Okay, well let's go ahead and get started.

It is 902, so we're running late.

I'm Pat Andrews.

I'm a director of the Canada from the Cater Township.

I was out of the corner.

And Kathy is still under the weather, so um you again have the B team here.

And I'm gonna continue to do my best.

The first thing is any community community announcements, Alma or Jim?

No.

We've got uh fundraiser on the 31st hatch.

NESCO.

NESCO, is that Tuesday?

I think it's uh Thursday or Friday.

Oh, could be sorry, I'm not really quite sure of the date.

But the 30th.

Yeah.

It's the 30th.

I think it's a Thursday.

Okay, and what how do people register?

They just show up.

Yeah, they show up.

They say they're they're from NESCO, and you get a chunk of the profits.

Oh, okay.

So it's uh you you buy food and either eat it there or take it home?

Yeah, you can either eat it there or take it home.

You want to give the general uh location?

Name again, New York and State Street.

Did you say it was Prada?

La Prague.

Okay, anything else?

You guys always have stuff going on this summer.

Okay, that's that's it right now.

Well, we've got our uh IMPD East District Community Day on Tuesday the 7th, July 7th.

Uh Brookside Park.

Okay, excellent.

Well, you know, we have National Night Apple coming up on August 4th all over the city.

Uh, but the one I attend is in Washington Park and it's from 6th until 9, I think, on August 4th.

Okay, great.

And most of the stuff out there is free.

You know, they normally have like health screening, you know, the health department out there, and a lot of things for the kids to do, a lot of drawings and rambles and stuff like that.

Wow.

It's it's usually one of the parking is usually the biggest one.

It's huge.

I mean, people show up, you know, so thank you.

I see Julie, any uh community announcements, next weekend and wine maker is the annual community festival.

Cool.

Next Saturday, night three.

Yeah, and car show and food.

Is that the settlers day?

Yeah, yeah.

Cool.

Okay, and um I'll just note that uh on this is it's kind of it's of community interest.

The um Metropolitan Development Commission on July 3rd is at this point scheduled to vote on the July 1st.

Sorry, thanks.

It's a Wednesday, Wednesday, July 1st, then is scheduled to um vote on the what is currently a draft ordinance for data centers.

So that's at one, it should be a public hearing.

So folks who have an interest in data centers one way or the other are always uh encouraged to show up and speak up.

Um so at that point, um assuming that they pass the draft, then it would go to City County Council as the next step.

So and that same meeting, the Warren Township Easy Blocks Data Center, that's right.

That's right.

The by the MDC.

Okay, so it was appealed by seemed like the appeal was filed by the curving community council.

Okay, excellent.

Okay, so that could be quite a long thing.

Okay, anything else?

You want to give your screen for the start of the meeting?

Thank you, Jim.

Oh, my second piece of paper.

Um, yeah, the uh uh this is uh lengthy.

I I tend to shorten it up, but um McCann is a 501c3 nonpartisan alliance of neighborhood associations.

Um we're interested in the broader issues, the countywide issues that affect neighborhoods all over.

Uh we're founded in 1990, and um we uh offer help to neighborhoods and encourage neighborhoods to come and uh speak up about what is going on that's affecting them.

Um you never know when one is something starts in one neighborhood and then is it trends around in a way that's not necessarily good for neighborhoods.

Um the uh any neighborhood organization or homeowners association in Marion County can become a member of McCana.

Dues are $20 a year, and the year is the calendar year.

Um we meet the third Saturday of every month here, except December here at North United Methodist Church, which is at 38th and Meridian.

It's on the northwest northeast corner, northwest corner.

It's really it's hard to miss.

So it's a beautiful church.

Um we'd like to thank Channel 16 for carrying our meetings and uh putting them on their on-demand.

Um, it's channel 16 does a huge service to all the citizens of Marion County in broadcasting all of the public meetings that you just can't get downtown for.

Um, and so you can stay up to date fairly fairly well by just watching channel 16 and looking at the meetings.

What's gonna be coming up in August is the uh annual budget for the city and county, and that'll kick off on August 10th and Channel 16 will be there, and uh you can uh begin to watch all of those to see how your money is getting spent or will be spent for the following year.

So we do thank Channel 16.

They're um stalwart um companion in Marin County for all of the neighborhoods.

So um if you'd like to reach McCannna, you can reach us um at on our Facebook page, or you can reach Kathy Burton at 317-847-9959, or email her at CB 7801 at AOL.com.

And I'll go ahead and give my information.

I'm Pat Andrews, and my phone number is 317 679-7018, and my email is PC Andrews at Comcast.net.

So with that, thank you, Jim.

With that, we'll um ask our guests to come and present um from keep Indianapolis Beautiful, which also is a does extraordinary work all over the county for that and you know, enhances neighborhoods as well as the city itself.

So please.

Thank you so much.

Remember your addressing channels.

Okay, okay.

Okay, thank you.

You'd like to introduce yourself.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Mal Chamberlain.

I am the manager of community engagement at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.

I am joined by our wonderful CEO and president today.

Hi, I'm Jeremy Kranowitz.

I'm the CEO at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.

Thank you all for having us today.

Um, we're gonna go a little bit over our programming and some other information on Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.

Like Pat said, uh, we are an environmental uh nonprofit.

We are all about helping people and nature thrive.

We do not believe that you can have one without the other.

Um so we do that uh by sustaining and creating vibrant green vibrant public spaces and helping people in nature thrive.

Um so just a little information on Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.

We are the largest affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, a national organization, uh assisting with litter abatement throughout the country.

Always like to point that out as we are the largest affiliate, so we're working with about 36 staff members, and we have around 400 projects every single year.

So we really rely on our neighbors and our volunteers to come out and help us with our projects to ensure that people in nature are thriving together.

Um, some quick facts about us are we pick up almost one million pounds of litter every single year throughout thoroughfares, waterways, and neighborhoods of Indianapolis, and we plant around 3,000 trees every single year through our community forestry program.

Right around the corner from this church, if you see there are a whole bunch of young trees that have white tree guards around the base, those are KIB trees.

And in every neighborhood that you see those trees, those are KIB trees that KIB and our volunteers have planted.

Yes.

And if you want some in your neighborhood, we'll talk about that later.

