On Sunday, Oct. 11, more than 25 volunteers gathered at the Nonie Werbe Krauss Nature Preserve in Fishers, Indiana, to clear debris left behind by this year’s flooding. Fishers Parks Director Marissa Deckert coordinated a multi-agency response. Volunteers, city staff and land-trust stewards shared the cleanup, while a separate group handled the preserve’s heavier debris.
The 77-acre preserve sits beside the White River. After floodwaters receded, they left household debris and other items scattered through the preserve, according to the Central Indiana Land Trust’s event notice. The land trust said the cleanup was needed to protect plant and animal life. Its notice scheduled volunteers from 8 a.m. to noon and required registration because the site could only handle a limited number of people.
The post-event account from LarryInFishers confirmed the cleanup took place and reported that more than 25 people came from around central Indiana. It said Deckert coordinated the multi-agency effort. Separately, Assistant Parks Director Jason King, land-trust volunteer steward John Bauer and land managers Philip Weldy and Max Gerke led the heavy-debris removal. Other volunteers worked on the remaining cleanup.
The job came with precautions. The event notice warned that some debris might include household chemical containers and encouraged sturdy gloves, long sleeves, long pants and closed-toe shoes. Fishers Parks provided protective equipment. Hamilton County Emergency Management handled initial removal of hazardous debris and, later, final pickup and disposal, according to LarryInFishers. Those details describe a coordinated cleanup, not an unsupervised family activity.
Fishers Parks also managed logistics and supplied large utility vehicles and haul wagons. Hamilton County Tourism brought food, snacks and drinks for the volunteers. Together, those contributions supported a task that required more than people carrying litter away: organizers had to assess the site, separate hazards, move bulky material and make sure collected debris left the preserve.
Fishers City Councilor Bill Stuart joined the initial damage assessment and brought concerns to City Hall. Organizers also thanked Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and Hamilton County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt for their cooperation. The report documents both hands-on work at the preserve and coordination among local agencies.
The cleanup followed a major flood that the local report said had occurred nearly eight weeks earlier. Organizers estimated that the preserve absorbed about 150 million gallons of floodwater and slowed the river. They credited the property with helping shield nearby parts of Fishers. That figure and the claimed protective effect are estimates attributed to organizers, not independent measurements in the reporting.
The preserve’s floodplain and wooded wetlands are part of its long-term conservation story. The land trust says it planted 19,000 trees there in 2008 and another 15,000 in early 2025 as it worked to restore forested wetland. In an August release, the organization described the trees and wetlands as slowing water during floods. The flooding still brought debris downstream, but the natural landscape and the cleanup addressed different parts of the same aftermath.
The site also reflects a conservation effort that began before the recent storm. The land trust says it purchased the preserve in early 2006 using White River Restoration Trust funds; it was then known as Wapihani. Its event notice described the cleanup as a way to remove material left after the river fell, while its longer restoration work has focused on trees, habitat and the floodplain. The Oct. 11 event connected those aims with immediate, visible work.
Volunteer steward Becky McNichols told LarryInFishers that seeing so many people come together to help was heartening. The report did not provide a total weight of debris collected or say how much of the preserve was affected. It did document the turnout, the agencies’ roles and the volunteers’ work on the ground.
The preserve is open to the public, with visitors asked to stay on foot and keep dogs leashed to protect wildlife, pollinators and birds, the land trust says. The Oct. 11 cleanup brought more than 25 volunteers and local agencies to a place still recovering from floodwater and debris. It was a concrete act of care for the preserve and its wetlands.
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