Green scene

Home Brewing
For many IU students, social life in Bloomington centers on partying at one of the town’s numerous bars. But what if you could bring the party to you while conserving the resources used to travel to the bars and package your beer? Butler Winery, located at 1022 N. College Ave., sells home-brewing equipment and ingredients (with the costs ranging from about $140 to $260, for five gallons), and provides instructions via its Web site, www.butlerwinery.com. If you want to connect with other local brewers, the Bloomington Hop Jockeys celebrate beer-making and beer-drinking, and can be contacted online at www.hopjockeys.org.

Bloomingfoods
Since 1976, Bloomingfoods has operated as a food cooperative, selling locally grown products first from its small store on Kirkwood, then from larger stores on East Third Street and the corner of Sixth and Madison. But besides offering organically grown fruits and vegetables, Bloomingfoods also sponsors and organizes activities open to the general public.
If you’re looking for something more specifically green-oriented, Bloomingfoods offers educational programs on nutrition, gardening and sustainable agriculture. Bloomingfoods Member Services Manager Jean Kautt said the co-op’s programs bring in people from throughout Indiana thanks to Bloomington’s reputation.
“Bloomington is thought of as the food Mecca of the state,” she said.
Further information can be found online at www.bloomingfoods.coop or at the nearest Bloomingfoods store.

Bloomington Parks and Recreation and the Farmers' Market
While there are always the options of getting some friends together for Frisbee or basketball at Bryan Park, there are other ways to get involved with Bloomington’s award-winning Parks and Recreation program – and a number of these activities focus on learning about or helping to preserve Bloomington’s environment. However, if you’re looking to take a more active role, Parks and Rec is looking for volunteers to help maintain Bloomington’s green spaces; for example, through its Adopt-a-Trail, Citizen Scientist Certification (which combines environmental workshops with volunteer service) and Bryan Park Creek Naturalization Maintenance programs. Information about both the educational and volunteer programs can be found at the City of Bloomington Web site, www.bloomington.in.gov or via phone, 349-3700.
And then if you’re more of a foodie sort, there’s the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market. Established in 1975, the Farmers’ Market takes place every Saturday morning from April through November in Showers Common on North Morton Street (next to City Hall); and every Tuesday evening from June through September at the corner of Sixth and Madison streets. Besides fresh produce from local farmers, the Farmers’ Market features local entertainment and, every second Saturday of the month throughout the summer, arts and crafts. Asked why he patronized the Farmers’ Market, local resident Domingo Prud’Homme praised its sense of community.
“It’s a big hippie gathering,” he said, joking. “There’s something new every time.”

Bicycling
Given the Little 500 and “Breaking Away,” it should come as no surprise that Bloomington has a fervent bicycling scene, but how can you get into it?
If you don’t have your own bike yet, and are a bit leery of shelling out a couple of hundred dollars before even peddling around the block, you can rent bikes for as low as $15 a day at Bicycle Garage Inc., located at 507 E. Kirkwood Ave., or $30 to $40 (depending on brand or type) at Revolution Bike and Bean, 401 E. 10th St. Meanwhile, for advice about riding around Bloomington and Monroe County, opportunities to meet other cyclists and chances to get involved in group rides, you can contact the Bloomington Bicycle Club online at www.bloomingtonbicycleclub.org. You can buy a discounted used bike or earn one through volunteer hours at the Bloomington Community Bicycle Project on North Madison Street, www.bloomington.in.us/~bikeproj.
Besides being an eco-friendly form of transportation and being good for your health, biking holds other benefits.
“It brings you close to the people around you,” Brad Titzer of Revolution Bike and Bean said, “You’re not riding around in a metal box.”
And bicycling holds a special Bloomington-specific advantage: you can actually find parking, for a change.

Brown County State Park and Hoosier National Forest
Bloomington is in very close proximity to a number of state and federally protected areas, including McCormick’s Creek State Park, Lake Monroe and Yellowwood State Forest; but perhaps the most prominent destinations are Brown County State Park (about 17 miles east of Bloomington) and Hoosier National Forest (about 25 miles south of Bloomington).
Both offer abundant outdoor activities for a weekend getaway with friends: camping, hiking, fishing, trails for horseback riding and mountain biking. On the specifically green side of things, both sites promote the Leave No Trace code of ethics to reduce visitors’ environmental impacts, and conduct interpretive programs throughout the summer about the parks’ wildlife and surroundings. Both are also looking for volunteers. More information about Brown County State Park is available online at www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/6725.htm or via phone, 988-6406; while Forest Service representatives for Hoosier National Forest can be reached toll free at 1-866-302-4173 or through its Web site, www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier/index.htm.

IU Outdoor Adventures
For those IU students who are seeking an introduction into the outdoor lifestyle – or who are simply looking to connect with others who feel the call of the wild – the most obvious place to stop is at the IU Outdoor Adventures shop in the Indiana Memorial Union. Besides renting camping and other survival gear, Outdoor Adventures plans trips throughout the school year that have covered everything from exploring caves and surfing to white-water rafting and ice climbing; they also offer courses on wilderness survival.
During the summer, Outdoor Adventures does not sponsor outings, but students can put together their own customized adventures through contacting Custom Experience Coordinator Dave Frost at oacustom@indiana.edu, 856-4092 or via MySpace www.myspace.com/oacustom. In the past, Outdoor Adventures’ trips have ranged in price from $35 (for one-day night-caving expeditions in Southern Indiana) to $730 (for a weeklong spring break spent surfing and horseback riding in Baja, Calif.). As far as ecology is concerned, the group adheres to the Leave No Trace principles – and Outdoor Adventures member and IU junior Allegra Johnson said that her experiences on group excursions has made her more aware of her environmental impact.
“It puts you more in tune with the world,” she said.