Absolutely.

Yes, we are in the business of giving trees, not selling trees.

So wonderful and exciting year for us.

It is our 50th anniversary this year.

So we are celebrating our 50 years of community stewardship.

We originally started as the Clean City Committee under Mayor Hudnut, and we were a one-person committee.

As a lot of us know, the iconic Hudnut Hook happened in 1977, where we began to put litter in its place through the direction of Mayor Hudnut.

And then in 1981, the Indianapolis Clean City Meet Clean City Committee became its own independent nonprofit, now known as Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.

In 2009, we moved into our lead gold certified headquarters in Fountain Square.

So if you know where the Dairy Queen is in Fountain Square, we are right across from there, and that is where we operate out of.

And as I said before, we are celebrating our 50th year this year.

So it's our 50th birthday.

We are very, very excited about it.

We've been helping the community for 50 years now, and our programs have grown exponentially within that time.

So getting into some of our programs, our programs are the bread and butter of who Keep Indianapolis Beautiful is, and it's really the way that you can get involved individually or the way that you can come out and volunteer possibly with your business or just on your own at a public event.

So thinking about that, we have our first program, which is our adopt block program, a part of our clean neighborhoods team.

This is our grassroots effort to get involved with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and to keep your neighborhood clean.

So what we do is we can provide you with the tools to be able to do that, including a litter bucket, a highlighted vest, a safety vest, a litter grabber, and trash bags, uh coated gloves, uh things to clean up your storm drains as well, including a litter pan, dustpan, and broom.

So how our adopt a block program works is that you as a neighbor can adopt the block directly in front of your house or another space throughout your neighborhood or an area that you care about and commit to taking care of that on your own.

So through that, we ask that you just clean up that block or that space that you have adopted at least once a quarter.

We do have subadoptablock captains who are amazing and can get out every single day.

And we have some that can only get out once a quarter, but the important part is this makes a difference no matter what you're doing, as cleaning up litter along our streets helps that from going into our waterways and can and contaminating our waterways.

Another way that you can get involved is through our Great Indie Cleanup.

That is how we empower our neighbors to organize cleanups in their area.

So you can apply for a great indie cleanup on our website at www.kivi.org, and we will be able to provide you with a dumpster truck or a pack or dumpster or a packer truck on a Saturday between April and October, where you and your neighbors can organize a community cleanup and actually have that the tools that you need to clean up right in your area.

We can supply you and will supply you with gloves and trash bags, and you can also borrow litter grabbers and vests as well as uh to keep your you and your neighbors safe during that cleanup.

One thing that I would just add to that is that sometimes we do get requests from neighborhoods like, oh, can you do this in February or March?

But the city is lending us their big equipment, and that equipment is often dealing with snow removal or the beginning of pothole season.

Uh, and so it really doesn't, they really can't lend that equipment until the beginning of April.

Um, and we often have times that are more people want neighborhood cleanups than we have uh supplies available.

So it is on a first come, first served basis, but we might not be able to if you wait too long, might not be able to get the exact weekend that you want.

We'll try to do everything we can to get you uh that service uh on another weekend if we can't do the the further your first choice.

But if you come to us early in the season, we can guarantee that you'll that we'll be able to deliver that kind of service.

It's really wonderful to have all the neighbors turn out and you know just have like a slow rolling pack or truck, and everyone can just start loading things in as it's moving through the neighborhood and clean up an entire neighborhood in the morning.

Absolutely.

An important note about that as well is that these resources are to clean up your neighborhood.

So that can be anything in the public right-of-way.

When we are hosting great unique cleanups, we ask that our neighbors are not using these to clean out items like their garages.

We really want this program to be benefiting the neighborhood and not just individual homes.

And something with this program as well as our other programs is we operate within Marion County and throughout the city of Indianapolis, but we are unable to serve other municipalities due to how our funding works.

So we are not able to service locations like Lawrence, uh Southport, Beach Grove, as those are their own municipalities.

So we just service Indianapolis and all of Marion County.

Just a few more programs in our clean neighborhoods programs are our Clean Waterways program.

So we have a dedicated manager that is all about helping keep our trails and our waterways clean throughout Indianapolis.

This Clean Waterways Manager also works with the committees of five waterway committees throughout Indianapolis, working with them on a one-on-one basis to have programs in their area and to support them through their efforts.

So very exciting.

If you notice any areas along the waterways or trails that you think may need cleanup, you can always send us a message that's added to our scoring sheet, and when they go out and look at the waterways for that litter, we can check out that space that you're interested in.

We also have clogging, a beautiful event that is happening today.

Plogging is a little bit interesting.

It is called uh it's a Swedish fitness trend where you jog and pick up litter at the same time.

Uh, a really fun thing about that is it's usually hosted at a local brewery throughout Indianapolis.

So you, if you're 21 plus, are able to enjoy a beverage after the clogging event with the neighbors that have come out and volunteered.

While it's a trend that includes jogging, no one is required to jog.

There's a strolling group.

Yes.

We are just happy that you're out and wanting to get engaged with the neighborhood so you can move at your own pace and others will be with you as well.

Um, and again, that's gonna start at 11 o'clock today, and you can find that information on our website at www.kibi.org.

Um and then our other special program that we have through our clean neighborhoods programming that is wonderful is you may see us out on some of those busy thoroughfares.

We have 22 busy thoroughfares that we are helping to keep clean throughout Indianapolis through our keys to work uh program.

Our keys to work program is a partnership through Cycled Force, and they are out there on those busy roadways where we are unable to send volunteers on a normal basis due to the safety.

So if you see them in our beautiful Keep Indianapolis beautiful trucks, they've got some lighting on them, they help uh they have arrows that help you direct.

Um, that group is out there, they are wonderful and they're always happy to say hello.

Um feel free to let us know how they're doing.

Give us a call or a ring if you see anything going on and any of those busy thoroughfares.

Are those on your website?

Yes, absolutely.

So all of those are going to be on our website, and it's a rotating basis.

So once that one thoroughfare is done and they've made it through the entire list, they're gonna go ahead and start right back at the top and continue to go down that list, ensuring that those thoroughfares are clean on a regular basis.

38th Street is one of those thoroughfares.

