventional relationships. 

 Lyla was inspiring. Her story is of a person who struggled with addiction and found her sobriety and her identity. She sees out-hiking as being a model to other members of the LGBTQ community who struggle to accept themselves or to outwardly be themselves. Lyla is an active member of a mentoring program for LGBTQ hikers.  

 Lyla’s chat and the Notch Hostel’s core values got me thinking about the growing commitment to inclusivity in the green movement. Hiking is still very much a White CIS male environment but that is changing. It is being challenged by POC, by female accomplishments and leadership, but also buy the growing LGBTQ identity in hiking. This PRIDE is important. Just as important as the organizing is the fact that Queer eco-activism is being studied. Tere is growing advocacy for LGBT involvement in conservation and eco-activism. This includes the League of Conservation Voters, The National Wildlife Federation (including a focus on youth), and The Butterfly Conservation Organization. Even the United States Department of Agriculture is providing resources. 
​
 So, I did not get to go the IWF conference. I did not go on a World Wetlands Day hike. But I did learn about the challenges faced by trans hikers. I was reminded of the many contributions of the LGBTQ community to the green movement. I was introduced to the many services and welcoming people that make up the Notch Hostel. And as far as the conference I missed, it turns out I can watch all the presentations on-line.  

Illustration by Kerri Pulley

​I first made rain barrels, in downtown Fort Wayne, at a workshop near the St. Josph River. The workshop was sponsored by the Tri-State Watershed Alliance which is now the Maumee Watershed Alliance. Because of that very positive experience I was excited when I discovered the Maumee Watershed Alliance was sponsoring another workshop at ACRES Land Trust headquarters. I invited my great-great niece, Zoe Clay, who is also a greenie, to join me. I then called the Alliance and received permission to record the workshop.
 
First, the setting was wonderful. The workshop took place in a historic barn that was a hundred years old. I knew ACRES restored land; I did not know that on occasions they also preserve significant structures associated with the land. So here we were, at the first ACRES preserve near Cedar Creek and just a short drive from Bicentennial Woods.
 
The presenters were Sharon Partridge of the Maumee Watershed Alliance and Kyle Quandt from the St. Joseph Watershed Initiative. They pointed out that watersheds provide water to agriculture, industry, homes, and nature in Northeast Indiana. I was grateful that they used a used a map during their presentation to illustrate the watershed from Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana that served the area.
 
They then discussed the many contaminants and challenges the watershed faced. This included pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture, chemical pollutants from industry and urban areas, and poor water management. They also described the systemic way these issues were being addressed. The systemic approaches involved legislators, policy, technology, and short and long-term plans. However, there was a way individual citizens could help care for the health of our waterways and watershed, rain barrels. Water barrels reduce the amount of excessive water put into flooding streams and rivers. They also provide free water for gardens.
 
After the lecture the participants were guided in making the rain barrels. Participants worked in teams of two to assist one another. Consistent with the value of contributing to the community, Zoe made her rain barrel for her grandmother.
 
To celebrate such a green morning Zoe and I took a short hike in the Bicentennial Woods. We then finished the day by having lunch at an establishment that provides tasty and sustainable food, the Loving Café. 

​Once a month Little River Wetlands Project hosts a community forum, Breakfast on the Marsh. It is usually held at Indiana Wesleyan University Fort Wayne. The forum has guest speakers who address projects, land and/or water sites or issues related to nature. In November 2023 Amy Silva, Executive Director of LRWP introduced Philip Anderson. Mr. Anderson addressed the many competing demands placed on watersheds.  
 
Mr. Anderson was interactive with the audience. He engaged them regularly. He described himself as a teacher, a traveler, and a (story) teller.  These three core characteristics guided his view of the many uses of water.
 
Mr. Anderson identified multiple constituents who made demand of water use. These included farmers, developers, cities, industry, and nature.  He asked us to identify where we use water and where does that water come from. This increased a sense of interconnectedness. He also stressed that while there are different perspectives on the use of water, we are best served by trying to look beyond our own perspective.
 
He introduced the audience to multiple watersheds, locally, regionally, and internationally. For the LRWP audience that included Northeast Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, the Great lakes, and Canada. Locally that included the St. Jospeh Watershed, the Maumee Watershed, and the Auglaize Watershed.
 
Challenges to the health of watersheds included agricultural contamination in the form of fertilizers and pesticides, urban pollutants, and climate change. He pointed out that our leaders and communities address these issues  in terms of places (geography), uses, and policy. That leads to a collision of perspectives or a convergence. To increase the chances of convergence and collaboration he lead the audience in some problem-solving exercises. It was this focus on process that kept a knowledgeable audience engaged. As wetland protections are eroding these skills may prove helpful.