On Friday, September 16, members of KERAMIDA’s Northern Indiana Team joined CEO, Vicky Keramida, in attending the Dunes Learning Center Gala, held to support the Scholarship Fund for children going to the Dunes Learning Center Campus.

KERAMIDA has been a major supporter of the Dunes Learning Center (DLC) for the past 3 years. As Fellowship Sponsors, KERAMIDA pays the annual salary (with DLC match) for an Interpretive Naturalist Fellow to work a full-year program at the Dunes Learning Center.

Dunes Learning Center was established as a regional resource dedicated to residential environmental education. DLC provides a classroom without walls in which students interact directly with the natural environment and are taught environmental and ecological principles. The setting provides unique exposure to a globally significant natural environment as the campus is located in the heart of Indiana Dunes National Park and in the general area of one of the world’s great urban/industrial regions - industrialized Northwest Indiana. Students gain new knowledge and understanding about how improving the quality of life is dependent upon our success in sustaining and integrating these two environments.

Meet the KERAMIDA-Sponsored Dunes Learning Center Fellows:

Meet 2021-2022 KERAMIDA Naturalist Fellow, Sierra Necessary! Sierra is an interpretive naturalist who is passionate about wildlife conservation, outdoor appreciation, and environmental education. She received her bachelor of science degree in Natural Science & Mathematics with a minor in Chemistry from Indiana University.

Read Sierra’s latest DLC blog post, Catch and Release, about an exciting rescue that happened while teaching one of her last groups of teenagers at Dunes Learning Center. Also read Sierra’s post, Biodiversity in the Dunes, which explores the Indiana Dunes National Park, the 4th most biodiverse national park (out of 423 sites)!

Meet 2020-2021 KERAMIDA Naturalist Fellow, Kayla Groen! Passionate about free-choice learning and informal education, Kayla is an interpretive naturalist who loves hiking, gardening, and painting. She graduated from Purdue University with highest distinction and a bachelor of science degree in agricultural communication.

Read Kayla’s DLC blog post, Artisan Nature, where she shares some new activities involving your creativity that you can do in nature!

KERAMIDA’s team was proud to help support the Dunes Learning Center scholarship fund at the Gala!