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Outdoors 118 results
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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Metamora, Indiana. | Photo by David Wilson

8 Fun and Weird Hoosier Places to Explore This Summer
Allison Yates
From nightmares to utopias, from the classic to the kitschy, Indiana has many unique and unconventional places to explore. If you’re uninspired by the same old vacation spots, take a day trip or weekend excursion to these unusual places — all less than a three-hour drive from Bloomington. Writer Allison Yates leads the way. Read the full story here.
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Friends of Lake Monroe says, "Our governments must balance the public’s need for clean water for drinking and recreation with the extraction of natural resources on private property." | Photo by Lynae Sowinski

Letter of Response: ‘The Public’s Need for Clean Water’
Friends of Lake Monroe
Advocacy group Friends of Lake Monroe wrote a letter to Limestone Post in response to the article “Property Rights, Public Good, Campaign Contributions” by Susan M. Brackney. In the letter, they argue that the article did not go far enough to address the public’s need for clean water, among other issues. Read the entire letter here.
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Azaleas in Full Bloom at Renowned 80-Acre Southern Indiana Garden [video]
Duane Busick
Bev Knight’s collection of more than 400 varieties of azaleas started with a UPS delivery to a doctor. Now her family’s Azalea Path Botanical Garden and Arboretum is known nationwide for its woodland flowers (among other plants). Videographer Duane Busick calls the southern Indiana destination "a hidden patch of paradise." Watch his video here.
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A bill passed by the Indiana House in February aimed to limit a local government’s authority, but not the state’s, over the right to harvest resources, such as timber, on personal property. The bill died in a Senate committee, but balancing personal property rights with the rights of others who might be affected is an ongoing battle. | Limestone Post

Property Rights, Public Good, Campaign Contributions: Will Bill to Limit Local Government Be Revived?
Susan M. Brackney
A bill introduced in the Indiana House this year would have limited local governments’ ability to regulate such things as logging on private property, even if, for example, the logging threatened to damage Lake Monroe. But it isn’t just about private property vs. public good, writes Susan M. Brackney. Special interest groups and campaign finance play a role, too. Click here to read the full story.
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They’re a centuries-old assault on our environment, but eradicating invasive plants, such as the Callery pear tree (pictured here along the streets of Columbus, Indiana) requires more than pulling them out by the roots — especially since big box stores still sell them and red tape in the governor’s office still allows those sales. | Photo by Larry Brackney

Invasive Plants Are Still For Sale in Indiana, How You Can Help
Susan M. Brackney
They’re a centuries-old assault on our environment, but eradicating invasive plants requires more than pulling them out by the roots — especially since big box stores still sell them and red tape in the governor’s office still allows those sales. Writer Susan M. Brackney explains this weedy predicament, and how people can help. Click here to read the full story.
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Knowing where your food comes from is more important than ever. With the first Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market of the season on Saturday, getting to know the farmers who produce it is easier than ever. Photographer Chaz Mottinger visited three farms to give us a closer look as they prepare for the spring market season: Barnhouse Farms, Linnea's Greenhouse, and Living Roots Farm and Sustainable Living Center (pictured here). | Photo by Chaz Mottinger

Local Farmers Prepare for Spring Market Season
Chaz Mottinger
Knowing where your food comes from is more important than ever. With the first Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market of the season on Saturday (and markets in Ellettsville and Smithville starting soon), getting to know the farmers who produce it is easier than ever. Photographer Chaz Mottinger visited three farms to give us a closer look as they prepare for market. Click here to see her photos.
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Some Hoosier farmers raise millions of animals that spend much of their lives in confinement — their sole existence in these “Confined Feeding Operations” is to get plump enough for market. But some of these animals, such as the pig pictured here, are rescued and find their way to Uplands PEAK, a farm animal sanctuary. | Photo by Alexianna Mundy, Paulina M Photography

Sanctuary Moving, Growing, Giving Farm Animals Freedom
Susan M. Brackney
Some Hoosier farmers raise millions of animals that spend much of their lives in confinement — their sole existence in these “Confined Feeding Operations” is to get plump enough for market. But some of these animals are rescued and find their way to Uplands PEAK, a farm animal sanctuary. Writer Susan M. Brackney writes more about the refuge. Click here to read the full story.
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Hikers wander along the trails at Sycamore Land Trust’s Porter West. Writer Jonah Chester describes the preserve as a “diamond in the rough,” with sinkholes, a former composting site, and a cemetery. | Limestone Post

Porter West: Sycamore Land Trust’s ‘Diamond in the Rough’
Jonah Chester
A lot goes into preserving the natural beauty of an area — but sometimes that means just letting it be. Sycamore Land Trust’s Porter West Preserve, for example, includes a former composting site, sinkholes, and a cemetery. Writer Jonah Chester explores how SLT manages problems like invasive species in such “diamonds in the rough.” Click here to read the full story and to see many photos of Porter West.
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Every spring and fall, Indiana is at the heart of the eastern sandhill crane migration. Witness it once and you’ll mark their return on your calendar every year, writes LP contributor Jared Posey. | Photo by Katie Posey

The Mesmerizing Sandhill Cranes, ‘Calling Us Home’
Jared Posey
Every spring and fall, Indiana is at the heart of the eastern sandhill crane migration. Witness it once and you’ll mark their return on your calendar every year, writes LP contributor Jared Posey. “Flocks of sandhill cranes are a potent symbol of wildness,” he says, their loud, rolling chatter “calling us home.” Click here to read the full story.
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Feeling idle in the post-holiday lull? Writer and LP editor Dason Anderson has compiled a list of 12 happenings to get you out and about this winter season. Indoors, outdoors, alone or with friends, there’s something to do for everyone until spring comes again. | Photo by Tim Gouw, Pexels

Beat the Cold with These 12 Winter Events
Dason Anderson
Feeling idle in the post-holiday lull? Writer and LP editor Dason Anderson has compiled a list of 12 happenings to get you out and about this winter season. Indoors, outdoors, alone or with friends, there’s something to do for everyone until spring comes again. Click here to read the full story.
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In response to the presidential inauguration, a group of folks in Bloomington channeled their energy into Inaugurate the Revolution as an act of resistance to the incoming administration. Event organizers curated panels for the one-day conference in order to unite the community in a day of activism and engagement. The event culminated in a rally at the packed Buskirk-Chumley Theater (pictured). At the beginning of 2017, we asked a few of the panelists to put together stories showing many of the issues people in our town are working on — and what you can do to help out. | Limestone Post

LP’s Top Stories of 2017 Show Depth, Diversity of Local Interests
Lynae Sowinski
The top stories posted by Limestone Post in 2017 show our readers are looking for in-depth, meaningful coverage on a variety of topics. As LP Editorial Director Lynae Sowinski points out in her annual editorial roundup, this “shows our readers — and the B-town community at large — want to be informed, active, and engaged.” Click here to read the full story.
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