Lino Mioni
Lino moved to Bloomington in 2014 to pursue a PhD in Italian Studies which concluded in 2020. His other passion is gardening.
As a kid in Italy, Lino’s grandfather and father allotted him a small plot in the family garden where he could plant vegetables, flowers and herbs. Growing vegetables was one of his most rewarding experiences especially at dinner when his mum or father would say "we are eating the vegetables Lino grew!"
Lino connected with Hilltop Garden and Nature Center at IU in the summer of 2015 when he volunteered at the Campus Initiative Garden, a community run by students and the IU Office of Sustainability. At the same time, he started volunteering at Hilltop. By 2018, he was asked to mange the Urban Garden along with his wife Patrícia. Before moving to Bloomington he had experimented with growing vegetables in containers and it seemed a natural fit since the Urban Garden focuses on growing vegetables in small spaces. Lino also pitched in with other HIlltop garden projects including the trellis, fruit trees, and the herb/tea garden.
Lino became a Monroe County Master Gardener during the pandemic while he was working full time. That made getting to South Walnut Street in the evenings over several months quite a challenge. When the pandemic hit and the classes went online; it was an opportunity to make lemonaide out of lemons!
I love to grow anything edible and I love to let nature take its course and to work with her, not against her. I would say that my biggest dream is to have a garden in each community so that everyone can understand how precious gardens are. I love that Hilltop offers a variety of programs to get people involved.
— Lino Mioni
Among other interests Lino also enjoys building cold frames for winter, cooking, hiking, biking and spending time outside. He also gardens at St. Thomas Lutheran Church Community Garden where he is a member of the steering committee. A busy man!
