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Environment 74 results
Thinking about planting a garden? Beth Edwards, a writer and producer for the Indiana Environmental Reporter, has written about the physical, mental health, economic, and environmental benefits of home gardening. People with no space for a garden can rent a plot through the community garden program run by in the City of Bloomington’s Department of Parks and Recreation (see the end of the article for more info). Pictured above, the Willie Streeter Community Gardens on South Highland Avenue. | Limestone Post

Hoosiers Take On Home Gardening
Beth Edwards
Home gardens not only create access to healthy food, they also offer physical, mental health, economic, and environmental benefits, writes Beth Edwards of the Indiana Environmental Reporter. No wonder home gardening has gained in popularity every year since the 2008 financial crisis. Sheltering at home has even more Hoosiers digging in. Click here to learn more.
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Abby Ang at the People’s Market CSA drive-thru on March 28. Ang and a group of vendors, community organizers, and university professors began meeting last year to plan what would become the People’s Market, “a farmers market model unprecedented in Bloomington and Indiana,” writes Ellen Wu for Limestone Post. The group had to “reorient swiftly to the drive-thru CSA once it became obvious that COVID-19 would upend everything.” | Limestone Post

Ethos of New People’s Market Focuses on Food Justice, Mutual Aid
Ellen Wu
A group of vendors, community organizers, and university professors began meeting last year to plan what would become the People’s Market, “a farmers market model unprecedented in Bloomington and Indiana,” writes IU history professor Ellen Wu. When COVID-19 “upended everything,” the group quickly reoriented to create a drive-thru CSA. Click here to read about the People’s Market.
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United Way of Monroe County issued a press release announcing that nearly 30 local organizations are launching an emergency relief fund to support "human service organizations in Monroe, Owen, and Greene counties" during the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the press release, grants will be distributed to groups "best positioned to meet the emerging needs resulting from this crisis." | Courtesy image

Press Release: Local Groups Launch COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund
Limestone Post
United Way of Monroe County issued a press release announcing that nearly 30 local organizations are launching an emergency relief fund to support "human service organizations in Monroe, Owen, and Greene counties" during the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the press release, grants will be distributed to groups "best positioned to meet the emerging needs resulting from this crisis." Click here to read the full press release.
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A project by the Monroe County Plan Commission is designed to turn a 100-acre former quarry property northwest of Bloomington into a limestone heritage park that would highlight the history of the local limestone industry and the art of stonecutting, as well as provide an arts venue open to the public. | Photo by Geoff McKim

Monroe County Commission Plans Limestone Quarry Heritage Park
Laurie D. Borman
Writer Laurie D. Borman reports on a project by the Monroe County Plan Commission to turn a 100-acre former quarry property into a limestone heritage park that would highlight the history of the local limestone industry and the art of stonecutting, as well as provide an arts venue open to the public. (Posted: No Swimming.) Click here to read the full story.
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Discussions about the controversy at the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market have dismissed the voices of Bloomington’s people of color, says historian Ellen Wu. “This is a major omission, considering that African American, Latinx, and Asian American women have made integral interventions into the debate.” Wu interviewed eight of these women to hear what they say is at stake and what solutions can ensure the safety and well-being of everyone at the market.

Bloomington 2019: ‘The Year of the Farmers’ Market Controversy’
Ellen Wu
Media coverage and discussions about the Bloomington Farmers’ Market have dismissed the voices of Bloomington’s people of color, says historian Ellen Wu. “This is a major omission, considering that African American, Latinx, and Asian American women have made integral interventions into the debate.” For this article, Wu interviewed eight women of color to get their perspectives on the controversy. Click here to read the article.
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Limestone Post Magazine has just become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. With the need for reliable local news being more important than ever, we are committed to publishing articles that help our readers to make informed decisions about our community. Edited photo of the Monroe County Courthouse in early morning. | Limestone Post

As a New Nonprofit, Limestone Post Will Focus on Community Journalism
Ron Eid
We are proud to announce that Limestone Post Magazine has become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization! With the need for reliable local news being more important than ever, we are committed to publishing articles that help our readers to make informed decisions about our community. Click here to read what this means for Limestone Post and community journalism.
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The Bloomington Fire Department sent five firefighters to Sierra Leone in February to share expertise and training methods with the Sierra Leone Fire Force. The trip was coordinated by BFD Chief Jason Moore and Sierra Leonean Eastina Taylor, who participated last summer in the IU Mandela Washington Fellowship. | Courtesy photo

