2021
2021
On April 16, 2021, we added our edging and got started on the pathway for our first garden room. We had 6 volunteers for our first Outdoor Learning Lab workday!
On April 19, 2021, Ivy Tech's Phi Theta Kappa honor society students, in partnership with MC-IRIS, hosted an invasive species removal workshop. The ten volunteers did a great job of removing Asian bush honeysuckle, multiflora rose, autumn olive, and pear. We now can see into our woods and have better access to our spaces!
Ivy Tech's Fire Science students will use the cut brush in their practice burns next year to gain the experience they need as part of their degree!
On Friday, April 30, 2021, we broke ground in the Outdoor Learning Lab! Chancellor Jennie Vaughan introduced the project followed by Sarah Cote sharing information about the history and goals for the project, as well as our future plans. It is excited to finally get started!!
On Saturday, May 1, twelve volunteers planted around 800 perennials in our first garden bed! It was a long but productive day. The picture below shows volunteers laying out some of the plants, and on the right the first plant is being planted!
During May and June, our garden was enjoying all the rain and growing like crazy! Our shed arrived, and volunteers worked hard to mulch and weed the garden, as well as dig a drainage ditch and lay pipe in it. Unfortunately, before we could gravel in the pipe, Bloomington experienced a massive storm that caused flooding and damage across the county. Based on debris lines, we estimate our garden was under 9-10 inches of water. Amazingly, all of our plants and mulch survived. Unfortunately, our drainage did not. The water carried our pipes to a pile at the base of the garden, then carried the gravel from our pathways into the ditch! A big thanks goes out to Boy Scouts of America Troop 1119 out of Ellettsville who came to our rescue and helped us make progress on restoring our drainage! Click through the pictures in the middle to see some of our summer, and to the right to see Troop 1119 in action!
In September 2021, our first art installation occurred, thanks to Fine Arts Professor Amy Brier and her students. The piece, titled "Faces" is made of face carvings abandoned by former students. We will eventually add a mirrored tile, allowing the viewer to become part of the art. Shortly after Faces was installed, we held our fall open house to end the first year of the garden!