Cool Corridors
The City of Bloomington Sustainability and Economic Development office and CanopyBloomington are partnering together to develop Cool Corridors across Bloomington’s disadvantaged communities for climate resilience and environmental justice. CanopyBloomington works with the selected communities to plant and maintain trees to develop these Cool Corridors.
A Cool Corridor is long strips of sidewalks & impervious surfaces like roads shaded by trees planted on public or private. These trees will cool residents as they walk to and from their residence to businesses which reduce heat-related illness, reduce emissions from traffic, and provide a myrade of other environmental benefits.
Current Cool Corridor Program Area: 3rd and Bypass
In Spring 2027, Canopy Bloomington will be working in the 3rd and Bypass area. To learn more, you can check out our "Bloomington 'Cool Corridors" Project!" blog for our first project or our "Phase 2: Bloomington 'Cool Corridors' Project!" blog to learn more about our current project.
The City of Bloomington's Heat Watch provided the ctiy with a way to identify the exact locations facing greater exposure to extreme heat and degraded air quality across Bloomington.
According to the Tree Equity Score map, this area is designated as a high priority planting area. It is ranked 56th of 68 block groups in Bloomington with a tree equity score of 71, and a current canopy cover of 31%.
Are you a business, resident, or employee in the selected area? We want to hear from you! Please fill out the following form to help Canopy better understand the needs, concerns, and interest of the community.
Past Cool Corridor Projects
Crestmont
On March 8, 2025 Canopy helped the City of Bloomington launch the 'Cool Corridors' project, by planting 66 trees in right-of-way areas along several of the streets in the Crestmont neighborhood. This was accomplished with the help of 96 volunteers (with over 60 of these coming from the organizations of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, IU Corps, Civic Leaders CenterThe City's Assistant Director of Sustainability, Shawn Miya, was one of the volunteers that day. Shawn said she is "so grateful for the leadership of CanopyBloomington. The city is very lucky to have an organization like this in Bloomington."
Walnut Woods, Summit Pointe, and Bayberry
On Saturday, March 28th, our community came together for a meaningful day of planting as part of the City of Bloomington’s Cool Corridors Project. By early afternoon, 62 dedicated volunteers had transformed Walnut Woods and nearby neighborhoods by planting 59 new trees. The effort placed eight trees in residents’ lawns with the rest lining public sidewalks and spaces to provide shade, beauty, and cooler streets in the years ahead. Residents and volunteers from a wide range of local groups—including Bloomington scout troops, Monroe County 4-H Junior Leaders, the Black Student Union at Indiana University, and the Global Medical Missions Alliance—worked side by side, turning a cool morning into a fun, collective accomplishment rooted in community.
In addition to planting trees, the day was about connection. After the last tree was planted, volunteers gathered to celebrate their good work with food, conversation, and live music from Jason Fickel. The sense of pride and gratitude was evident, with remarks from Canopy staff and Shawn Miya, Bloomington's Assistant Director of Sustainability.
Bayberry was one of the nearby neighborhoods which also received trees. Kate Steger of Bayberry's HOA shared, “Bayberry was gifted with so many new trees! It was a pleasure to work with you, and I deeply appreciated your ongoing support, advice, patience, and encouragement throughout the planning and execution of the project. We are indebted to CanopyBloomington for this beautiful contribution to our property.”
