Parks foundation grants support Carpenter Nature Preserve; staff report trail openings, 24,603 August trail users and $23,832 in summer camp fees

The Zionsville Parks Foundation provided multiple grants this summer supporting projects at Carpenter Nature Preserve and elsewhere, and parks staff reported facility openings and usage data during the Sept. 10 board meeting.

Chris, speaking for the foundation, listed donations: $75,000 for a nature playground (matched by $75,000 in federal ARPA funds), $15,000 from Duke Energy Foundation for wildlife line sponsorship, $5,000 toward an outdoor classroom from Lilly, $15,400 for the green carpet initiative, $10,845 for pollinator‑garden maintenance and a $5,000 project to add native plants along the Elm Street Green–Lions Park connector trail. The foundation also reported distributing more than 1,000 native plants to residents and promoted its second annual fundraising breakfast, Parks and Pastries, scheduled for Oct. 3.

Jared, the parks superintendent, reported that on Aug. 13 the Turkey Foot Pedestrian Bridge and the Holiday Red Pedestrian Bridge opened to the public; those openings expanded the park’s rustic trail network by about 0.7 miles to the west of the Red Bridge over Eagle Creek. He also reported maintenance workload numbers for August: 261 work orders created and 264 completed (184 preventative). He said the maintenance team repaired the crosswalk signal at 400 South on the Big Four Rail Trail and that staff will begin invasive‑plant removal and a community “weed wrangler” event ahead of a native‑planting project funded by the foundation’s $5,000 pledge.

Jared said the trail counter outside Town Hall is now operational and recorded 24,603 trail users in August (11,272 cyclists and 13,331 pedestrians). He said that data will support future grant applications and programming decisions.

Mindy Murdoch, recreation staff, reported that the Zionsville Nature Center had 1,296 walk‑ins during August and held 22 programs. Staff ran Creek Week programming and an annual creek cleanup on Aug. 16 that drew 51 volunteers who removed 720 pounds of trash from Eagle Creek. Summer camps offered 20 different camp options for ages 4–15; 359 children attended this year and camp fees generated $23,832. Mindy said only four camps did not fill — primarily older‑youth programs — and staff plan fee adjustments and new program types (junior master gardener, adult day camps, expanded recreation options) for next year to cover full staffing costs.

Board members thanked staff and the foundation for support. There was no formal action on these updates; staff will continue project implementation and scheduling.