INDIANAPOLIS – Ivy Tech Community College’s downtown Indianapolis campus will be transformed on Thursday, October 11, as the college participates in the 5th annual Lilly Global Day of Service.
 
Over 300 Ivy Tech faculty/staff and students will join thousands of employees from Eli Lilly and Company, as well as volunteers from neighborhoods, non-profit organizations and businesses, to complete beautification work along Fall Creek and the Indianapolis campus.
 
The workers will implement plans by Schmidt Associates for a science learning center that includes seating, birdhouses, and a 300-square foot woven tapestry made from invasive plant materials removed from Fall Creek that day.  A new labyrinth, outdoor laboratory, orchard, and culinary arts garden will be installed where invasive plants were removed along Fall Creek directly across from the Ivy Tech campus.  The new outdoor laboratory will allow Ivy Tech students to study biological sciences in a natural environment and learn from the natural ecosystems of Fall Creek.  New plant material will be installed in 2013.
 
“We are very honored to be part of the Lilly Global Day of Service and believe the beautification of the community and our campus will continue the efforts to develop an educational corridor and afford our students greater opportunity to learn in a natural environment conducive to exploratory learning,” said Thomas J. Snyder, President of Ivy Tech Community College.  “These improvements to campus and our neighborhood would not have been possible without the partnership and support of Lilly and its thousands of volunteers.”
 
The Lilly Global Day of Service is focused along six waterways as part of a larger city-wide collaborative known as Reconnecting to Our Waterways (ROW).  More than 100 partners across the city, jointly led by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Lilly and the City of Indianapolis through SustainIndy, ROW is helping neighbors strengthen the waterways that flow through neighborhoods and, in turn, helping the waterways strengthen neighborhoods.
 
Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually.  Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.