How's It Going? Problem Solving and Re-design
Saturday, June 26, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This workshop, led by Rhonda Baird, will ask the all-important questions "Is this working?" and "How can it work better?" We will use permaculture thinking to re-evaluate the design and function of various elements of the GANG site. We may make small physical changes and work in the garden, but this design workshop is intended as a thought pattern exercise that can be applied to any landscape. This is an all-day workshop so BYO lunch. Snacks and beverages provided.
Check out Ann's blog for more pictures and descriptions from the workshop.
The next workshop in the 2010 series is "Summer Begets Fall: Planting the Fall Garden;" held Sunday, August 1, 1p - 5p.
Workshop space is limited. To pre-register, please contact Ann Kreilkamp 812-334-1987or arkcrone@gmail.com. Suggested donation per class: $5 to $15.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
GANG 2010 - Workshop #3
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Pictures from Blooming Neighborhoods 2010
Ann and Jane with their awards!(more pics in the full post)
City Council Member Susan Sandberg present Green Acres Neighborhood Association with the 2010 City Council Neighborhood Enhancement Award
Ann, Colin, Mary, and Jane accepting the City Council Neighborhood Enhancement Award on behalf of Green Acres
Jane receiving a Certificate of Recognition for HAND Neighbor of the Year
Green Acres' Blooming Neighborhods Table
Mary and Ann chat with a community member taking part in the Blooming Neighborhoods Celebration
Ann sharing community garden information with an interested attendee
Green Acres gave away tomato starts as part of our neighborhood table and they went quickly!To see even more pictures from the event, including other neighborhood tables and other award winners, check out the City's HAND website. View full story>>
Saturday, May 22, 2010
6th Annual Plant Share - Saturday, May 22
Here are some photos from the PlantShare. It went really well. We had 11 people participate. You could not have asked for a nicer day either.
One of the great things was that Mary and Abby are master gardeners who volunteer some of their time at Hilltop Gardens and the Director of Hilltop, Greg Speichert, gave GANA a very nice assortment of plants left over from last week's sale. We got a lot of varieties of tomato plants, mint plants (chocolate and sweet), some grasses, and other wonderful plants. We also had other people bring nice plants to share.
Picture 1: L-R, Mary Sasse, Nancy Anderson, Valerie Cox, Mary Wheeler, Abby Pietsch
Picture 2: L-R, Mary Wheeler, Ann Kreilkamp, Abby Pietsch View full story>>
Sunday, May 16, 2010
6th Annual Plant Share - Saturday, May 22
Details are in the full post in case the flyer image isn't clear.
GIVE…TAKE…SHARE…PLANTSHARE
Saturday, May 22nd 9 – 11am
2521 EASTGATE LANE in GREEN ACRES!
(In case of rain, plants will be in the garage behind the house!!!)
• Share your leftover seedlings, plant divisions, indoor houseplants, etc.
Also extra garden tools, gloves, materials, etc.
• Put plant in a pot or a plastic bag with roots wrapped in wet paper towels.
• Provide the name of the plant and, if possible, planting instructions (e.g., sun/shade, size, color, annual/perennial/ season of bloom)
• Bring donated plants to the PlantShare location between 8:30-9am. If you need a pickup, contact Jelene Campbell at jjcampbe@indiana.edu a few days ahead of time.
☺Help Make Green Acres Beautiful!!!☺
Saturday, May 15, 2010
GANG 2010 - Workshop #2
Sunday, May 15, 1-5 p.m.
Check out Ann's blog for more pictures and descriptions from the workshop.
The next workshop in the 2010 series is "How's it Going? Problem Solving and Redesign;" held Saturday, June 26.
