What's New in Bloomington News?

CanopyBloomington
Jul 1
2 min read

Indiana DNR Spotlight on CanopyBloomington's Executive Director, Ava Hartman

Ava Hartman, executive director of CanopyBloomington, says that this attitude of flexibility is essential to her work. She loves trees, and it’s her job to share her passion for the urban forest, but she knows that she can’t go into any community with a rigid plan and set of expectations. “It’s all trial and error—based on what the community wants and needs, on how they respond [to us]. I fully expect our programs to change based on community input.”

Continue reading here.

Executive director, Ava Hartman, and Community Engagement director, Jon Vickers interact with a volunteer at a tabling event. — Photo credit: Lisa Renee Wilson

Bloomington's Crestmont Park: Thoroughly Heart Warming by Gillian Field

The excitement and hope that more than one thousand hours of loving care has brought to Crestmont Park is thoroughly heartwarming. After tackling invasive species, and a year after sowing acorns, we are thrilled to share the joy and exhilaration of restoring an urban greenspace.

When you consider the feeling of peace that native plants and landscapes can offer and the benefits of restored urban greenspace as enclaves for wildlife, then the opportunity for collective effort is thrilling. Crestmont Park has warmly responded to our love and attention.

To read more about the work in Crestmont Park, click here.

Three volunteers clear debris next to a fallen tree — Photo Credit: Gillian Field

Five-year Parks and Recreation Master Plan

Bloomington Parks and Recreation has officially launched the process to develop its next five-year Parks and Recreation Master Plan, and is inviting community members to take a short three-question questionnaire to help shape the planning process from the start.

The brief questionnaire is available on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan website at ExplorePlayConnect.com and is open to all residents of Bloomington. Responses will help the department identify emerging priorities, trends, and concerns, and will influence the development of the full community needs survey, which will be scheduled this fall and sent to a statistically valid sample of Bloomington residences.

Be on the look out for....

The Spotted Lanternfly

The City of Bloomington is alerting residents to the growing threat of an invasive insect, the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula), which has been confirmed in Bartholomew County, about 50 miles from Bloomington. This pest poses a serious risk to local agriculture, landscapes, and natural ecosystems.

Ticks

If you are spending time outside, especially in taller grasses and plants, you can come in contact with ticks year-round. Timothy McDermott, DVM, from The Ohio State University describes five ticks in our region and how they can impact our lives.

Watch his informative presentation here.

To continue to stay up to date in Bloomington news, you can subscribe to the Parks and Recreation newsletter here and the CanopyBloomington newsletter here.