Olcott Blvd street trees Healthy street trees provide shade and beauty along Bloomington's Olcott Boulevard.Landscaping services and street tree maintenance are provided by the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department's Urban Forestry Program. Trees and other landscaping amenities throughout the city's parks and public property are made possible with contributions raised through the Bloomington Tree Fund, managed by the Bloomington Community Park and Recreation Foundation.

The Bloomington Tree Fund was established to assist in the support of the Urban Forestry Program. The Tree Fund supports annual Arbor Day celebrations, volunteer tree plantings on public property, and urban forestry education.

Any amount may be contributed at any time to the Bloomington Tree Fund. Contributions to the Bloomington Tree Fund are recognized with a certificate suitable for framing. All Bloomington Tree Fund gifts are tax deductible as prescribed by law.

City Accepting Donations to Replace Trees Damaged in May Storm

See pictures of the storm damage in Seminary Park

Powerful winds that blew through Bloomington on May 25, 2011, forever changed the landscape in and around Seminary Park. Several magnificent trees, among them Bloomington's largest and oldest, were destroyed in the storm. The Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department will remove additional trees in the park that, while left standing, were so damaged that they will not survive.

Many of the trees from Seminary Park, including a large red oak, are receiving a second life through the Urban Wood Waste Program. Local PBS station WTIU did a special program about the red oak and its new home at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center. See "The Weekly Special" WTIU program with its feature about urban forestry!

Other city parks affected by the storms are Bryan Park, The Waldron, Hill and Buskirk Park, and Highland Village Park, plus Wapehani Mountain Bike Park and Leonard Springs Nature Park.

The Bloomington Parks Foundation is accepting donations to help fund the cost of replacing the trees in Seminary Park, and some 150 additional publicly owned trees that were also destroyed. To make a donation in any amount to the Bloomington Tree Fund, please fill out the Bloomington Tree Fund donation form and send it to the Bloomington Parks Foundation.

Quick Links

Tree Fund logo Memorial/Honorary Tree Program

Download the Bloomington Tree Fund brochure and Memorial/Honorary Tree order form.

"Trees are the best monuments that a man can erect to his own memory. They speak his praises without flattery, and they are blessings to children yet unborn." -Lord Orrery, 1749

Remember a loved one or honor someone with a donation to the Bloomington Tree Fund, or with the purchase of a tree to be planted in one of Bloomington's city parks. The Memorial/Honorary Tree package includes one tree, a 16" x 16" engraved limestone plaque, and maintenance of the tree after it is planted.

The Parks and Recreation Department provides maintenance for the lifetime of the tree, and will replace trees if they die within 15 years after planting, or are damaged.

In the event of future park development, your tree may be relocated or replanted.

Bloomington Parks and Recreation reserves the right to relocate trees within a park or to another city park.

Due to weather considerations and seasonal planting schedules, it is not possible to pinpoint an exact time your tree will be planted. Tree planting is customarily done during the spring and fall.

Donors will be notified of the tree planting location in advance.

Indiana's First Tree City USA

Bloomington was recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation in 1984 as Indiana's first Tree City USA. Bloomington has each year since 1984 successfully met all the criteria necessary to keep its Tree City USA designation: a tree board or department; a tree care ordinance; a community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per capita; and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

Contact Information

For more information about purchasing a Memorial or Honorary Tree or for more information about making a donation to the Bloomington Tree Fund, contact Barb Dunbar at (812) 349-3498.

For technical information about Bloomington's urban forest, or to report a hazardous tree or tree problem in a city park, contact Lee Huss, urban forester, at (812) 349-3716.

Spotlight News in Street Trees and Landscaping

City Accepting Donations to Replace Trees Destroyed in May Storm

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Bloomington Parks Foundation accepting donations for the City's Urban Forestry Program at bloomington.in.gov/parkfoundation

City Awarded Grant to Plant Trees on West Third Street

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150 new trees to include native species

Information in Street Trees and Landscaping