The Indiana Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects recognized two TSWDG projects as part of the annual Professional Design Awards program. These awards were presented at their annual conference in 2023.
Activate: Whitewater Gorge Activation Plan is a strategic planning initiative that aims to preserve, protect, and activate the 150-acre Whitewater Gorge Park while identifying a set of short, mid, and long-term investment and programmatic recommendations, that all work towards creating a signature recreation amenity that will provide unique experiences to tie residents and visitors to the local community, the region’s history, and the natural environment. In total, the Activate Plan provides an initial master plan level of detail for 18 capital improvements that represent over $35 million in public and private investment. To date, the plan has been used to reserve $500,000 in Land and Water Conservation Funds which will not only preserve the site as parkland in perpetuity but will also provide strategic improvements to existing assets.
The Monon South Trail Visioning Sketchbook provided a framework for the ideas and potential solutions that could result from converting the abandoned Monon South line into a regional multi-use trail facility, stretching from Mitchell to Borden, IN. The renderings and illustrations bring form to the ideas generated by the communities during the visioning process and begin to give real-world form to those ideas. The material created as part of the Monon South Trail Visioning Sketchbook was utilized as part of the State of Indiana Next Level Trails grant submittal. This grant opportunity was awarded to the Monon South corridor for $29.5 million to acquire and begin the development of the 62-mile regional trail system. The creation of the Visioning Sketchbook was an invaluable marketing tool that gave form to an idea and allowed the idea to build momentum. That momentum is now moving toward the design, construction, and implementation of this transformative regional trail.
