Keep Kokomo Beautiful campaign readies community for summer
Annual initiative will see the planting of more than 1,000 flower baskets by volunteers
In just four hours, volunteers will plant more than 1,000 flower baskets in an assembly-line fashion.
Those baskets will go on to adorn streetlights around the Kokomo community this summer. It’s all part of a Greater Kokomo Downtown Association initiative known as Keep Kokomo Beautiful. This annual campaign invites residents, businesses and community organizations to lend a hand and keep our community looking beautiful through flower baskets, downtown garden planting and trail maintenance.
The event is in its fourth year and has enjoyed tremendous community support since its beginning, said Susan Alexander, manager of downtown creative placemaking for the Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance.
“The thousands of flowers that bloom throughout Kokomo as part of this initiative are beautiful in their own right, but their allure is further enhanced by the collaborative efforts of the volunteers who plant and maintain them,” Alexander said.
This year’s Keep Kokomo Beautiful campaign will include four events that include flower planting, garden maintenance, and a trail maintenance project to enhance the beauty of Kokomo and Howard County.
Alexander encourages advocacy groups, teams from businesses and organizations, and families and individuals to participate in the events.
“Beyond the flowers, these events are about fostering residents’ sense of pride in their community and empowering them to claim it as their own,” Alexander said. “As a volunteer, you can be part of something much bigger than yourself.”
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AS A VOLUNTEER
The 2022 campaign kicks off Thursday, April 6 with flower basket planting at The Garden, formerly known as Lybrook Landscaping, 4476 S. 00 East-West, Kokomo. There will be two sessions of plantings that day, one from 9 to 11 a.m. and a second from 4 to 6 p.m.
The planting will resume in May as volunteers will gather for two workdays. First up will be annual planting at the City Hall Gazebo, 100 S. Union St., from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, May 13. Then, from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, volunteers will plant the downtown container and alley gardens, meeting on the Courthouse Square at the corner of Main and Sycamore streets.
There will be a Garden & Trail Maintenance Day on Saturday, July 15. That day, volunteers will work from 9 to 11 a.m. and will start the morning at the City Hall Gazebo, 100 S. Union St.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AS A VOLUNTEER
All four events are free and open to the public. Participants are encouraged to bring along work gloves, knee pads and their favorite gardening tools to each event.
To register for Keep Kokomo Beautiful events, visit GreaterKokomo.com/volunteer-downtown.
For more information, contact Susan Alexander at 765-457-5301 or by email at salexander@greaterkokomo.com.