Early this July, Bloomington’s Geographic Information’s Department released an interactive Habitat Connectivity Map. Along with the city’s Habitat Connectivity Plan, the interactive map seeks to promote environmental conservation through bio-diversity.

The map functions around three main “priority greenspace areas”, defined by The Habitat Connectivity Plan as areas “contributing to plant and animal habitat, ecological diversity, healthy air, soil, water, reductions in energy use, and climate change mitigation.”

The three main priority greenspaces in Bloomington are Griffy Lake, Clear Creek, and Jackson Creek. Around these areas, the map aims to highlight nearby geological features like Potential Corridor Links, which are areas that provide connection for organisms to priority greenspace areas. According to Environmental Commission Vice Chair Matt Caldie, corridors are key in the conservation of the enviroment.

“When we as a city develop land, we fragment the habitat for area plants and animals,” Caldie said, “Some creatures – like maybe a hawk – can make it past our roads and buildings to another area of habitat, but other creatures – such as a grasshopper – might have to stay where they are. Corridors are essentially landscape features that allow for the movement of organisms between areas of habitat.”

Individuals can mark existing or new habitat corridors, as well as native and invasive species in the area by making a pledge signaled by a diamond on the map. Users are able to add areas as specific as their backyard as greenspaces in the connected environment.

The map, which can be found on their website, lets individuals mark their own participation, but also seeks to inspire by showing other contributions by members of the community. This element excites the Environmental Commission:the ability for citizens to visualize their community interacting with the local area.

“The map may help encourage folks to take action in environmental stewardship and even see the contributions in their own neighborhoods,” Senior Environmental Planner Rachael Johnson said in an interview.

“As residents add their pledges to the map, we hope to see the diamonds representing the pledges start to look like bridges between those priority greenspaces,” Caldie added.

By going online and taking the “Habitat Connectivity Pledge,” Caldie believes Bloomington residents can inspire one another to participate in the conservation of the environment.

“Sometimes it feels like individuals can’t do much for the environment, but with a map full of participants, it becomes clear that we can accomplish a lot collectively,” he said. “So I hope it serves as a motivator, because as people see the environmental stewardship of others, it may empower them to do more and to share that energy (and the map) with friends, neighbors, or coworkers.”