From Missy Buck who was a Marion High School student in the 1980’s…

“Asherwood holds my earliest memories of the 'out of doors'. A city girl, field trips to Asherwood put leaves in my hands, mud under my boots, and a love of the woods into my heart. I learned how to walk quietly, listen carefully and watch closely. Asherwood is a place of examples. One year I saw the erosion. The next I saw the completed project built by volunteers to correct the erosion. Preservation is not theoretical at Asherwood; it is practical. Cause and effect are not read about; they are lived. As students evaluate the effects and analyze the causes, they decide if the cause should be encouraged or discouraged and ask, "Where is my place and responsibility in this situation?" I learned to respect those who cared for the land not because it was a slogan on a handout, but rather because I could see the good resulting from the care. I still return yearly to Asherwood, to those examples. I photograph wildflowers and wildlife, and my children who are learning to walk quietly, listen carefully and watch closely.”

Roma Bonfitto, a senior at New York University, majoring in pre med…

“I have spoken with quite a few of the people I have met in college about the experiences I had growing up in Indiana. One of the most important ones is the Asherwood program from elementary school through high school. What amazes me the most about these conversations is that virtually no one else has had the opportunity to experience what every student within MCS has. I vividly remember the frog pond, with all of the tadpoles, frogs, and eggs, and what a great time I had whenever we visited it. Most of my friends in college have never had the opportunity to see anything like that. I feel that they missed out on so much that I had the opportunity to learn about and experience. Today, as a student in my final year of college, I find that I respect the environment much more than my peers. I work for the recycling program at school. Most of this concern was born from the ability to see and understand through my experiences at Asherwood the detrimental effects that we, as humans, have upon the environment.”

Joyce Atcheson who will graduate from Purdue in May 2001 with a major in Civil Engineering, specializing in the Environmental/Hydraulics field…

“Ideas that were only words on a page became real at Asherwood…. It is a unique opportunity for urban students who have little access to the natural world… I joined the Envirothon team at Marion High and in our third year, 1994, we won the state competition and took 13th place in the nation. During competition, we drew on our Asherwood education to be the best in the state… It was my experience with
Envirothon building on what I learned at Asherwood that led me to an environmental major.”