Grounds

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Natural Disaster Recovery (NDR) Grant

IU Bloomington was award a Natural Disaster Recovery (NDR) Grant from Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to assist in the recovery of trees lost following the result of a natural disaster through the planting of replacement trees. IU Bloomington applied to replace 13 campus trees and was awarded $19,500 for this effort. The replacement trees were planted in April 2025.

Tree inventory

Through the triannual Tree Inventory, we've labeled and marked every freestanding tree on all IU campuses. The tree inventory offer valuable data for our Grounds crew and landscape architects to monitor tree health and plant climate-resilient species.  Explore the interactive map to view tree species and characteristics.

Hilltop Gardens

Hilltop Garden & Nature Center provides many educational opportunities for students through various internships and work study programs. Hilltop has also provided gardening classes for adults and volunteer opportunities. 

Tree Campus certified

IU Bloomington has been a certified Tree Campus Higher Education university since 2008.  A program of the Arbor Day Foundation, the Tree Campus Higher Education program helps colleges and universities around the country establish and sustain healthy community forests while actively engaging the campus community in learning about native trees. 

Bee Campus USA

Spring 2025 marked IU Bloomington’s inaugural Bee Campus USA designation. Key initiatives that contributed to the certification include the planting of pollinator-friendly native species, the reduction of pesticide use, and the integration of pollinator education into campus life, workshops, and student engagement programs. 

Woodland Campus initiative

A collection of thousands of unique trees, the Woodland Campus of Indiana University is a wonderful reflection of our campus communities.  Learn about the holistic Woodland Campus initiative and how you can support it through membership in the Woodland Society.

Invasive removals - Rewild IU

Rewild IU is is student organization focused on restoring & managing natural areas on campus at IU Bloomington. Rewild has organized multiple volunteer events to add native plant buffers to the river banks, plant trees, and clear debris.

Greenhouse story

Did you know that many of the beautiful flowers in the IU Bloomington landscape bed are grown on campus? The IU Nursery recently opened two new greenhouses to cultivate plants for campus landscaping beds. These updated facilities are significantly more energy-efficient than the older greenhouses, supporting energy conservation.

Research and Teaching Preserve

The mission of the Indiana University Research and Teaching Preserve is to provide natural field settings for research and teaching that complement existing facilities and infrastructure at Indiana University.

Wyle House Gardens

Wylie House is an historic house museum recreating and interpreting the 1835 home of Indiana University's first president, Andrew Wylie. The museum is committed to historic interpretation of the grounds that reflects Midwest domestic 19th century gardens and also preferences native Indiana plant species.