Uh, and so the actually when we first started this program, we thought, well, it might take a couple weeks to do 38th Street end to end.

It took them a couple of months, and they picked up six tons of litter end to end along 38th Street.

But every subsequent time that they have now done it, it has been getting better and better and better.

So I don't know if folks have paid attention, but 38th Street is looking really nice these days compared to what it did a couple years ago.

Absolutely.

And I mentioned the word scoring.

Um, that is how we go out and check litter.

So we score litter where we're picking it up just to see that increase or decrease in the litter that is on our roads, so really awesome.

Um, and then getting into our department of native landscapes program, we're all about growing a healthier Indianapolis.

So we do this through our three programs.

First one being our habitat restoration program.

Our habitat restoration program is going to be working along those waterways and moving in removing invasive species like Asian honeysuckle.

And then we're gonna go back in, we're gonna treat that honey suckle so that it does not come back, things like garlic mustard as well.

And then we're also going to plant native plants back in those areas to rehabitate, rehabitat rehabilitate the uh the local uh ecosystem that is in that area.

Um we've also got our community forestry program, like I mentioned, we plant almost 3,000 trees every single year.

The trees that we are planting are going to be planted in the public right-of-way.

So that's going to be the first five to six feet of our neighbors' lawns.

As you may not have if you do not have a sidewalk, and if you do have a sidewalk, and there is a space between the sidewalk and the street called the tree lawn, that is the public right-of-way as well, where we plant.

We are contracted through the city of Indianapolis and the U.S.

Forest Service to plant trees throughout Indianapolis.

So each tree we plant is going to be free.

It does not cost our neighbors a dime, and we take care of that tree for three years, the first three years of its life.

We're mulching and watering that tree every summer through youth workforce development programming, and contractors will water throughout the other months, and then with that, we take care of that tree again for those three years, and we prune it as well.

So at the beginning and at the end of those three years, we're going to make sure that that tree is structurally sound so that when we turn that over after three years to the city of Indianapolis and DPW, that that tree has its greatest uh greatest uh strength of surviving.

And then our last program in our Department of Native Landscapes is going to be our project green space program.

So we are all about helping people in nature thrive, and that is where we go in and we take vibrant or we take underutilized or urban vacant lots throughout neighborhoods, and we create them into vibrant green spaces where the public is able to enjoy.

What that looks like on a regular basis is that is application-based.

So starting in 2027, our applications will reopen for our green space program, and that is where neighbors can get together and have an idea for that underutilized or urban vacant lot and have an understanding of whose lot that is.

It's usually a private lot that someone is able to allow us to use and is in partnership with the neighborhood, and we like to see our green spaces last at least 10 years.

When we are going in and we are implementing those green spaces, we want to be able to make sure they're going to be alive for that 10 years, but then we also have programming to support those spaces and sustain them after that first year of implementation to make sure that they are again those thriving spaces that are continuing to provide for our neighborhoods.

I said that one was application-based, and I should also add that our community community forestry program can be application-based as well.

So the city can identify places for us to plant throughout the city of Indianapolis, but also neighbors are able to submit tree applications.

So if in your public right-of-way in your neighborhood, you have space for what you think could at least be 30 trees, you can submit an application to keep Indianapolis beautiful.

We will review that.

Just as one additional piece of information.

Part of figuring out whether it's a good spot for trees is uh identifying where the utilities are.

So underground, overhead, um, also understanding where existing infrastructure is, so that when we're planting it's the right tree of the right size in the right place, so that we're not um, you know, people awesome.

That's the question that we receive a lot of the time.

Like, is this going to bust the sewer line, heave a sidewalk, uh, create some of those other problems that are uh unintended, and we make sure that we are planting the right species in the right place and that there's enough width for that tree to survive well and and uh and not get in the way of those other things.

When you do see situations like that, it was uh often at times it may have been that a tree existed before the sidewalk was put down, and then the tree's like, well, I was here first, and you know, and it's like I got my roots, got to go somewhere, and so that's when that's the type of thing that that happens, but we make sure that we're not doing that for the trees that we're planting.

Absolutely, and we do have dedicated arborists on our team, so we have educated, certified arborists who are making these decisions, and they have two coordinators that help them as well.

And then just looking into some of our other programs that support our neighbors in different ways.

So we are very, very proud of our workforce development programming at Keith Indianapolis Beautiful for high school and college-age youth.

Our youth tree team is going to be 60 youth from our area, 14 years or older, and enrolled in high school.

You can apply and you can come and work with us in the summer to take care of those trees.

So watering and mulching all the 3,000 trees that we put in each year on that three-year maintenance schedule.

Wonderful program.

Not only is it giving youth a chance to work, they can work about 20 hours a week, Monday through Friday.

But with that, they are paid.

They receive lunch every single day, and we can provide bus passes for transportation to get them to and from work.

We also are then for both our youth tree team and our urban naturalist program.

We're developing their skills so that when they leave their program, they're not just again a high school student leaving our program.

We are going to be going through enrichment skills, how to budget, other financial wellness situations just to make sure that our youth are set after they leave to strengthen those skills.

How do you apply for that program?

Yes, every year it's application-based.

So the applications open up for urban naturalists, which I'll get to and our youth tree team in February and March of every year.

You can check that out on again on our website, www.kibi.org and submit an application through the spring season as well before those applications open and when they open.

We have a wonderful manager of our youth tree team who is actually going to be going out to high schools and recruiting students, letting them know about our program, the volunteer opportunities that we have, and then also the work opportunities that we have.

Our urban naturalist program is going to be for our college-aged youth.

You can be in college or you can be one year post-college to be able to get into the urban naturalist program.

Really unique program.

It is going to be helping us maintain those CSO basin, which is our combined sewer overflow areas throughout Indianapolis.

They help with our tree maintenance as well and they help with our habitat restoration.

That program is going to be around 30 to 40 hours a week.

Again, you can apply online at KIVI.org.

It is wonderful if you are an environment in an environmental major and you want to apply for this program.

But a thing about this program is we are welcoming all people.

So we have had all different majors that are non-environmental related come into this program.

It helps to again broaden your education in other areas, give you developmental opportunities, and really just understand nature and how you can take care of it.

We like to call this a gateway into green collar careers.