Workshop space is limited. To pre-register, please contact Ann Kreilkamp 812-334-1987or arkcrone@gmail.com. Suggested donation per class: $5 to $15.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Green Acres Celebration - Bedtime for the Garden
(click image for full size flyer)Sunday, September 27, 2009
A Lovely Brunch
Today, Jessie & her mom, Diane, hosted a potluck brunch for friends and neighbors. Since it was Lotus weekend, we all shared out stories from the festivities. Everyone heard musical acts they liked and we found out that there is (or was) a marching band in Green Acres who performed at Lotus. We enjoyed viewing Diane's art displayed throughout the house and sharing each other's company. Thanks to Jessie for hosting this fun & sunny brunch!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Blooming Neighborhoods Celebration Weekend
Ann K. receiving her award
On Friday, June 5th, Jim Diers' gave a presentation on community building. Green Acres won a HAND goody bag (complete with a copy of Jim's book) for having the most neighbors in attendance!
On Saturday, June 6th, the participating neighborhoods set up tables to display neighborhood information. This occured at Farmer's Market and during this time, the neighborhood awards were given. Our own Ann K. received a Certificate of Recognition in the HAND Neighbor of the Year category.
Thanks to all the neighbors who helped create and staff our table, and to those who came to cheer for Ann. Thanks also to Ann for making the neighborhood garden a reality and giving us something to cheer about! More pictures from the day are in the full post.
To see broadcasts of Jim's presentation, check the CATS schedule at this link.
Kevin P., Kimberly W., and Jane S. at the GANA table
Ann K. receiving her award
Jane S. and Roxy at the conclusion of Blooming Neighbors
Saturday, May 16, 2009
5th Annual Plant Share
More photos and event details in the full post.
Event Details
Jelene Campbell will be hosting the fifth annual Green Acres
Neighborhood plant share in her front yard (2521 Eastgate Lane) on
Saturday, May 16, from 9-11 am. This is a FREE event! In case of rain, plants will be in the garage behind her house.
Need plants? Here's a great way to get day lilies, tomatoes, peppers
and many more for your garden. You don't have to bring anything in
trade (we all have to start somewhere!), and free informational
brochures about gardening will be provided.
Do you have extra seedlings, plant divisions, houseplants, garden
tools, gloves, trays, or other useful garden items to share? Just
bring them to Jelene's between 8 and 9 am on the morning of the plant share. If you need a pickup, contact Jelene (jjcampbe@indiana.edu) a few days before the event. Be sure to put any plants you bring in pots or in bags with the roots wrapped in wet paper towels. Also provide the name of the plant and, if possible, planting and care instructions (e.g. sun/shade, size, color, annual/perennial, season of bloom).
Whether you donate, take, or both, mark your calendar for May 16 and join your neighbors for some gardening fun.
Mini Neighborhood Cleanup
Last year, we held a huge neighborhood cleanup where the City provided a chipper, hazardous waste truck, dumpster and staff. The City says it won't provide the equipment and personnel two years running, so this year we're going with Plan B: a one-hour mini-cleanup.
Details in the full post.
Schedule
Saturday, May 16
11:00 am - Meet at 2521 Eastgate Lane at the conclusion of the Plant Share. Claim a street or two (we'll provide a map), pick up a blue HAND bag (or two), and fill it up with litter from "your" streets.
12:00 pm - Join us at Green Acres Neighborhood Garden (GANG), NE corner of Overhill and DeKist, for a group photo and refreshments. Bring a full bag,take home a yummy vegan scone.
Afterward- Bring the HAND bag home and put it out with your regular trash later in the week for a free pickup.
Things to Bring:
Garden or work gloves, maybe a whisk broom and a small dust-pan.
Hope to see you there!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Celebrate Your Neighborhood and Win an Ice Cream Party
Edy's is delighted to host its 5th annual Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute ice cream block party contest. Neighbors nationwide are invited to enter to win one of 1,500 free ice cream socials by submitting an essay, 350 words or less, explaining why their neighborhood deserves a Slow Churned Neighborhood salute. Winning neighborhoods will scoop up 10+ cartons of Edy's Slow Churned Ice Cream in a variety of flavors and a "Party in a Box" filled with enough supplies (bowls, scoops, spoons, napkins, tablecloth, etc.) to host a summer gathering for up to 100 neighbors, family and friends.
