2020 has been unusual to say the least. Between extreme weather and COVID19 we had to cancel our Northern Lights Eco Adventure Camp. (Part of our Take Bike the Streets Initiative check out takebikethestreets.org for more info.) However trail usage is up 200%+. We are producing a few virtual tours of area attractions that you can enjoy with your friends and family.
2020 has been unusual to say the least. Between extreme weather and COVID19 we had to cancel our camp. However trail usage is up 200%+. We are producing a few virtual tours of area attractions that you can enjoy with your friends and family.
#IndianaDunesNPS
#NorthernLightEcoAdventures
#TakeBikeTheStreets
Coviad Summer 2020 Virtual Tour of City of the Century Homes (Indiana Dunes NPS) 2020 has been unusual to say the least. Between extreme weather and COVID19 we had to cancel our camp. However trail usage is up 200%+. We are producing a few virtual tours of area attractions that you can enjoy with your friends and family.
#IndianaDunesNPS
#NorthernLightEcoAdventures
#TakeBikeTheStreets
In the summer of 2018 Northern Lights Eco Adventures piloted our first Region Service Expedition. It encompassed four nights and five days of expedition-based learning through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Northwest Indiana. The campers started in Michigan City and ended at the Douglas Center in Gary. The campers backpacked/paddled/and biked through the dunes and beach while learning about the local ecosystems and natural history of the community. The students also participated in local service projects and community art projects. By the end of the trip the students created a goal with an action plan dedicated to an individualized service project committed to complete in their hometown. 2019 saw us do several day trips and win the American Planning Award. 2020 has required us to take our camp online. For more info on all our adventures please check out our Facebook and our blog!
When Gary's Miller Spotlight began in 2015 we could not imagine how our original 29 goals would expand to create programming that serves all of NWIndiana. Our Take Bike the Streets initiative was created in 2016 by our Access Miller volunteers. In 2018 our transportation and infrastructure/ education goals expanded to help create a service learning camp that would lead expeditions across Lake, Porter and La Porte Counties. Last Friday the Northern Lights Eco Adventures crew received the American Planning Association's Award for Outstanding Hoosier Grassroots Initiative for their pilot expedition.
ID: Mandi Renslow, Gretchen Sipp and Jessica Renslow stand together at the Honeywell Center in Wabash as they receive the from the American Planning Association - Indiana Chapter.
This award is given annually to recognized notable planning pursuits that have exemplified planning principles and fostered positive impacts on Indiana communities. They were honored along with municipalities and professional planning groups. Congrats to all the winners! Thank you Indiana!!! Thank you to all our community partners, volunteers and donors for helping to make this possible.
(This spring volunteers advocated for inclusive public transit on the state level. Our community builder was featured discussing shared mobility. Check out indianacat.org for more info.)
Name: Jessica Renslow
Employment info (title & org): Volunteer Community Builder, Take Bike the Streets (Small Business Owner, Almost Fairytales)
Brief overview of Take Bike the Streets
Take Bike The Streets is a comprehensive program that involves community engagement, economic development and intergenerational environmental education. Our volunteers have committed to organize, decide and act upon projects that will profoundly change our Indiana’s future.The goal of Take Bike the Streets is to capitalize on our diverse active transportation needs and implement a multiphase project that makes cycling an accessible and enjoyable activity for all our community and our visitors. We believe in active transportation for all.
How does your work and personal life connect to public transportation?
I have been blessed to have many positive experiences with public transit in my life. As a kid growing up in Gary and Hammond I road the bus and the train regularly. Before moving home in 2015 to manage a community initiative, I lived in Los Angeles for 9 years, before that Japan for 3 years and before that Italy for about a year. I experienced great public transportation and terrible transit as well. Now I commute regularly to Chicago for my business. I see how many of NWI’s residents and guests use our public transit and where we need help. Currently, I live in a Transit Oriented District in Gary. There are many positives to living in a TOD. I lived in a TOD in LA and saw the amenities it brought my neighborhood there, however I also saw the problems it brought as well. NWI needs to prepare itself for the economic impact of transit improvements to ensure that we promote universal design and transportation equity. We also need protections in place for our mom and pop businesses so that they can maintain their places of business. We definitely need a population infusion, but we need to also ensure that our legacy residents are not pushed out in the process.