We are teaching our students and our youth that there are wonderful careers that can be done in the environmental space, and we're giving them options and avenues to explore those areas.

Yes, yes.

And I don't quote me on this because it can change your year.

I believe our youth tree team is starting out at $13 an hour, and then we have youth tree team leaders who actually are older, 18 or older graduate from high school that are helping to lead those teams, and our urban naturalist program is 17 dollars an hour.

We do provide that lunch for the youth tree team and the transportation.

We are unable to provide that for our urban naturalist programming.

But again, it's a great group.

We welcome 14 urban naturalists every year.

It used to be seven, but with a new contract, we are able to welcome seven more urban naturalists in for programming every year.

And if you love our programming, you love volunteering with us and you're interested in getting a bit more involved, we have tree tender and ambassador positions that you can get involved in.

And those are our specialized volunteers who continue to come back year after year and support our mission of helping people in nature thrive.

Our tree tenders are specially trained so that during our tree planting projects when we are out in the public, that they are helping us with quality control to ensure that those trees are planted properly in an urban environment.

That being said, when you do come to one of our projects, we're going to teach you how to properly plant a tree, but we want to ensure that you have the support from both staff and our tree tenders throughout the project to ensure that you're doing a good job, checking your work, and be a helpful hand if you need it as tree plantings can be quite strenuous.

And then we have our ambassadors as well.

Those are going to be our volunteers that support us in more of an outreach and tabling uh position.

You can help by tabling and manning the table at a project, which we call our home base, so that if anyone has any questions or anyone shows up late, we have got a bright and shining face welcoming you to keep Indianapolis beautiful in our project.

But they also help with our outreach opportunities as well.

So we go out into the community day in and day out at various types of tabling and community events.

And with our staff of 36 members, we are not able to get to every single event or have multiple staff members at every event.

So our ambassadors are an extension of staff in representing KIB and talking about KIB at public events.

This is where I'm going to pass it over to Jeremy.

Like I had stated, it is our 50th uh anniversary this year.

So we've got exciting things going on this year, and Jeremy will kick us off with that in our capital campaign.

Thanks, Mal.

So, uh, yeah, we had a we had a really fun uh moment with our staff last month where we actually found the woman who was the very first director of uh what became Keep Indianapolis Beautiful who thought she was signing up for a volunteer uh opportunity to help do a literate campaign with Mayor Headnot, and he said, No, this is a job, uh you're starting in two days, and uh and so she figured out how to do all of that and and get us launched.

Um, as Mal said, one of the things that we are incredibly proud of is the way that we are able to take what were vacant or abandoned lots and turn them into these vibrant community green spaces.

These are not formal city parks, um, so they are cared for by the neighborhood.

So it's lovely to have all of you here because there's probably a spot in your neighborhood that could use a little love.

Uh, and with some caring neighbors, we could create it into something special.

Um, a lot of um, so a lot of our uh neighborhood green spaces are small, uh, less than half an acre, most of them, but we have 66 of them in neighborhoods across the city currently, and we add more every year.

Um, normally when we engage with a neighborhood, we say, Hey, you've got this area of concern, we would like to work with you to improve it.

Um, what would you like to do?

And it is it is done collaboratively.

We never go into a neighborhood and say this is what you're getting, it is a collaborative effort.

Um, however, when we start to think about all the things and improvements that we could do, the neighborhood's list is usually this long, and when we say, Well, this is how much money we have, and so we prioritize a few key things that we're able to do to improve that space, um, and often just that initial indication of love and care into that space is the beginning of a really important transformation that is lasting.

Um, but we're really excited that for our 50th anniversary, we're now raising money so that we can go back to that network of 66 green spaces and say, remember back in the day when you said I really wanted professional play equipment?

Well, now we're gonna bring it to you.

Remember how you asked for a shelter, now we're gonna be able to bring it to you.

So we're so we're actually being able to do some significant upgrades at green spaces uh across the city.

Um, I know that there are several of you here.

I can't, I know that we've got green spaces in in communities around the city.

I couldn't name them all off the top of my head, but um, great stuff seedle.

Yeah, absolutely.

Um grant and washing street.

Yep.

So there's an opportunity if you'd like, because we are raising money, so that if there's something that you'd like to do to improve that space, come talk to us.

Um, that is an intent of what this campaign is trying to do.

Um, the second thing that we're doing that's also related to green spaces is that we've been doing research with a couple of different institutions, including the University of Michigan, which has determined that when we convert what was a vacant lot into a community green space, violent crime drops by 12%, they have overlaid IMPD data, and the positive influence extends half a mile away.

It gets lower and lower as you get farther away, right?

But there is a half mile radius of positive improvement in safety when we are able to take what was a neglected space and turn it into an engaged space.

It makes sense intuitively, but we actually have the data that shows that this is a statistically significant improvement in neighborhood safety.

Um, we also have done research that is looking at how neighborhood health improves.

There are there's research at the University of Louisville that is showing that lung health, heart health, mental health, all these things actually start to improve, and they are measuring physical and mental health improvements when you have spaces like this that people can engage in.

So what we are trying to do this year as part of this campaign is to create what will be three really big green spaces.

So most of our green spaces are less than half an acre.

We're talking about big ones.

We're actually did a lot of work.

Mal and I did a lot of work yesterday on West 29th Street near the canal at a spot that is going to become a bike safety course for children to learn how to ride safely with traffic signals and so forth.

And because there are still unfortunately a lot of times where there are bike accidents where especially children on bikes are being struck by vehicles.

There's probably fault on both sides.

But if the children can learn how to ride safely and obey traffic laws and so forth, then that will hopefully be another safety improvement.

On the east side, a little bit farther east than uh than NESCO, but at post-end 30th, there's a community center.

We're going to be transforming that lawn area in front of the P 30 community center later this year.

And so and and other big projects are underway.

So we are really excited about some of those transformations.

And then the last thing, just building on what Mal was talking about regarding youth.

We are really putting a lot of emphasis into deepening and expanding our youth programs.

A lot of the high school students that come through our programs every year are not going to go to a four-year college or even to a two-year degree at Ivy Tech or elsewhere.

Many of them are gonna go right into trades.