Visit the Edy's Neighborhood Salute website beginning March 3, 2009 through May 29, 2009 to nominate your Green Acres neighborhood. Contest rules are available at the website or by calling (888) 590-3397.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Ice Cream Social on gorgeous afternoon
Edwards Row residents meet new 4th Street residents
Jessica and John Gaus
GANA sign with Ann K.'s street bench
Gilbert and Shirley Bushey
Bill Schaich and Ignacio LledoView full story>>
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Sign Toppers Have Arrived
Here's a photo I took today of Kevin Polk with the new sign toppers and his bike. He called me this morning with the news that the sign toppers had arrived and he was about to ride them down to our dear neighborhood cheerleader Vickie Provine at Bloomington's HAND Department. The signs are to be installed by the Public Works Department sometime this summer on top of all 38 intersection street signs in Green Acres. This excites me, this very first physical manifestation of our growing neighborhood awareness, and our ultimate aim to nourish neighborly feeling in Green Acres to the point where it morphs into its own unique and sustainable little village in concert with other neighborhood villages throughout the city of Bloomington.
A few facts from Kevin about the signs:
Total cost for the signs + mounting brackets: $917.70. GANA paid $346.35, and a Bloomington Small and Simple Grant paid $571.35 in matching funds. Kevin wrote the grant, and the toppers were made by Hall Signs, Inc.. Thanks so much, Kevin!
Kevin also sent along a few facts about his fabulous bike. Says its a "Bridgestone MB-4 with about 20,000 miles on it. In April, I installed a Free Radical hitchless trailer from Xtracycle. This involved lengthening chain and replacing rear brake and derailleur cables. The FreeRadical moves the rear wheel back 15 inches, which lowers the cargo and spreads the weight between the wheels. I have transported fencing, 6-foot garden stakes and a 4-foot, 80-pound wooden swing several miles safely with this rig. I routinely transport 4-6 bags of groceries smoothly and comfortably. Past mods include: front fender, comfortable saddle and a Nitto Albatross handlebar from Rivendell Bicycle Works.
"Two weeks after installing the FreeRadical, I saw someone else riding one in the neighborhood!"
Nothing like a great idea whose time has come. Ditto for the signs. Prospect Hill neighborhood has them. It's about time we had them too. To me, these signs symbolize our desire to re-cultivate the near-sacred "sense of place" that has gone missing in the U.S. for several generations and that, as we bring it back, helps us feel safe, connected, and welcoming.
Ann Kreilkamp
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The David Gohn Band to play at Max's Place
Jelene Campbell, who hosted the PlantShare, invites you to hear her band play live at Max's Place on Saturday, May 24th.
"We'll play under our former name, The Other Side, at 7pm," says Jelene. "We'll play all the tunes on our CD, Brand New Ride plus a few favorite covers. Then we'll play our other set at 8pm under our new name, The David Gohn Band. We play roots/americana which is a combination of blues, folk, country, and rock and roll so there should be a little something for everybody."
Neighbors can sample some of the band's original music at www.myspace.com/theothersidegroup and www.myspace.com/davidgohnband
Max's is an all-ages place for music, pizza, calzones and local brews. For discount pizza coupons, visit www.maxsplace.info.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Plant Share
2521 Eastgate Lane
8:00-9:00 a.m. bring any plants you wish to donate
9:00-10:30 a.m. PlantShare (donations not necessary!)
The annual tradition continues at Jelene Campbell's house:
Join in the fun and help make Green Acres Beautiful!
Neighborhood Cleanup
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
7th Street between Roosevelt and Jefferson
Every year, many of us in Green Acres emerge from our winter naps to find unwanted tires, debris, old furniture, oil, car batteries, etc. in and around our homes. How can we get rid of this stuff without paying exorbitant hauling and disposal fees?
This year, all you need to do is bring these items to the drop-off site (below) on Saturday, May 10, and the City of Bloomington will recycle, donate or dispose of them for free.
