Wildlife Corridors and Community Building
SICIM Email
By Gillian Field, Urban Greenspace Outreach Coordinator - City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation & MC-IRIS (Monroe County Identify and Reduce Invasive Species) member
We’re excited about the Winslow-Crestmont Wildlife Corridor - an initiative created by the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Urban Greenspace team!
Winslow Woods is a city park with high quality woods, intact biodiversity, a robust volunteer base, and ongoing invasive species control. Crestmont Park, also a city greenspace, features unique topography and some remnants of mature native trees. This site provides the opportunity to address low income and low canopy values that exist near the park.
Both areas are impacted by a mosaic of stormwater issues, heat island effect, and fragmentation. Our hope is to infuse a level of enthusiasm and curiosity for learning and taking action that will result in a ripple effect full of wildlife benefits. By connecting nearby Bloomington Rail Trail (a well known hotspot for 74 bird species) and key native habitats like Lower Cascades and Griffy Lake Nature Preserve, the wildlife corridor will be extended to provide cover, food, and sunlight for birds traveling between the older and darker Morgan and Monroe forests. Notable birds in our greenspace include species like indigo bunting who love railroad corridors and edges, and screech owls, bluebirds, and pileated woodpeckers, who rely on nesting in cavities of dead and standing-trees to complete their life cycle. Water is naturally present in many of our parks, and creeks meandering through Crestmont Park and Winslow Woods will be further protected by native habitat restoration.
To engage our allies, the Urban Greenspace team will partner with MC-IRIS, CanopyBloomington, and other nonprofits, along with neighborhoods, places of worship, corporations, and the county school system to involve them all in invasive species education and action.
We’ll provide hands-on education in invasive species control and continue to infuse this project with volunteer energy and ongoing community support. Daily Weed Wrangle events have helped us grow the Adopt a Greenspace program from 5 to 40 volunteers since 2022, and Weed Wrangle hours have grown enormously, placing them on track to exceed last year’s whopping 3,000 hours. It is through the Adopt a Greenspace program that we’ve been able to gauge the willingness of our community to support an environmental restoration project such as the Winslow-Crestmont Wildlife Corridor. And with some degree of conviction, we know that a wildlife corridor initiative will spark the imagination of even more people and inspire them towards taking action to secure water quality, increased carbon sequestration, native tree canopy, and wildlife corridors.
The Urban Greenspace team is excited to create partnerships that will bring out the best in our community, and by staying in touch with SICIM supporters like you, we’ll continue to bolster our relentless perseverance! We look forward to hearing your story soon!
MC-IRIS (Monroe County - Identify and Reduce Invasive Species) is a coalition of Monroe County citizens aimed at reducing the environmental and economic impact of invasive species in Monroe County through education and action. https://www.mc-iris.org/
CanopyBloomington is a social impact organization in Bloomington, IN whose mission is to grow and sustainably manage Bloomington's urban forest for the many environmental, health, economic, and social benefits of trees with a focus on tree equity and community engagement. https://www.canopybloomington.org/
Adopt a Greenspace volunteers choose a city greenspace that is meaningful to them. Along with receiving training and instruction on invasive identification and removal techniques, all tools and equipment are provided. The only prerequisite to adopt a greenspace is to have a genuine concern for the well-being of our natural resources. You can learn more here: https://bloomington.in.gov/parks/parks/adopt-a-greenspace
The Winslow-Crestmont Wildlife Corridor project is inspired in part by the City of Bloomington Environmental Commission’s recommendation to increase habitat connectivity. The Environmental Commission Habitat Connectivity Plan strives to increase existing greenspace to foster a healthy and stable ecosystem.