So we are actually looking at how their summer with us can help qualify them for a number of different career opportunities where they would leave not only with the experience of having worked with us, but they will also leave with a certificate that confirms that they have certain job ready skills, that they are good candidates for uh not just green collar jobs like in landscaping or in tree care, but you know, if you look at a at the airport or at Citizens Energy, for example, we're talking with Citizens Energy.

At one end of the spectrum, they need somebody with a PhD in hydrology, but they also need people who are meter readers, who are customer service reps, who can uh operate machinery.

So there's a wide range of uh needs that that they have for employment, and we can be a conduit.

Students who come through our programs can be a conduit into accelerating into the into the workforce, and so we're really excited about how we're deepening those programs.

The former women's prison at New York.

We're on New York Street, yes.

We well, so we actually did a really amazing neighborhood cleanup there last year, and um were you suggesting that we take that over?

The city is looking for uh proposals right now.

Yes, yeah, I'm I'm aware.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh yes, and through our focus gig, our uh focus gig is our focus great indie cleanup.

It's where we take that uh smaller community community-organized great indie cleanup and make it a larger impact across neighborhoods.

It was hosted by Willard Park last year, and we were able to take part in the vision for the prison where they are trying to figure out those ideas for the historic women's prison.

Yeah, um, oh, and so one other question that um we that we receive a lot is um how how KIB gets our funding.

So we are a nonprofit, which means that every year we start at zero and have to raise all the money that we need to do all the work that we do.

Um we have a uh regular contract with the city of Indianapolis, um, with the Department of Public Works that allows us to do all of the tree planting that we do.

It allows us to do all of the neighborhood cleanups that we provide.

And actually, from the city's perspective, it is a really economically efficient way of getting these programs done.

If the city had to hire a hundred people to plant trees, or KIB could hire one and get a hundred neighborhood volunteers to come out and plant trees, and then we can just do the quality control.

It is a way that neighbors get invested in their own neighborhood.

We are teaching these people how to plant and care for trees, and there's pride, there's civic pride of place.

And we're able to do it in that model that works really efficiently and effectively.

But you are making all the decisions.

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful is making the decision.

We make the decisions, but as Mal said earlier, there are we have restrictions on where we can do these programs.

So with our funding from the city of Indianapolis, we can't.

Correct.

But also like sometimes we might get a church that wants us to, who has a lot of land and may want us to plant on their church property.

That would we could do that as a separate agreement, but it wouldn't be through our contracts with the city because that isn't that would be private property.

Which applications get um, yes, so we um we plant um over two dozen different species of trees.

Uh and so when we talk to neighbors, we say we actually give them a menu, which of these looks nice to you, um, and so neighbors have the agency to be able to, oh I want, I would love to have a red bud in front of my house, right?

Um, or they have the right to say, I really don't want a tree in front of my house because we don't insist.

Um, and then sometimes another neighbor's like, oh, well, if my neighbor doesn't want one, I want too, and so we can you know we can work that out, and that's how it usually goes.

Um but we also, as I said earlier, are um planting the right tree in the right place.

So somebody might want something that would be a towering oak tree, but it would be too big for the space that we have available.

So we have to say no in that case, but it's for the interest of them and for the neighborhood and for the for the tree.

Um so um the other place where we um have funding is from a number of corporations.

So um we actually do a lot of tree planting for citizens energy because if you plant trees in spots that are prone to flooding during heavy rain events, if you think about it, when the trees leaves and roots are absorbing water, the science is that it actually slows significantly the amount of water that floods down the storm drains and causes street flooding.

So citizens actually knows the neighborhoods that are more prone to flooding and says, K Ivy, will you plant some more trees over here and over there, and that will help uh it helps them and it helps neighborhoods.

Um we also plant a lot of trees on behalf of AES Indiana, and we do a lot of green space work with their support, and uh the logic there is that a lot of the work that we are doing helps uh clean up our air, and so uh and the shade helps reduce people's need for air conditioning in the summer.

So there are lots of benefits that come from those types of corporate contributions, uh, and then we do get support from big foundations like Lily Endowment, and uh, and then what's left is folks.

Uh and so um we've got thousands of people across the city that volunteer their time with us that volunteer tens of thousands of hours every year.

Uh we are so grateful for that.

Um, and some of them uh also say, hey, here's an extra five dollars, go do something great.

Um it's nicer when they can say here's $50 or $100.

Um, but uh we ask that folks, if they're interested in having a cleaner and greener city, help us do that not only in their neighborhood, also in other neighborhoods where we want to reach.

And so we're always interested in having folks help us help the city.

Can they donate at your website?

It's super easy.

Yes, you can.

So it's uh all these things are on our website at KIBI.org.

Um that particular website is K-I-B-I.orgslash donated.

Uh and and we've figured out ways to uh accept all kinds of things.

Uh most recently we can even accept crypto if that's your if that's your bag.

Uh but uh anyone here, yeah.

No, yeah, I don't know.

Yeah, um but but um you know there are there are folks who work for companies where the comp if you make a contribution to a nonprofit, the company will match that donation.

So that's true at some of the bigger employers in town.

Um, and so that is a way to double that the uh impact of that donation.

Is there a special way they have to do that?

Um so yes, you I mean um we make that clear on the website as well.

Um, but it's also if you work for especially for larger employers in town, um, most of them have a have a program like that, and you just have to inquire with HR.

Oh, okay.

Um, yeah, so so every company, it's not like we can say across the city every employer is the same because every employer is different.

So everyone has their own slightly different rules.

So what's true at Salesforce might be different from Commons, might be different from you know, merchants bank or so their first stop is HR to find out how they're if they have that program and how it works in their company.

Okay, good.

Uh Jeremy made a great point too in talking about our relationship with the city and our trees.

Um, so we always like to say we're in the business of giving trees.

We are not in the business of selling trees.

So all we are planting in the public right-of-way, which the city has identified and permitted us to plant in, we go beyond that and go the extra step to talk to every neighbor that we can to ensure that we're giving them a tree if they'd like a tree, and that we're not planting a tree if they would not like a tree.

