Seeding ministry aims to restore northern Indiana landscape

ANGOLA, Ind. (AP) - Nate Simons scooped up seeds from a pail of some 25 species of wildflowers and grasses.

The seeds were collected within a 10-mile radius of Angola's Blue Heron Ministries.

The seeds eventually will be planted as part of restoration efforts by Simons, who is Blue Heron Ministries executive director. Established in 2001, BHM is an official ministry of the Presbyterian Chapel of the Lakes. Its purpose is to restore native landscapes, such as marshlands, sedge meadows, prairies, oak savannas and open oak woodland communities. That's done through tools such as prescribed burns, brush and custom field mowing and local seed harvesting.

Simons, 54, is a 1980 Angola High School graduate. He attended Ball State University in Muncie and has degrees in landscape architecture and science.

He's just as passionate about restoring the land as he is with his faith. Both go together in a stewardship ministry.

"I love the landscape," he said, adding his life revolves around his faith. "Working outside is the stewardship of creation. It's a desire to pass it on to the next generation."

Simons and BHM do land restoration for clients across the area, including the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. He's traveled as far as three hours to work with clients.

One project that shows BHM's work is the native prairie grasses with identifying signage in front of the Fremont Public Library.

"The neat thing is we have four full-time field stewards. I don't ever see Blue Heron Ministries getting large. What I'd like to see is passing on what I know to the next generation of land stewards," he said.

Simons married his high school sweetheart, Aimee Frisinger, a 1979 Angola graduate. She gives private music lesson in flute and piano in the area. The couple have three children: Natalie Shoemaker, a Columbus, Ohio, stay-at-home mother with three children; Kylee, a Down syndrome client at RISE, an Angola employment training and rehabilitation center; and Jacob, a fifth-grade teacher in Nappanee.

Simons basks in his hobby of competitive walking, saying it nurtures him spiritually and physically. It also affords him another opportunity to be outdoors. He has been in races in Goshen and New Albany, Ohio.

"It's very low-impact," he said. "My last race was (a 10-kilometer walk) and I finished third in New Albany. (Race walking) is unique and I like unique things.

"I get up at 4:30 a.m., except Sunday at 5:30 a.m. I read Scripture, stretch, then hit the road," he said. "That is my prep time for the day. I get to hear tree frogs and see an occasional skunk, and I've heard a few coyotes. With daylight-saving time, it's always in the dark. It's my prep time for the day."

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Source: The (Angola) Herald Republican, http://bit.ly/25Y8z08

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Information from: Herald Republican, http://www.heraldrepublicanonline.com/