Trees & Native Habitats
Habitat Restoration
Program Overview
Restore habitats along Indy waterways.
We’re a leader in community-based habitat restoration, with projects to enrich habitat along the major waterways in Indianapolis (the White River, Fall Creek, Pogues Run, Pleasant Run, and Little Eagle Creek). We plan to increase new visual and physical access points along waterways in socially vulnerable neighborhoods by 28% and increase native landscape acreage across the city by 35% by 2024.
How do we do it?
We work with community and corporate volunteer groups to rip out invasive plant species (we see you, Asian bush honeysuckle!) and install beneficial native plants that stabilize river banks, provide more food for animals, and offer a clear a view to the water. While we’re working together, our staff and Urban Naturalist team are educating volunteers about the importance of biodiversity, helping connect communities to their greenspaces, and creating functional habitat for our urban wildlife.
Program Details
Volunteering with us on a habitat restoration project is an eye-opening experience. You’ll get up close and personal with the ecological conditions we face here in Indianapolis. Learning about these issues and discussing them with your friends and family is a critical first step in making significant environmental change. Sign up to join us today!
Plant Native
We need native plants (and lots of kinds of them) to create the biodiversity that sustains life in our ecosystem. Our habitat restoration efforts restore healthy, Indiana native plants that attract the bugs, birds, and other animals that create a thriving environment.
Native plants are available at most nurseries and garden centers. You just have to know what they are!
Common native perennials sold at garden centers include Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata), Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis), Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), Blazing Star (Liatris spicata), Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifoliam). Indiana Native Plant Society (INPS)Indiana Native Plant Society (INPS) has a lot of resources on native plant types, planting tips, info on how you can help, and more.