We have a long lengthy process to that that includes canvassing door to door, sending mailers, but we are making sure that with any neighbor that is could possibly receive a tree that we're making multiple points of contact the months leading up and attending those neighborhood meetings just to ensure that if a neighbor does not want a tree or if they really want that tree that we know and can communicate with them about that, and like Jeremy said, then they can go ahead and actually choose the species that they'd like to see planted in their front yard, uh, really giving that autonomy back to the neighbors so that they can make that choice that that's best for themselves.

Can you clarify?

Um it sounded like there was uh an empty lot in the but you keep referring also to um a person getting a tree in their yard.

So, how is that part of the um of an application for beautifying a block or yes?

So when we look at the tree application, there is some more information about how many trees can sit on a city block that you can apply for the trees in your area, and then we talk when we talk about that empty space, we're talking about our green space program.

So for us to be able to go into an area and revitalize a space, we're looking for those urban or underutilized vacant lots that neighbors can help identify, can get that permission to work with, and then we come in and we help to implement and help them sustain those spaces.

That's different from two programs, yes.

Our AES green space program.

Oh, yes, okay.

Yes, the community forestry and the green space are different.

That being said, when we do create those green spaces, we are able to plant trees and native plants in those spaces, but they are two separate programs with two separate applications.

Yes, absolutely.

Um, and then also thinking about uh a different part of our uh fundraising and how we are funded as well, is uh through corporate days of service.

Many of the uh businesses throughout Indianapolis have opportunities for their volunteers to volunteer either as a larger group or um more on that public side of coming to a public project.

Um but we call those our corporate days of service or seed offs for short, where we receive a donation or program sponsorment sponsorship from a local or national uh business, and their volunteers can come out and volunteer that day after they've given that donation.

It's a very specialized project that's not open to the public that is still getting them out into the community and helping to again uh implement trees and green spaces into those areas.

Um, really thinking too just how you can get involved today.

We do have a QR code that you can scan.

I've got some information on the back table as well for anyone that's here.

Uh, but we can always our grassroots effort is by starting by adopting that block.

If you are interested in getting involved, you maybe don't have the time to volunteer on the weekends or you're just busy and doing other things.

Adopt a block is a great program to implement in your neighborhood.

Uh, we also talk a lot about how it organizes community.

When you are doing one of our projects, whether it be that adopted block program, our community forestry program or green space program, uh, you tend to run into other neighbors outside and they want to know what's going on.

So, not only does that get more people involved with the mission of KIB and can help you connect and better with the neighbors that are right there in your neighborhood, building that community.

Uh, you can volunteer on your own, you can come out and come to a public project.

We post our projects about four to six weeks in advance on our public projects calendar that is again at our website, kibi.org.

You can submit a tree application or a green space application once those open again for your neighborhood to implement trees or green spaces in your neighborhood.

Like Jeremy said, any donation helps, whether it's a dollar to a hundred dollars to a hundred thousand dollars.

If you have uh that have the expendable income and would like to donate and help support our mission, we always welcome that.

Uh, and then I said before, uh, the corporate day of service or some sponsorship from a business is another way that businesses can give back through their employees to keep Indianapolis beautiful.

Uh, this QR code is here, it takes you directly to our website, but our website is www.kivi.org.

On our website, you can scroll all the way down to sign up for our newsletter that is called Get the Dirt, where we send out a monthly newsletter.

You can learn about the programs that are going on and special opportunities that are happening with neighbors throughout the city.

Uh, and then again, you can look at our project calendar, you can donate.

Uh, but definitely recommend checking out our website, it is lengthy.

We have a ton of information about all of these programs, but a lot of information can be overwhelming.

So, uh, I am the manager of community engagement.

I work on our community engagement team, and if you have any questions, you can reach out to me personally or to our team as all of our information is on the website.

Uh, my name is Mal Chamberlain, and my email is M C H A M B E R L I N at K I B I dot org.

You can also find that information on our website.

And if you have any questions of anything you've heard today, or you just want to gather some more information, or maybe have me come and talk to your neighborhood uh right right there in your neighborhood at those neighborhood association meetings.

I'm happy to come.

Um, so we've given a lot of information, but just want to ensure that you know you can find our information online, and I'm happy to talk and answer any questions at any time.

Uh so really looking at it, uh, the next 50 years start today.

KIB wants to be around for a long time, and together we can keep Indianapolis beautiful.

So we encourage you to check out our website, uh give us a call, uh, submit a contact form on our website or give me an email and we will get you involved and see how we can get started in keeping Indianapolis Beautiful together.

Excellent.

Thanks.

Yeah, and I would just add one last note, which is that this is a really lovely forum for us to engage.

And so if there are things in your respective neighborhoods where you see an issue, um you know your neighborhoods.

We we are working across 400 square miles, so we can't be everywhere all at once, but you know your neighborhoods better and more intimately than we do.

And so if there are opportunities that you think are needed or could be helpful, you you yourselves as part of through this group can make those requests to us on behalf of your neighborhood.

So it can start here.

You also uh I hope could be a conduit for us to get information out to neighbors.

So if a number of neighbors have said we would love to have more trees in this particular few blocks of uh whatever street, um you all can also help disseminate, because as Mal said, we send out mailers, we go door to door and knock on doors.

Um, it is surprising actually how many people truly answer the door uh and engage in conversation, but but you know, not many doors open, but we try to knock on every single door in that neighborhood.

We make multiple attempts to try to talk to folks just to make sure that it's not a surprise.

So if there's a way that you all can help communicate out to those neighborhoods as well, just to uh engage folks, we'd appreciate that too.

So um, yeah, and thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there uh questions?

I have a couple.

Okay.

Well, uh, the uh we have uh a little bit of land, and we've planted trees on our own yard.

So, but we get that uh honey stuckle.

So do you ever sit tell people how you know an individual can effectively get rid of them?

Yes, so we maintain them being gone, them and the mulberry trees.

Absolutely.

Um, so through our habitat restoration team, um, we have someone named Bertie.

Uh, she is a wonderful colleague, and uh she has given me information that I'm able to share with neighbors.

I have some different websites and some different information that I can actually send to you if you'd like to reach out that talks about how you need to treat that honeysuckle or the mulberry, um, so I can get that to you happily.

Um, also always recommend doing a little Google search.

I believe the organization is called Weed Wranglers, where we've gotten some of our information to share as well.