STREET CLOSURE - the drop-off site---7th street between Roosevelt and Jefferson--will be closed to traffic on Saturday, May 10, from 8am to 2 pm. Volunteers and Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) department staff will direct cleanup traffic West-bound through this area.
AT THE DROP-OFF SITE - HAND will provide: a trash truck capable of eating trash or even couches. A vehicle for disposal of iron and metal. A truck for disposing of tires (must be off their rims). A chipper for wood (not vines, weeds, grass or roots - wood must must be 6" or less in diameter and not have any wire or metal in it. All chipped wood is available and free for the taking within the neighborhood). Containers for hazardous materials including latex paint (which must be dried prior to disposal), aerosols, flammable liquids, pesticides, fluorescent bulbs, batteries and old medications. HAND staff will handle all hazardous material.
SPECIAL RE-USE AREA - the drop-off site will have an area for items too good to throw out, but which you no longer want to store. All free for the taking!
DON'T BRING - Grass, weeds, vines, televisions, computers, monitors, appliances with Freon, liquid latex paint, large construction materials, explosives including ammunition, asbestos, or radioactive materials. HAND will not be able to accept or dispose of any of these items.
BLUE HAND-BAGS - will be available at the drop-off site for you to pick up litter from your front yard and nearby streets and sidewalks. Once full, you can leave them at the drop-off site or curb-side with your normal trash pick-up (no stickers needed). If you know of areas in need of cleanup or have some small items you can't carry yourself, please leave a comment below so that volunteer help can be scheduled.
A PLANT SHARE - on Eastgate Lane is tentatively scheduled for the morning of the clean-up. Bring your seedlings and cuttings to swap and share (watch this space for details).
VOLUNTEERS - Please be at the drop-off site at 8:30am on May 10 to sign waivers, attend the orientation and have some scones. To volunteer (if you haven't already done so), send email to kevpolk at google dot com.
WEATHER - HAND advises that in case of severe thunderstorms during the event, you should avoid natural lightning rods such as isolated tall trees and bicycles and get inside the nearest building or car immediately. If in a car, pull over well away from flooded roadways or any trees that could fall on the vehicle. If unable to take cover in time, kneel or crouch with hands on knees.
See you at the cleanup!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tree Planting with SPEA Students
South Roosevelt Street
Photo essay by Georgia Schaich.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Walkable Communities Workshop with Dan Burden
City Council Chambers
10:00 am to noon
Sponsored by CONA (Council of Neighborhood Associations) and B-Top (Bloomington Transportation Options
Report by Ann Kreilkamp,
February 4, 2008
Dan Burden is a nationally recognized authority on developing, promoting and evaluating alternative transportation facilities, traffic calming practices and sustainable community design. Dan is the executive director of Walkable Communities and partner and principal designer of Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin of Orlando Florida, dburden@glatting.com, 1-866-347-2734.
Dan’s philosophy and work follows in the tradition of urbanist Jane Jacobs and her 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, a powerful critique of U.S. urban renewal policies of the 1950s. Jacobs, says Dan, prompted us to start thinking about returning cities to what they used to be: dense, complex, diverse, multi-use, protected, pedestrian and bike friendly centers for human and cultural exchange.
Now 64 years old, Dan has documented the walking and biking conditions in 200 U.S cities and towns since 1996 and says he expects to go another 12 years. Armed with hundreds of images from his travels, Dan demonstrated how walkability is both cornerstone and key to designing liveable communities that create conditions to inspire whole, happy, healthy lives for those who live in them.
Dan wants to turn planners into heroes, by designing walkable cities. After noting that streets now make up 85% of the public realm, he discussed a variety of tools available to transform streets, including:
Most anyone in the crowd that filled City Council chambers nearly to capacity for Dan's talk would recognize the many slides he showed of Anytown, U.S.A.: anonymous strip-malls and desolate parking lots relieved only by chain link fences around far-apart, run-down businesses—all ripped through by straight, monotonous, multi-lane roads.
