Bloomington Chamber of Commerce
  • Membership
    • Business Directory
    • Become a Member
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Interested in Membership
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Portal & Materials >
      • Member Login
    • Chamber App
    • Connect Bloomington
    • Member Resources
  • Events & News
    • Signature Events >
      • Community Awards Nominations
      • Educator of the Year Nominations
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Sponsorship
    • Member News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Chamber News
  • Initiatives & Resources
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership >
      • BWIL Steering Committee
    • The Success School
    • Young Professionals Bloomington >
      • YPB Steering Committee
    • Business Resources
    • Job Board
    • Community Calendar
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates
    • Legislative Agenda
    • Local Government
    • Advocacy Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Press & Media
Member Login | Join Us!
Member Login | Join Us!

Multimedia Gallery

Business Spotlight: CanopyBloomington

8/26/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Canopy’s co-founder and science chair, Dr. Sarah Mincey, urban forestry professor at O’Neill and Director of the IU Environmental Resilience Institute and Sheryl Woodhouse, co-founder and board president, started talking about the idea for creating an organization dedicated to increasing the tree cover in Bloomington during the pandemic, around December of 2020. They incorporated as a nonprofit business in April of 2021, so they’ve been operating just over one year.
​
Sheryl Woodhouse has been founding and growing organizations with an eye on sustainability and social impact for most of her career.  After starting her career with the National Park Service at Grand Teton NP, she founded and operated a recycled paper making company, Twisted Limb Paperworks, here in Bloomington for many years. Sheryl  then raised money for land conservation as Sycamore Land Trust’s development director before serving as COO of the music and tech PR firm, Rock Paper Scissors. She went back to school and earned her MBA during that time. She's been advising other creative and socially-minded businesses and organizations as a management consultant since.

Questions & Answers

​What motivated you to start your own business? How did you develop the skills to start your own business?
Part of what motivated me is simply that I love creating businesses, bringing something into reality that didn’t exist before, something that provides real value to the community and meaningful work opportunities for people. I think that planting trees is something very tangible and easy for anyone to do to make an impact both on climate change and quality of life in their neighborhood. Dr. Mincey has been researching urban forest organizations for many years and has wanted to see one in Bloomington. Her expertise and connections to other experts in the field made this an ideal partnership. I’ve learned so much from her this past year.
 
What inspires your work and what sets you apart from everyone else?
I am inspired by the enthusiastic support we’ve received in a very short period of time from so many people from all different sectors of Bloomington. People want to see more trees, and they want to help get them in the ground. They’re eager to have a source for having their questions answered about how to maintain them, too. It’s really energizing.
 
What makes your business stand out from other businesses in Bloomington?
What sets CanopyBloomington apart from other regional environmental organizations is our focus on urban forestry, and making sure we grow and maintain Bloomington’s tree cover in town, for now and the future. And to provide it equitably to all neighborhoods, especially ones that currently have low tree cover. I am grateful for the excellent work of Sycamore Land Trust and the Indiana Forest Alliance, protecting our forests and large tracts of land in South Central Indiana, but I am especially inspired by how important trees are for our quality of life in town, in the urban setting. We need both. Sure, there are tremendous environmental benefits to an urban forest, like carbon sequestration, and there are also significant health (mental and physical), economic, and social benefits as well. I hope you’ll take a minute to read about the benefits of trees in an urban setting. But what probably would surprise most people is the economic value of trees—from savings in municipal storm water management, to property values and utility bills, and even to the amount of money people spend in local shops when there are plenty of trees on a street. And—I personally think that daily life is just nicer when we’re surrounded by the beauty of trees.

What has been your biggest success to date?
In addition to completing three tree plantings and hiring two amazing part-time co-directors, Hannah Gregory and Morgan Hicks, we started our Youth Tree Tenders program this summer, which provides paid experience planting and maintaining trees and professional mentorship to our pilot class of four high school students. This program is possible thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, sponsorship from Ivy Tech, and a contract with the City of Bloomington to prune and mulch the trees in Switchyard Park. Our partnership with the City and the assistance of Erin Hatch, the city forester, have been especially invaluable since we started the organization. We’re so grateful for that.

What has been your biggest challenge?
We face the same challenges as any new organization. We have lofty goals but are still mostly a volunteer-run organization and are limited by the amount of time each of us has to give to the working board. In general, there are three things that would be a huge help to us right now.