Uh, but she is very equipped to educate in that area and has shared some wonderful information that I'd love to get to you.

I think excellent.

Yeah, I will I'll reach out for that.

Absolutely.

Um, let's see.

I had one early on.

Here's that look here.

Oh, the vacant um or abandoned lot.

Do you do somebody have to claim ownership or what how do you work out the details of who's owning it?

What how long they're gonna want whatever improvement you make there.

Yeah, I mean, I I think I think there the issue is that it needs to there needs to be a clear ownership path, and we are not in the business of owning the land.

So here's a one story where things went poorly.

Uh a number of years ago, it was a uh community organization, uh, they were doing really wonderful work, they wanted us to do a green space at their location, but they were renting the space that they were in.

They got into a situation with their landlord and decided to leave the space, and then the space was vacant.

And the landlord said, Well, I'm gonna try to get another good community service organization in here, but who knows when?

And by the way, if it if a CVS comes calling and wants to make it into a CVS, then I just need to fill the space because I'm the land, I own the building.

And so we said, Well, who are we building this community space, you know, this green space for?

It's it was meant to be for, you know, so so we um we didn't rip it apart, but we stopped construction sort of halfway through.

So it was sort of a half finished space, and it's still in sort of a half-finished state.

Um, but so that was a situation where we really didn't have that long-term establishment.

Some of the more successful ones actually have been at Houses of Worship, where um, you know, the local pastor can identify a spot that um either the church may own or have uh some level of control over, and a member of the creation care committee or something can like check on the space with some regularity.

Um the other thing that we've been able to do um that has worked really well is that in a lot of these green spaces, um, we will install, it's not a city park, but we will install a commercial grade outdoor trash can uh that is bolted down so it doesn't go walking away.

So nobody's they still have a yeah, oh yeah, yeah.

Uh but then we will pay a community neighbor ten dollars a week as a stipend and as part as the part of the agreement, that person will then visit that space at least once a week, pick a few weeds, empty the trash can, and uh and it's really a low cost way.

And so for a for a community member who might be retired or or otherwise, or just wanting an extra 10 bucks a week, like it's not a fortune, but it's a nice little something, and then we know that that space is being cared for regularly, and then we will um but but figuring out that ownership and control piece is an important part of the story, yeah.

Um McCann's in over this years, um, trees have been a theme, and there was talk, depends on on the mayor, I believe, but uh there was talk about having a um a tree preservation plan with the city or an ordinance with the city.

Um it's never come to fruition.

I think there was actually a draft, but that's as far as it got.

Uh then there's always efforts uh by various organizations to um save trees.

I think um Crown, what's it?

Pardon?

Crown Hill.

Crown Hill, yeah, that was a big effort.

Um so do you guys get involved in that broader picture of um advocating to preserve the trees we already have that naturally popped up besides the mulberry.

But all you know, because we do have urban force that already nature provide, yes.

So we are tree people, we love trees.

Um that said, um, we are not an advocacy organization.

So we get asked to advocate on all kinds of different things.

I'm asked to go to the state legislature to go in front of the city county council often.

Uh, and the response is that we work well with everyone.

Everyone who wants to turn out and and make a difference in their neighborhood, we want to work with you.

Um, but we are not advocating for one law or another, and it just helps us.

Uh the reason we've been around for 50 years is because we don't take sticks way out on one side or another that even if it seems like a like an obvious thing, um we're not an advocacy organization.

So we are, and the ordinance that is the new comp plan, they're taking some protections out for trees.

Do you have a suggestion for us of who to work with?

Because we do need FCC.

I think one of the logical ones uh in Indianapolis is the Hoosier Environmental Council.

That's right.

Um so that would be uh my suggestion uh and um that's probably the just in terms of like the one place that is probably the most effective.

Uh I could give you other names that would but I but I think that that would be the place where I would begin and end my connection there.

Um because they are set up to be uh advocates, especially around legislation and regulation.

That is their core purpose, um, and like our hearts are in the same spot, right?

Um the other thing that what uh where KIB can be helpful is that there have been situations where um where you know um development is being proposed where trees might have to come down, and where we are called upon to see if we can relocate those trees to preserve them.

Can you do that?

Well, can anybody do that?

First of all, I mean you could relocate any tree of any size, it's just a question of uh time and dollars, uh yes, so um, so it really does depend.

Um, but we've done tree relocation before.

Um, so some trees don't really like being moved, and so the you know, our the chances of survival do drop a little bit um once we've moved them, but it but that is a shot at trying to preserve that tree.

Um so so there is often times where we're called in to be helpful.

The other way that we can sometimes be helpful is if some trees do have to come down, um, to have uh you know new trees come in.

So oh, I had to take a couple of 20-inch diameter trees down.

Well, we will plant the equivalent in tiny trees in tiny trees that is you know, a multiple of how many inches were removed.

So over time we will replace more than what has been lost in the short term, it's a it's a net loss, but we will often come in into a place where some big trees did have to come down and plant a lot of of smaller trees to replace them.

That's good.

There is that um what uh do you ever uh just give advice or or guidance?

Um the the area in Franklin Township, you might remember where they were they're trying to preserve um a wetland type area, but you know again trees on I-45 I-65 corridor south feet.

Yeah, I mean we're so um we uh we get asked to provide help all the time, um, and also to provide landscaping uh opinions or or recommendations.

Um, so for example, um uh there's a small business that just opened a new event space, they said we would like your help thinking about what the landscaping around the event space might look like that would be native to Indiana, but but also pleasing during multiple seasons and um contracted with us uh to help them figure that out.

Um, no, it's not say churches bill out.

Uh yeah, so so we we can do that um not as sort of a typical part of our work but sort of as a one-off uh opportunity.

When a large development comes in and they say we're gonna put a 10-foot firm and we're gonna put X number of trees in one.

Do we need help evaluating whether those trees are what we want?

Do we just go with what they offer?

Yeah, um, you know, I think that's a place where when new trees are coming in, you definitely could reach out to KIV and see how we could be um helpful.

Um so one example of that is that when the North Split work was done, um, we were actually called in to help audit how the trees were being.

We weren't it was a state and federal project, right?