What are some of the programs, solutions and/or policies your organization is involved with to support better public transportation?
We are involved on the local, state and national level concerning policy on complete streets, ADA compliancy and creating age friendly/ life-long communities. We promote critical mass efforts that showcase the need for universal design. We run the only bike shop in Gary, the Ken Parr Build a Bike, an expedition based learning bike camp called Northern Lights Eco Adventures, community slow rolls and we piloted NWI’s first accessible bike share.
What are some key goals for Take Bike the Streets over the next few years?
We want to have a regional dockless bike share that goes across Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties. We are working to promote connectivity to our public transit and how to link first and last mile access for residents and guests. As a city 19% of our 80,000 people within Gary depend on bikes, buses and trains as their only means to get around. Shared mobility is a growing trend nationwide and NWIndiana is a prime candidate for such a collaboration as we have 764,418 residents between, multiple business districts, universities, trains, buses and the nation’s newest national park all within our tri county region. Unfortunately you cannot take a bike on nor off at many of our train stations! When you also add the influx of seasonal tourists (3.6 million annually) we get across the National Lakeshore and lack of bike access
Northern Indiana is a prime location for a regional bike share. We need a company that believes in equity to take a chance on our diverse active transportation needs.
Any statement you would like to provide to show support for increased funding to the Public Mass Transit Fund (PMTF) is welcome!
Our buses do not run on Sundays and our bus access is limited. Expanding connectivity along with our green trails will improve the overall quality of life for all Hoosiers. As a community builder I have conducted numerous surveys with our community. Many folks stated that improved infrastructure and access to public transit would help them with the struggle to garner employment. Additionally, Lake County just lost almost half of our precincts. In Gary alone we went from 106 to 51 precincts, and we are losing an additional 28 polling places. Which means for a city that is 57 square miles and has an estimated 80,000 residents (of which 19% do not have access to cars) we are going to have a huge transit need for the primary and general elections. Supposedly, this was done to save money. An estimated $116,000 to be exact. Where is that money going? Some should go to transportation equity. We are an urban county but in many ways our transportation access needs mirror rural communities.
Northern Lights Eco Adventures sprung from a desire to merge our community goals with local talent and expertise. A community plan is a living breathing document that grows with time.
In the summer of 2018 Northern Lights Eco Adventures piloted
our first Region Service Expedition. It encompassed four nights and five days
of expedition-based learning through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and
Northwest Indiana.
The campers started in Michigan City and ended at the
Douglas Center in Gary. The campers backpacked/paddled/and biked through the
dunes and beach while learning about the local ecosystems and natural history
of the community.
The students also participated in local service projects and
community art projects. By the end of the trip the students created a goal with
an action plan dedicated to an individualized service project committed to
complete in their hometown. Check out their blog for more info on all our
adventures!
Take Bike the Streets Take Bike The Streets is a comprehensive program that involves community engagement, economic development and intergenerational environmental education. Our volunteers have committed to organize, decide and act upon projects that will profoundly change our community’s future.The goal of Take Bike the Streets is to capitalize on the NWI’s diverse active transportation needs and implement a multiphase project that makes cycling an accessible and enjoyable activity for all our community and our visitors. Take Bike The Streets is a comprehensive program that involves community engagement, economic development and intergenerational environmental education. Our volunteers have committed to organize, decide and act upon projects that will profoundly change our community’s future.The goal of Take Bike the Streets is to capitalize on the NWI’s diverse active transportation needs and implement a multiphase project that makes cycling an accessible and enjoyable activity for all our community and our visitors.
Our volunteer community builder, Jessica Renslow, was honored to accept the 2018 Partners for Clean Air Annual Bicycling Actions Award for the State of Indiana on behalf of all our Take Bike the Streets volunteers.
Thank you to all our community partners, volunteers and donors for helping to make this possible. Read more about this annual event here.
Jessica Renslow, Zully Alvarado and Gretchen Sipp were honored to accept the 2018 Community Award for Diversity and Inclusion at the Urban League of Northwest Indiana, INC. luncheon.
