linear-image

Category Archives

Habitat Restoration

Trees for the Next 200 Years

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted: October 26, 2020
Categories: Habitat Restoration

“THE BEST TIME TO PLANT A TREE WAS 20 YEARS AGO, THE NEXT BEST TIME IS TODAY.” I was reminded of that saying this weekend for a couple of reasons. First, my daughter Eden turned 20 years old this weekend. It seems like just yesterday when she was a tiny sapling I could cradle on […]

A KIB Friendly Lawn

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted: May 26, 2020
Categories: Habitat Restoration

A friend of KIB recently asked me to weigh in on “natural” lawn services and offer an opinion on whether this was a preferable option to traditional lawn care companies. While I had my own thoughts, I also checked in with the very knowledgeable Native Landscapes team, who spend their days creating vibrant green spaces […]

Native Plants: Sustaining the Circle of Life

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted: December 6, 2018
Categories: Habitat Restoration

Katie Owens is a member of the 2016 Urban Naturalist Program. She is studying Environmental Science and Journalism at Indiana University. As a part of the Urban Naturalist team, Katie has the opportunity to work on a variety of green-job inspired projects while tending to Indy’s native landscape. They say man has been altering the […]

From Pests to Pollinators

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted:
Categories: Habitat Restoration

Alex Hodge is a member of the 2016 Urban Naturalist Program. She is a senior studying Environmental Management at Indiana University. As a part of the Urban Naturalist team, Alex has the opportunity to work on a variety of green-job inspired projects while tending to Indy’s native landscape.   From watermelon seed spitting contests, to picking […]

Sunflower Substitutes with Staying Power

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted:
Categories: Habitat Restoration

Pollinator Count Week has been a blast! But the work of building pollinator greenspaces can continue throughout the year. Here are a few perennial alternatives that will create happy homes for pollinators every year. Looking for a great towering sunflower that comes back every year?  Tons of folks love the look of a cheerful sunflowers […]

Take a Break: Pausing for Pollinators

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted:
Categories: Habitat Restoration

Maria Stahl works for The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. Many thanks to Maria and her co-works for adding to our pollinator count. Friday morning I took a break from my normal routine and counted bees […]

Need a friend? You bet your Aster

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted: December 5, 2018
Categories: Habitat Restoration

I have heard several friends, colleague and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful project partners talking recently about their asters falling over.  Why the heck do they do that?  Well, like most of us, they need a friend to lean on. New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) is typically the finale of most gardener’s landscape—putting on a fantastic show […]

The Black Market of Nectar Robbing

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted:
Categories: Habitat Restoration

Nectar robbing is the practice of an organism piercing or biting though the corolla (petal) of a flower and directly gathering nectar rather than entering the flower through the natural opening.  This result is a quicker drink of nectar and also typically bypasses the pollination process as nectar robbing causes the animal to avoid the […]

Orchids: Not Just a Tropical Treasure

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted: November 30, 2018
Categories: Education, Habitat Restoration, Partners

This past weekend, a friend and I spent an afternoon at the Indianapolis Museum of Art to see their current exhibit, Orchids: Cultivating Beauty. The exhibit features hundreds of beautiful orchids from all over the world, each unique in their own way. The orchids are currently on display in the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse, but […]

Go Local—Plant Natives!

Posted by: Jeremy Kranowitz
Posted: November 7, 2018
Categories: Habitat Restoration

Deb Bonte of INPAWS, the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society blogs about INPAWS upcoming native plant sale and the need to plant a native landscape. Why plant native flowers, shrubs and trees in your yard? It makes sense that native plants are already well adapted to Indiana soils and climate, requiring less maintenance and especially less […]


Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.

KEEP IN TOUCH.