It was a federal highway project, but they did a lot of landscaping work afterwards, and so we were called in to audit how those trees had been planted and to correct some mistakes that we felt had been made, um just to make sure that those trees would not die six months later.

Um so there are there are situations like that where we are able to be helpful.

Yeah, a lot you did you guys do the long 70.

That's what the maybe other high freeways, but that's what I tend to be on, um, where they when they I forget what project they did, but they had all s all of a sudden all the um exits and the the green areas between ramps uh got different kinds of art installations and yeah, that was a project that KIB did before my I've been at KIB almost seven years.

That was before my time.

Uh it was with Lily.

Uh and yes, there was a day that we temporarily shut down I-70.

Was that okay?

Yeah.

Uh that was a one-time thing.

But but it's still there.

Oh, yeah, yeah, but but we're not uh I don't think we'll get to that that the ability to shut down the highway again anytime soon.

People don't like that.

No, they really don't.

And our programs have changed and developed over the years, so we originally were planting flowers and helping to paint houses, and now we're planting trees and implementing those green spaces.

Uh at one point in time, we are part of adopting the medians, and so we've definitely evolved and changed as funding and the organization has grown.

Well, I have to say on I'm in Decatur Township, Southwest Corner.

Um, and when Kentucky had it just inside 465, I think it was 20 years ago because I helped plant some trees.

But that was a part of the median um thing, and the the treatment of uh the flowers at the very ends and the turn lines that that that waned, but the trees are still there.

That's great.

And uh they they do.

They just add uh extra classiness, I think, um to make it more of a boulevard than just a rough patch of grass that may get mowed.

Absolutely.

Trees are for appearance, but yeah, also for our mental health, they have so many wonderful benefits.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Well, the people in hospitals when the trees nearby, the you know, there are real effects.

Absolutely.

Yeah, I mean, uh, the again, we've um the I've been having such a lovely set of conversations with these professors at the University of Louisville.

One of the things that we were talking about, I I don't know if we'll be able to bring it to fruition or not, but um think about the new IU Health building.

I do want by that today, yeah.

There may be enough available tree lawn for us to plant three rows of trees, low canopy, mid-canopy, and tall canopy trees that would be think of it, uh going up, but it would be an air filter from all of the highway traffic to make the air that is flowing into the hospital healthier for patients that are there.

There's also research that shows that if you are in a hospital room and recovering and you look out your window and you see parking lot or highway versus trees.

The people who can see trees out their window recover faster.

And they're nice because they make oxygen.

Yeah, they're very helpful.

We need them to breathe.

Yes, absolutely.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, thank you all for the opportunity to talk to you and again, um, please please do like we really genuinely would love for you to come to us with requests for the types of things that we can provide.

Somebody did ask me if I could help with potholes, and I said no, we are not.

Unfortunately, no, they're not pothole people.

I could plant a tree that's big enough.

Yeah, right tree, right place, yeah.

Um, so yeah, it's a really big pothole, maybe.

But um uh if there are if there's interest from neighbors in having more green and more clean happen in your neighborhood, please we want to hear from you and and be a and be of service to you.

As far as um the outreach, uh if uh oftentimes neighborhood groups have uh guest speakers, yes.

Happy my that's the that's what my team and I do.

We love going out to community meetings, meeting with neighbors one-on-one.

So whether it's a community meeting and neighborhood association meeting, an HOA meeting, or you just want to grab coffee to talk more about programming and see how it can work in your neighborhood, you can reach out to us at any time.

Okay, great, thank you.

Do you want to fill a little bit of time on instructing how to plant the tree?

Just a brief outline.

Ooh, okay.

I am not on our tree team, but um, yes.

So during our tree plantings, we do teach the proper way to plant a tree.

Uh so the trees that we're planting are just about an inch or so in diameter and can be anywhere from five to even 12 feet tall, uh, depending on what type of tree they are and where they are in that stage.

Uh but yes, when people come to our projects, we direct them how to properly plant a tree in an urban environment, which includes root ball prep and uh our tree tenders will help with any of that structural pruning at the time.

Uh, but that is one of those great things.

We have a YouTube, uh, keep Indianapolis Beautiful YouTube.

And when you sign up for a project, we send this video to you that teaches you how to plant a tree so that you can get an idea of it, and then when you come to the planting, we'll actually teach you that way again.

Um, when is the location of that video?

That location is gonna be on YouTube.

Um, you can just type in keep Indianapolis beautiful, how to plant a tree on YouTube, uh, or you can probably scroll through some of our past news on our website and find find the way how to do that.

But definitely if you're planting a tree for the first time, check out our information.

Uh, as it's very uh vital to plant a tree in the correct way to ensure that it's not getting root rot and that it's not going to be attacked by pests and so it can grow healthy and strong.

Yeah, we will uh we uh we the big thing that we talk about and is the just our our personal bane is uh landscapers who do the volcano mulching at the end where the mulch is piled way up high around the tree, which actually traps too much moisture against the tree and actually invites insects and others to like uh have a nice feast.

So instead of a volcano, you want sort of a donut around the tree that creates this nice little uh basin.

But so uh yeah, that will then start to bug you.

Yeah, we have the the thing about uh yes, the thing about like getting really involved with KIB is uh then you start seeing honeysuckle everywhere.

Oh yeah.

You start seeing uh you start seeing litter in places where you go, oh I should pick that up too.

Uh and then you see the landscaping mistakes that others uh who don't know the best way to care for an urban tree uh uh are doing.

So um we teach folks to um you know as as Mal was saying to be ambassadors and to be folks that are making correcting those things so that we can have a nicer quality of life for everyone.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Thank you for all the work you do.

It is it does make a huge difference.

Yeah, you know, just it classes up any place it uh you can plant a tree.

Your contact information one more time, please.

Oh, yes.

Um, so you can reach me through our website, finding my contact on our website.

You can email me at M C H A M B-E-R-L-I-N at K I B I.org.

You can also reach out to me on my cell phone.

That is 574-383-0024 uh at any time.

I'm happy to answer questions and chat more.

Okay, thank you very much.

Thanks, everyone.

Thank you.

Okay, are there any other announcements or issues from neighborhoods?

Okay, well, then let's call it a day and go outside before the rain really starts.

Thank you.

Oh, enjoy Father's Day