There are few ways that display our community’s pride in itself more than the many flower baskets that adorn our city streets. And that’s because of the way those baskets are planted every year.

A project directed by the Greater Kokomo Downtown Association, Keep Kokomo Beautiful brings together hundreds of volunteers. In 2018, more than 300 volunteers planted 1,100+ hanging flower baskets. Volunteers also planted 100+ garden areas and cement planters, and 32 sidewalk gardens in downtown Kokomo.

The annual project also sees the cleaning of local waterways. In 2016, volunteers collected 1.5 tons of garbage.

This strong show of community support every year to clean and beautify our community shows that our residents care about where they live.

In 2019, the downtown association created The Pollinator Project, an extension of Keep Kokomo Beautiful. Through partnerships with businesses, the project will create pollinator habitats throughout the community.

The habitats will be created through the planting of native flowering plants that sustain pollinators with nutrient-rich nectar and pollen. This is a conservation practice that aims to increase pollinator populations throughout the growing season.

Habitats already created include:

• A tenth of an acre between the parking lot entrances at Duke Energy on Defenbaugh Street

• Along the Clover Leaf Trail near Mehlig Dog Park

• In Jackson Marrow Park