Written by Isabelle Molitor | August 2025
Monarch on purple coneflower
Challenged with the daunting task of reflecting on three transformative months, I searched through past articles on the “News from Nature At The Confluence” blog for inspiration. The earliest posts date back to before the building’s establishment in 2017. Despite the lack of structure, Nature At The Confluence was already becoming a centerpoint of the community. With opportunities for paddling, family programs, and volunteering, the project quickly transformed from a wish to a reality. The images accompanying these articles look much different from the center today, yet still recognizable. Themes of eagles, monarchs, Turtle Creek and Kelly Creek, the prairie and gardens, and community support show clearly even from the original founding. This land’s history is rich, diverse, and the product of thousands of individual stories. From the Ho-Chunk village, to the industrialization of Beloit, to ongoing restoration efforts, each individual has left their footprints in this soil. I am honored to have had the opportunity to contribute a piece of my story to the ever changing path of Nature At The Confluence.
One of the strongest memories shaping my aspirations and future is of my time at Willowbrook Middle School’s environmental camp and club. Conveniently located next to a small prairie, the middle school and its faculty provided perfect opportunities to learn about conservation and wildlife. Of course, we also had a lot of fun. The first time we visited Nature At The Confluence was in the summer. As a group we aided in clearing the still very new trails and collecting trash. Our reward for the hard work: a chance to adventure in Turtle Creek. We took another field trip in the winter months, and helped spread seeds in the prairie. While I did not identify the impact of these memories at the time, looking back I can say with confidence that our visits to Nature At The Confluence greatly influenced my passions and career goals.
Just as The Confluence has grown throughout the past eight years, I have experienced significant growth this past summer. Throughout high school, I actively participated in community service. However, each project had limited scope. A few hours dedicated to the book fair, an hour before school packing meals with our NHS chapter, working at occasional events, and signing up for whatever fundraisers needed extra volunteers at the moment. In contrast,
Spider spotted in litter bucket
this summer I have witnessed the impact of ongoing dedication, relationships, and community. Between seeing familiar faces at each drum circle, or knowing each Wednesday Work Day volunteer by name, my perception of community had broadened. I learned that a community is not just one group of individuals brought together by circumstances, but an intricate web orchestrated by people engaging and caring for each other and the planet. Nature At The Confluence represents the best parts of myself, and of South Beloit as a whole. As one visitor kindly told me, “You’re touching more hearts than you could ever imagine.”
At the beginning of June, I started a journal to document my experience as an intern. My very ambitious goal was to fill the entire book. I did not accomplish this, but the journal will still prove to be a valuable asset in my schoolwork and future career. I dedicated one section to new skills I learned, including but not limited to:
plan
t identification, how to take care of monarchs, gardening, lesson planning, stronger communication, tabling events, and so much more. This summer, I learned about land stewardship, and how much effort it takes to make a nature center operate smoothly. I felt the responsibility of engaging visitors, opening and closing the building, reciting the land’s history, leading campers on hikes, and educating the community on the importance of environmentalism. I read Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer and applied her knowledge and curiosity to my work and life. I watched children make observations about the world and find life hidden among the grass, reminding me of the quote, “Attentiveness alone can rival the most powerful magnifying lens.”
I further implore everyone to support nature centers and green spaces in their communities. This past summer, I witnessed the benefits firsthand through my time at Nature At The Confluence, for which I am very grateful for. One of my favorite aspects of this internship was the numerous opportunities for meeting new people and hearing their story. I met so many people with a strong relationship to the trails, the gardens, the creeks, or the prairie. Nature At The Confluence would not play such an important role in the community without all of the individuals who care so deeply about the project.
Black raspberries