Some of these photos were “before” shots of areas as they used to be, before far-sighted citizens, local officials, and developers joined forces to transform them into highly complex, diverse, protected, multi-use, green spaces that people flock to on foot or by mass transit. And, for those areas still desolated, Dan utilized computerized renderings to gradually cover these ruined areas with businesses, restaurants, plants, trees, houses, paths, public art and people, walking, biking sitting on benches, playing, talking.
Let us imagine, for example, how Dan might consider what has become perhaps Bloomington’s most notorious intersection, 3rd street and the bypass, soul-deadening to motorists and downright terrifying to pedestrians and cyclists.
First, let us draw out a few implications from one likely assumption: that the trend towards more expensive oil continues to increase. At some point the number of cars on roads will then begin to decrease to the point where the long-planned widening of the bypass is actually canceled. This unusual about-face helps create transformational change in the way public officials, developers and the general public thinks about the town in which we live.
A la Dan Burden, in re-imagining that intersection, let’s imagine buildings that house both businesses and upper-floor dwellings close to and facing the streets with parking behind, trees and plantings and, at the actual intersection, a roundabout with beautiful plantings and benches and courtyard for pedestrians to cross to all four corners.
Furthermore, at least half of the parking areas of both the mall and the strip mall near it on 3rd street are also transformed—into a parklike setting with winding paths and outdoor market stalls for local products and areas for people to gather for performance and discussion.
Third street itself has been transformed, all the way from its intersection with Highway 446 on the east, to make room for a high speed rail or trolley all the way to College St. That and other mass transport share space with one 9-foot lane for car traffic, one 7-foot lane for bicycles, and one 6-foot lane for car parking, all going both directions, and you get the idea. (All these size dimensions are those Dan, after long experience, judges optimal). Voila! Third Street has restructured itself—from a frustrating and dangerous auto drive-through corridor into multiple destinations that foster “bumpability,” a word Dan favors to indicate humans interacting up close and personal, rather than locked inside machines competing with other machines to get nowhere fast.
After viewing Dan’s presentation, it’s easy to conjure up this kind of transformation of East Bloomington into a magnetic hub and draw for people from all parts of this city and county to gather and not only do business, but meet and greet and celebrate.
With example after example, Dan showed us how any urban area that has been gradually desecrated by our insidious worship of automobiles at the expense of the people in them can be rejuvenated, come back to life, provide a healthy and welcoming atmosphere for human habitation and exchange. Walkable communities put urban environments back on a scale for sustainability of resources (both natural and economic) and lead to more social interaction, more local businesses, plus the bonuses of increased physical fitness, diminished crime and social alienation.
By designing for people rather than for cars, we return to the idea that cities were invented to maximize exchange (goods, culture, friendship, knowledge) and minimize travel.
Dan pointed out how the dominance of the automobile in design of cities has created the fattest nation in the history of the world, with diabetes and depression running rampant in both adults and children. 20% of every dollar earned now goes into medical expenses that also entail all sorts of hidden costs, for example larger hospital gurneys and morgue tables that now cost two or three times more.
Dan reported that the lowest point in his journey so far was in a little town next to Littleton, Colorado, where not only do they not have a town center, but public restroom facilities are limited to two portable plastic outhouses. Dan asked the city fathers when they were going to build decent restroom facilities for visitors, and was told that they were afraid the town’s teenagers would destroy them if they did. To Dan, this just shows how much the desertification and anonymity of our car culture depresses our teens and leads to outbreaks of frustration and violence. And yet, he said as he put up the next image of teens laughing and talking on a downtown street, in the very next town over, which has a town center, teens are welcomed.
I’ll end this report with a few more facts/opinions from Dan that are worth pondering:
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Harvest Chili Celebration
Date: Saturday, November 3, 2007
Time: 4-7 p.m.
Location: Empty lot, East end of 7th street
By Ann Kreilkamp
I sit here in Green Acres, listening to blessed rain on leaves turning gold—and find an email from a friend trapped indoors by smoke from San Diego's raging brush fires. When Californians do go outside, they rarely say howdy to neighbors, but scurry into cars and lock into freeway formations to distant places.