Thank you to all our community partners, volunteers and donors for helping to make this possible.
(Jessica Renslow Accepting the 2016 American Planning Award for Excellence in Outreach at BSU.)
Marketing Partnerships
-StoryCorps (Chicago Office) recorded 12 pair interviews ( 24 people) in Miller on Saturday 3/19/16 and Sunday 3/20/16. This was the first time they had recorded in Indiana. They rarely do onsite interviews, but our Area Context Group convinced their producers that our neighborhood was ripe with interesting and positive tales to tell. The producers have recommended four of the 12 interviews for NPR’s national broadcast. Jessie Renslow garnered permission to edit and distribute the 12 StoryCorps recordings on all Miller Spotlight hubs/ local news media if so desired.
(Podcasting 101 at Steel City Academy.)
***January 3rd-6th 2017 Gary's Miller Spotlight volunteers covered equipment management, digital literacy and basics of podcasting for 4 days in course (Harnessing Your Narrative created by Jessie Renslow) . They taught Gary kids how to harness their narrative through podcasting at Steel City Academy in Glen Park.
***February 4th-6th 2017: Our community partners Family Folklore Foundation, Inc. and Almost Fairytales premiered a short film entitled "Radio Renaissance" at the Praxis Film Festival this February in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Congrats to these awesome volunteers. They have been helping us with our citywide digital time capsule project. The short takes place in the 46403 and explains the importance of digital literacy initiatives for emerging communities.
***August 3rd & August 19th 2017: On August 3rd our community partners, Family Folklore Foundation, Inc. and The Indigen Storytellers Guild, held a storytelling workshops that was attended by 14 people at The Stage Gary Business Incubator/ Coworking Space. Participants are performing their stories at The Stage Gary on August 19th as part of their August Small Business Saturday. They will host another workshop & performance in November of 2017.
***We have a potential partnership with one of our NWI/Chicagoland media syndicates to air the interviews as podcasts once we get 30 plus interviews completed.
Goal 2: Host quarterly social gatherings with at least 100 attendees to update the Miller Quality of Life Plan and secure volunteers for new initiatives.
(S'mores at the 2nd Annual Lake St Lantern Parade.)
-We hosted a Memorial Day parade down Lake Street on 5/28/16 with 42 people parading with 50+ spectators. We hosted this to kickoff the summer season and to bring at- tention to all the programming we are doing at Lake St Beach this summer and across the community as a whole.
-We hosted The First Annual Lake St Lantern Parade down Lake Street on Friday 10/29/16 with 116 people parading with 100+ spectators. We hosted this to celebrate the progress being made at The Dana Evans Community Corner (the former Ralph’s Wilco) and to bring attention to all the programming we are doing in the community as a whole.
(After party fun at the 2nd Annual Lake St Lantern Parade.)
-We cohosted Have S’more Fun Event with Councilwoman Wyatt and the Gary Rotary Club on 10/29/16 with 116 people at The Dana Evans Community Corner (the former Ralph’s Wilco). Locals were able to casually discuss the community goals and get excit- ed about projects happening across the city.
-We hosted our 4th of July in January on 1/28/17 at the MBACD from 1-3pm. Thirty-six people helped us celebrate our milestones and add additional goals to our updated Community Plan.
-On Sunday 10/8/17 from 5-8pm at The Stage Gary (located at 925 N Shelby St Gary, IN 46403) will thanked our volunteers and celebrated all of Gary’s Miller Spotlight’s milestones. There was a short awards ceremony highlighting our extremely active volunteers.
(Gary Rotarians helping run the 2nd Annual Lake St Lantern Parade.)
-We hosted The 2nd Annual Lake St Lantern Parade & Have S’more Fun Event on Friday 10/27/17. 100+ people paraded and 100+ watched. We hosted this to celebrate the programming we are doing and to bring a fun community event to the MBACD.
-We hosted a Main Streets info session on January 23, 2018. Gary’s Miller Spotlight volunteers are starting the process to become a Main Streets Community with the State of Indiana. This is a national program run in Indiana through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs aka OCRA.
(ARMP volunteers learning about OCRA's Main Streets Program.)
