Garden Plots Now Available to Members

So many plants, too little garden space?

BPNA members can solve this perennial gardener’s dilemma by signing up for a free plot in the Davis Street Garden. The garden consists of 25 plots of land, each 10 feet square, along the north side of Davis St. between Grant and Palmer.

Sunny, shady and in-between plots are available. Contact Ria Collee, the Garden Coordinator, at 336-2512 or mcollee@ indiana.edu. Last year volunteers applied a heavy layer of mulch to suppress the former overgrowth and give our community gardeners rich soil and a clean start. What you do with your plot is up to you, within Guidelines designed to benefit all users.

Bryan Park Creek Naturalization

BPNA received a HAND Neighborhood Improvement Grant to plant native species along the creek in Bryan Park.

Many, many thanks to the 40 or so volunteers who worked extremely hard to get 3,100 seedlings planted on April 8-9, 2006.

Download a partial list of the native plants used in this project (MS Word).

Bryan Park neighbors helping to place 2,000 plants

By Lanetta J. Williams
Hoosier Times
April 9, 2006

Reprinted with thanks to the Bloomington Herald-Times

BLOOMINGTON — Jim Opiat didn’t mind the muddy knees or cold air that accompanied his spring gardening Saturday. He knew his hard work, and that of about 40 other volunteers, would pay off — in three-to-five years.

"I bring my grandkids over here all the time," he said. "So I’m looking forward to saying, ‘Hey, I planted this.’"

Opiat is one of many from the Bryan Park Neighborhood Association participating in planting more than 2,000 native Indiana plants purchased with a $17,063 Neighborhood Improvement Grant awarded by the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission for the Bryan Park Creek Naturalization Project.

The plants are being planted along the eastern portion of a creek at the park to improve wildlife habitat, reduce the need for mowing, and stabilize the creek bank. Both flowering and nonflowering species will bring color and variety to the creek, officials say. Species to be planted include black-eyed Susan, fire pink, spicebush, coneflower, palm sedge and beak grass.

Jon Behrman, with the firm Eco Logic, has spent years designing and studying the project. His group drilled the planting holes and guided the placement of plants from a nursery in Muncie.

Since spring 2003, Eco Logic, along with the association and the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, have planted similar flowers along the creek that stretches between Woodlawn Avenue on the east and Henderson Street on the west.

Though much of what was previously planted now looks to some like overgrown weeds, he says flowers will begin to bloom and take color over the next several weeks. Behrman said the benefits go further than just having pretty plants to look at.

"Each of these plants has a relationship with a bird or an insect," Behrman said. "That’s the kind of relationship we’re trying to bring back to this site."

Sidewalk Restoration

A neighborhood family helps take up brick on Washington Street as part of the Neighborhood's In Kind contribution for the restoration of the historic brick sidewalks.

Fowl Resolution

Resolution in support of allowing citizens of the City of Bloomington to keep chickens and ducks as pets in residential areas - March 23, 2004

The keeping of fowl as pets in the Bryan Park neighborhood has become an issue because Judy Sylvester, a neighbor, has been keeping pet chickens and ducks off and on for several years in violation of the City current zoning ordinance.

It is the understanding of the neighborhood that the current ordinance considers fowl such as chickens and ducks to be livestock and makes no provision for the keeping of such animals as pets.

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association has discussed this issue at a regular meeting of the neighborhood and found that the current practice is quite acceptable to the neighbors. In fact, many neighbors consider the keeping of a few chickens and ducks to be a positive benefit to the neighborhood. Many parents enjoy pointing out the chickens and ducks to their children as they walk in the neighborhood.

Therefore, the Bryan Park Neighborhood Association supports Judy Sylvester’s appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance to keep chickens and ducks on her property. It also urges the City Council to amend the current zoning ordinance which by defining fowl as livestock prohibits their possession in the city. The Neighborhood endorses amending this ordinance to permit small numbers of chickens and ducks to be kept as pets on properties within the city of Bloomington.

Adopted by unanimous vote of members present.

March 23, 2004
Secretary: Jacqui Bauer