I've just spent three months on the road, mostly in the arid West, with the last two weeks in the villages of Peru. Above all, on return, I feel immensely grateful.
The sweetness of the Andes mountain peasants lives on inside me. They have a practice which they call "reciprocity," where they help each other plant and harvest fields, hand build their small mud and straw brick homes, and in countless other ways share both burdens and fun. This custom finds encouragement in the design of even their tiniest villages, each spreading out from a colorful, bustling central square.
Like many Midwestern towns, Bloomington enjoys a central square. GANA would like to see a permanent commons in our neighborhood as well. Until that happens, we will continue building reciprocity with gatherings that help us to get to know our neighbors better. So please join our Harvest Chili Celebration on Saturday, November 3, from 4-7 p.m., in the temporary commons where we held our Solstice Gathering in 2006. Remember? That empty lot at the end of 7th Street with the beautiful big tree.
If every household will bring chili and table settings for yourselves, GANA will supply the cider and neighbor Peggy Stuckey will gift us with homemade cornbread.
In case of rain, let’s plan to meet at my house, 134 North Overhill Drive.
Whoever wants to help us get flyers to all 430 houses in Green Acres, please let us know.
Thanks so much, and see you there!
Blessings,
Ann Kreilkamp
GANA scribe
Saturday, August 5, 2006
Ice Cream Party
GANA Ice Cream Party
2-4 p.m., August 5, 2006
213 S. Bryan
Our “second annual” ice cream social drew at least 50 people, and what struck Georgia Schaich, who was there the whole time, signing people in and talking with whoever sat next to her, was the variety. Life-long residents, IU students, young families, adult children and grandchildren of long-time residents — all of us swirling about or sitting on lawn chairs with our cups of ice cream softened in the heat.
Georgia and I felt particularly happy to see students arrive, and mingle, and discover that they live in a location that is not just a a temporary dive from which they commute to and from classes, but one that is beginning to remember itself as an old-fashioned neighborhood and beginning to envision itself long-term as a sustainable village.
Actually, we were lucky; the heat wasn’t all that bad that day, and in the shade of Tom and Charlotte Zietlow’s side yard next to their large gracious, two-story house I could almost imagine us as at a garden party in the south. Or, taking a slightly different angle of view, the occasion felt like an extended family reunion, with people of different ages, interests, occupations, and so on, some of whom know each other well, some don’t; some of whom met for the first time at our Solstice party six weeks earlier, others regulars at GANA meetings.
Lots of us greet each other by name now, genuinely eager to say hello, and catch up on each other’s lives. Nathan Harman and Maggie Jesseph came with their quiet, vibrant little one, Laurelynn, as they have brought her to monthly GANA meetings since her birth four months ago — and she, with electric black hair and startled, intense, calm gaze, was passed from hand to hand, with us old ones amazed, as usual, at just how fast these young ones grow.
At around three o’clock, we announced that the new GANA tee-shirts, piled on the table next to the ice cream, were FREE — so of course, there was a general movement in that direction, sticky fingers pawing through small, medium, large, and extra-large.
I didn’t stay for the whole event, but was there long enough to note that, in comparison to last year’s first ice cream social, I sense an increased level of relaxation in each other's company that reflects our increasing sense of connectedness. I hope there will be a “third annual” — and, if we are to continue the tradition, it will depend on whether or not we win next year’s “Two Scoop Salute” contest from Edy’s Ice Cream. (Thank you Edy!) Last year, Diane Dormant penned the winning essay; this year, we basked in Charlotte Zietlow’s eloquence (thank you Charlotte!), and next year? Who will rise to the occasion, for we certainly like the ice cream, and the company, not to mention being the-neighborhood-that-won-the-prize-two-times-in-a-row on a hot, humid, leafy, summer Indiana day.
Ann Kreilkamp
GANA scribe