-Our community partners at the Aetna Manor Revitalization Program also hosted a Main Streets info session on February 17, 2018. The ARMP volunteers are also starting the process to become a Main Streets Community with the State of Indiana. This is a national program run in Indiana through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs aka OCRA.
Goal 3:Build virtual and physical community bulletin boards in 2016.
-Part A:
Our backbone organization MBACD partnered with our local IT gurus, Openhill, and have launched Dragonfly NWI (the virtual community bulletin board). We partnered with them to run two tech literacy workshops for our local businesses and organizations. 18 representatives attended these workshops. They represented most of our businesses and organizations. They are starting to adopt the virtual bulletin board.
***We are continuing to do one-on-one training with folks who need extra help transitioning to this new platform. Checkout http://dragonflynwi.com
-Part B:
We have a bulletin board secured at Wells Street Beach. The Pickford family partnered with us to update the board all summer.
We have partnered with The Charter School of the Dunes who have a digital sign. They are located at one of our community entrances (US 20 and Old Hobart Rd.) So, they post updates for the community when we make a request.
(Bulletin board coming soon!)
3rd physical bulletin board is being built by Mary Duggard for the Dana Evans Community Corner (aka the former Ralph’s-Wilco).
We would like a 4th physical bulletin board on the east side of town (since we have the westward one at Wells St. and the digital one in the middle of town). We have approached a local artist and one of our local woodworkers. They have verbally agreed to create the physical bulletin board. We are setting out a timeline for this currently.
The 1st Annual Outdoor Escapade was held on Saturday July 15, 2017 with great success. Roughly 500 people of all ages and abilities came to Gary to enjoy accessible ecotourism activities. The event started at 10:00AM at The Dana Evans Community Corner (6300 Miller Ave Gary, IN 46403). This location was one of four sites set up in Gary’s Miller community for this active tourism festival. The festivities included a ton of free active tourism attractions such as paddling, bicycling and archery.
The Outdoor Adaptive Escapade (OAE) focused on highlighting green & blue trails.It celebrated all abilities and showcased the many hidden recreational gems that the Miller area in Gary, and neighboring, communities have to offer.
OAE featured adaptive vehicles and equipment that enabled individuals with limited mobility to access roads, trails, dunes, and beaches, to participate in activities of all types of terrains and in all kinds of weather. New resources and opportunities typically not seen or not readily available were introduced to community attendees of different abilities that allowed for a fun, creative outdoors experience.
Staging took place primarily at 6300 Miller Ave., the ADA Launch at Calumet Lagoon in Marquette Park, the Douglas Center for Environmental Education and at Lake Street Beach.
Attendees had the opportunity to explore and experience a wide range of adaptive outdoor recreation equipment including: accessible paths, vehicles, hand and tandem cycles, Action Trackchairs, and Freedom Trax, kayaks and paddle boards. Zagster Bikeshare and Miller Spotlight’s Take- Bike- the-Streets Build-a-Bike volunteers were on hand to demonstrate bikes and share information about bike sharing, bike racks, bike repair stations and Build-A-Bike shop initiatives in Gary’s Miller neighborhood.
The Miller Spotlight group showcased the initial phases of two accessible community gardens. Activities were in coordination with Adaptive Adventures, Northwest Paddling Association (NWIPA), Barrier Free Beach 2020, City of Gary Parks & Recreation, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, National Park Services, Save the Dunes, Causes for Change, and the Legacy Foundation Neighborhood Spotlight Groups.
The purpose of this annual event is to showcase that aging and disability impact everyone. One in three households in the USA is home to a person with a varying ability. Universal design principles should be considered whenever and wherever possible, for the benefit of each and all. Infrastructure, transportation, and the environment should be considered from conception through execution; programs and services developed and implemented with all in mind. Anyone seeking additional information may contact Jessica Renslow, via (818) 294-4240/ millerspotlight@gmail.com, or follow Miller Spotlight on Facebook or check out accessmiller.org
Outcomes?
500+ people attended/ participated in the event
The National Lakeshore (NPS) purchased a set of Freedom Traxx and a portable adaptive mat for events.
Please help us prepare for next year's event by taking the OAE Survey:
