From preparing for extreme storms to training the next generation of sustainability leaders, the IU Environmental Resilience Institute has been collaborating with organizations across Bloomington and Monroe County since day one, connecting community stakeholders to essential capacity, resources, and knowledge.
Together, we are working to accelerate the adoption of climate solutions that bolster community resilience and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future.
Through ERI’s inaugural Resilience Cohort, Bloomington completed its first greenhouse gas inventory, establishing a baseline for measuring future emissions reductions.
View the report
Led by McKinney Climate Fellows, Bloomington and Monroe County conducted stakeholder workshops to identify challenges posed by climate change and create plans to address them.
Read about the cohort
Since 2017, more than a dozen organizations in Monroe County have hosted McKinney Climate Fellows, IU students interested in sustainability career experiences.
As part of the most comprehensive statewide survey on environmental attitudes every conducted, ERI-affiliated researchers captured a snapshot of what Bloomington residents are doing and what policies they support to address climate change.
To help landowners understand and combat the problem of deer grazing and invasive species, a partnership between IU researchers and Monroe County Identify and Reduce Invasive Species provided training to Monroe County residents on how to manage invasive species and deer and established a tool kit lending program.
To provide more precise climate projections pertinent to Indiana communities, ERI-affiliated researchers are “downscaling” global climate data and analyzing extreme weather events, such as the flooding event that affected Bloomington in June 2021.
Urban green infrastructure, such as trees, rain gardens, and bioswales, plays an important role in boosting community resilience by preventing flooding, filtering water, and cooling neighborhood streets. Mapping tools, such as the Indiana Green City Mapper, can help communities identify areas that would benefit from these green assets.
