Indiana University Bloomington
EN-10: Community Partnerships

The McKinney Climate Fellows (MCF) is a workforce development program administered by the Environmental Resilience Institute and Integrated Program in the Environment.

MCF connects undergraduate and graduate students interested in climate, sustainability, and community resilience with career experiences. The program partners with Indiana-based private, public, and nonprofit organizations to host student fellows and provide solutions-based sustainability expertise.

Climate fellows gain valuable experience working full-time in a professional setting; partners receive assistance in sustainability and climate planning from talented students; and Indiana benefits from this critical sustainability work.
https://eri.iu.edu/climate-project/climate-fellows/index.html

Hilltop Garden & Nature Center was first established by IU Biology Professor, Barbara Shalucha in 1948. In her 1987 book, The Garden Named Hilltop, Shalucha wrote, “…a remarkable group of citizens listened and heard what a Garden could be and gave support for its realization: H.H. Binford, then Superintendent of the Monroe County Schools; Jerry T. Femal, the first Director of the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation; Ralph E. Cleland, Chairman of the Botany Department; Garrett Eppley, Chairman of the Department of Parks and Recreation; Chancellor Herman B Wells, then the President of Indiana University; and the women of the Bloomington Garden Club, particularly supportive was Arline Ferguson, Minnete Deiss, and Rhonda Zeller.”

Hilltop’s youth gardening programs started in 1948 with only fourteen children enrolled, but quickly grew in popularity. By 1957, 170 children were participating in Hilltop’s summer gardening programs. By the time Hilltop celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998, thousands of Bloomington’s children has learned about gardening through Hilltop’s youth gardening programs.

Today, educational opportunities for children continue, as well as opportunities for students through internships and work study programs. Hilltop offers work-study internship positions with local high school students, as well as IU students. Free seed kits are available to all teachers in and around Monroe County to provide a hands-on teaching activity on plants, biology, and nutrition, and more. The kits are made possible by funding support from the Bloomington Garden Club, donations of plastic trays from Cook Incorporated, and numerous Hilltop volunteers.

Each year, Hilltop Garden hosts Bug Fest for local elementary children to learn about insects and ecosystems. https://hilltop.indiana.edu/events-programs-classes/bugfest/index.html

Hilltop also provides gardening classes for adults and volunteer opportunities. Visitors are always welcome at Hilltop to tour demonstration gardens, enjoy nature, or find a good idea for their own gardens. With limited staffing, Hilltop relies heavily on support from the IU and Bloomington community. There are ample opportunities for anyone to get involved with Hilltop facilities and programs.

The Center for Rural Engagement is actively engaging the talent and commitment of community partners in all areas of society, such as government, health care, education, nonprofits, and private organizations, and others. Together, in collaboration with university faculty, students, and staff, they are accomplishing a wide range of community goals across rural Indiana.

Sustaining Hoosier Communities, a program of the Center for Rural Engagement, partners with an Indiana community each year. Coordinating committees bring together community members—such as public employees, elected officials, non-profit professionals, business owners, and residents—to drive the application process and share in the collaborative experience between the community and IU.
https://rural.indiana.edu/partnerships/community/index.html

IU partners with the City of Bloomington on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission, IU and Bloomington bus systems, service learning programs, and many other formal and informal partnerships.