Property owners who want to plant trees and organize their neighbors.
While the City is implementing an ambitious plan for planting trees in our public parks and rights of way, this work isn’t sufficient to reach Bloomington’s maximum tree cover. CanopyBloomington is focused on planting trees on private property. We need homeowners interested in planting trees on their property, encouraging their neighbors to do the same, and then calling us to organize a tree planting event in their neighborhood.

Leaders in the business community interested in serving on the Canopy board.
We are really grateful for the critical advice and hard work of our board of directors during our first year in operation, especially in completing an ambitious three-year strategic plan for Canopy. Kudos to this passionate and dedicated team! Learn about our board of directors on the Canopy website. We are always looking for a few leaders in the business community interested in sharing their expertise by serving on the Canopy board. Please reach out to us through the website if you would like to be considered for a board position.

Donors who want to support Canopy’s mission.
While we have an amazing number of people willing to volunteer to plant trees, it costs approximately $200 to plant a 6-8 foot, 1-2 inch caliper tree with mulch, water, tree guards, and the organizing help of our co-directors. Supporting the work of CanopyBloomington with a financial contribution is a tangible and effective way to be involved in enhancing and maintaining Bloomington’s beautiful urban forest.
 
What are your plans for the future of your business?
Our goal is to plant 5,000 trees by 2033. In the next few years, we’d like to secure some long-term tree maintenance contracts, hire full-time staff, start an endowment, and make visible progress on addressing tree equity in Bloomington—making sure that all neighborhoods have the same lush tree cover as our greenest streets.
To learn more about CanopyBloomington, find them at:
https://www.canopybloomington.org/
https://www.facebook.com/canopybloomington
https://www.instagram.com/canopybloomington/
​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    The Chamber's Multimedia Gallery

    Take a look at what's been going on at The Chamber!

    Photo Use Disclaimer

    Unless otherwise noted, all photos on this website are used under fair use principles for informational and illustrative purposes. Some images may be subject to copyright by third-party photographers or organizations, which will be indicated where applicable. If you believe a photo has been used in error or wish to request removal or attribution, please contact us directly.

    Categories

    Categories

    All
    Advocacy Event
    Annual Meeting & Community Awards
    Awards
    Business After Hours
    Business Outlook
    Business Spotlight
    Buzz
    BWIL
    Career Cruise
    Chamber Event
    Dignitary Discussions
    Educator Of The Year
    Elect Connect
    Federal Focus
    Futurecast
    Golf Scramble
    Governor's Luncheon
    Legislative Preview
    Lt Governor's Luncheon
    Networking
    New Member Business Radio Interview
    New Member - Business Radio Interview
    Photos
    PrimeTime Business Expo
    Professional Development
    Ribbon Cutting
    Showcase Bloomington
    Success School
    Ten Under 40
    Valor Awards
    Videos
    Women Excel Bloomington
    Young Professionals Bloomington
    YPB

    Archives

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019

    RSS Feed

Contact Our Team | Business Directory

Our Chamber

​The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce provides leadership through member engagement, business advocacy and civic partnerships to strengthen our community and business environment.

Main Contact

421 W 6th Street, Suite A | Bloomington, IN 47404
[email protected]
(812) 336-6381

Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am - 500:pm
Friday: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Trust Center
​
Media Center
Speaking Requests

There is a no refund policy for events.  If you need to reassign your ticket to another person we will be happy to update our attendance list. Thank you.

Chamber Info

About Us
Board of Directors
Contact Our Team

Chamber Resources

Business Directory
Chamber Events Calendar
Member News
Chamber News
Membership Application
Member Login
Business Resources
Picture
Copyright The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. All Rights Reserved.
  • Membership
    • Business Directory
    • Become a Member
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Interested in Membership
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Portal & Materials >
      • Member Login
    • Chamber App
    • Connect Bloomington
    • Member Resources
  • Events & News
    • Signature Events >
      • Community Awards Nominations
      • Educator of the Year Nominations
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Sponsorship
    • Member News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Chamber News
  • Initiatives & Resources
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership >
      • BWIL Steering Committee
    • The Success School
    • Young Professionals Bloomington >
      • YPB Steering Committee
    • Business Resources
    • Job Board
    • Community Calendar
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates
    • Legislative Agenda
    • Local Government
    • Advocacy Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Press & Media