For Gary Councilman Dwayne Haliburton, the Ivanhoe South Nature Preserve is more than a restored resource for the city’s west side: it’s a place of fond memories.
Haliburton was a student at Indiana University Northwest when he went with a class to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago for an assignment, he told the dignitaries and crowd at the now-revamped preserve’s rededication on Oct. 30. The trip and its connection with nature stuck with him to the point that he couldn’t stay away.
“I kept going back to Lincoln Park Zoo for two months. It was like every Sunday, I’d go to church and then head to Chicago,” Haliburton said. “I went back so many times, I took a date. (A place to absorb and admire nature) is what the Shirley Heinze Land Trust has created for us.”
In May, Indiana American Water awarded the Shirley Heinze Land Trust a $150,000 Water and Environmental grant to improve facilities at the Ivanhoe South Nature Preserve, located at 750 Colfax St., the *Post-Tribune* previously reported.
The money allowed the nonprofit to provide the match it needed for the $977,000 READI 1.0 grant it was awarded under former Governor Eric Holcomb.
The trust, which started acquiring some 250 unused lots in the area from tax sales after it began in 1981, ended up with 53 acres of pristine dune and swale habitat, Heinze Trust Executive Director Kris Krouse previously said.
Using the combined $1,177,000 from the READI 1.0 grant, Indiana American Water, and a $50,000 Legacy Foundation grant, the trust was able to build a sidewalk to the site from West Side Leadership Academy, as well as boardwalks, an improved bridge over a creek on the property, and an accessible trail.
“It’s pretty amazing to see this great resource be transformed into an asset to the Region,” Krouse said.
State Senator Mark Spencer, D-Gary, called the preserve the “natural soul of Northwest Indiana.”
“The preserve is more than just greenspace: it’s a living classroom, a sanctuary of reflection, and a promise for the future,” Spencer, who has taught at West Side Leadership Academy for 34 years, said. “Students can enjoy, study, and learn from it.”
Jeff Berglund, president of project contractor Berglund Construction of Chesterton, recalled the concern over having to ask 15 homeowners adjacent to the preserve to allow workers to temporarily disrupt their driveways while restoring and installing new sidewalks.
Turns out, there was no reason to worry.
“Our crews made friends in the community,” he said. “Because of the project, the neighbors have now been inspired to beautify their own yards, so I give the community credit.”
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton thanked residents as well as the Gary Common Council for passing a budget “to work for us” earlier in the week.
Having the dune and swale there, especially revitalized, is a godsend in ways people never anticipate.
“Just a few years ago, during the pandemic, people couldn’t go places, but they could walk around outside. It was so peaceful to just enjoy nature when everyone was so anxious. Thank you so much for your work,” Melton said.
The Indiana American Water award to the Ivanhoe South Nature Preserve was the largest award American Water gave out across the 12 states it covers.
— Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the *Post-Tribune*.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/02/ivanhoe-south-restoration-gives-gary-residents-respite-a-living-classroom/