Bloomington Firefighters Train with Sierra Leone Fire Force
Eastina Marian Boimadi Taylor
In February, the Bloomington Fire Department sent five firefighters to Sierra Leone to train with the Sierra Leone Fire Force. The trip was coordinated by BFD Chief Jason Moore and Sierra Leonean Eastina Taylor, who participated last summer in the IU Mandela Washington Fellowship. Taylor wrote about the experience for LP. Click here for the full story.
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Protesters affiliated with the Indiana Forest Alliance work to protect 300 acres of the Yellowwood State Forest Back Country Area in Brown County in 2017. Since 2012, the Indiana Division of Forestry has increased logging of state forests by 400 percent, says IFA's Anne Laker. | Photo courtesy of the Indiana Forest Alliance

Guest Column: Protecting Indiana Forests, the Bad News and the Good
Anne Laker
Since 2012, the Indiana Division of Forestry has increased logging of state forests by 400 percent, says Anne Laker of the Indiana Forest Alliance. In this guest column, Laker talks about the dangers facing our publicly owned forests and an Indiana Senate bill that could protect them. She also previews the upcoming Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Bloomington. Click here to read the full story
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Peregrine Falcons in America have soared back from the brink of extinction since the 1960s, even in Indiana. Just as humans caused their decline, “it was also dedicated humans who brought these birds back,” writes Jared Posey. This “standout conservation success story” is unusual because peregrines “may be benefiting from an increasingly urban landscape," such as Kinney, pictured here in Indianapolis. | Photo courtesy of Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Peregrine Falcons, a Conservation Success Story
Jared Posey
Peregrine falcons in America have soared back from the brink of extinction since the 1960s, even in Indiana. Just as humans caused their decline, “it was also dedicated humans who brought these birds back,” writes Jared Posey. This “standout conservation success story” is unusual because peregrines “may be benefiting from an increasingly urban landscape.” Click here to read the full story.
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Since 2010, the Bloomington Community Orchard has grown from a grassy acre into a fully planted orchard. But its roots stretch throughout the city and beyond, connecting with community members, businesses, and other organizations through such programs as skill-sharing classes and partner plantings. | Illustration by Mark Blaney

Guest Column: Roots of Community Orchard Spread Across Town
Megan Betz, Mark Blaney
Since 2010, the Bloomington Community Orchard has grown from a grassy acre into a fully planted orchard. But its roots stretch throughout the city, connecting with community members, businesses, and other organizations through skill-sharing classes, partner plantings, and other programs. In this guest column, BCO volunteer Megan Betz writes about the project — and the mysteriously vanishing peaches! Click here to read the full story.
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Ann Barlow stands on the porch of her house in Needmore, an intentional community in Brown County, in May 2017. Known in the 1960s and ’70s as communes, places like May Creek and Needmore have had to “bend with the times” to survive, says writer John Mikulenka. And now, as the founding members continue to age, their biggest concern might be finding and keeping the next generation of community members. | Courtesy photo

Intentional Communities Must ‘Bend with the Times’
John Mikulenka
Southern Indiana has a long tradition of utopian communities, also known as communes. A few of the ones formed in the 1960s and ’70s — places like May Creek Farm and Needmore — have had to “bend with the times” to survive, says writer John Mikulenka in this detailed and expansive feature. But as the founding members age, he asks, who will take their place? Click here to read the full story.
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The plight of bees could also be the plight of the human race. When writer Erin Hollinden decided to start her own beehive, and save the world, she found plenty of support from a community of experts and other beekeepers. Here, Hollinden's bees cover one of the frames lifted from the hive. | Photo by Marla Bitzer

Plight of the Honeybee — Beekeepers Save Bees for Us All
Erin Hollinden
The plight of bees could also be the plight of the human race. When writer Erin Hollinden decided to start her own beehive, and save the world, she found plenty of support from a community of experts and other beekeepers. Read about how she got her hive humming here.
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