Carmel, Ind. – Citizens for Greenspace, a 20-year Carmel citizen’s organization, has been chosen to receive the inaugural Carmel Green Award to recognize those leading the way to a more sustainable future in our community. Sponsored by Vine & Branch, the Green Award considered applicants who demonstrated cutting-edge projects or internal operations/practices that are environmentally responsible.
Citizens for Greenspace highlighted their latest and largest project to date – the Woodland Garden at Central Park. With the goal of making an inaccessible woodland area in the park available to the public, the organization spent close to $35,000 and enumerable volunteer hours developing the area into a garden by designing a trail system, removing invasive, non-native trees and weeds and clearing two large garden areas for planting.
In the fall of 2006, small native tress and scrubs were planted, along with 1,300 woodland perennials and 1,000 daffodils. Six garden benches were added and in the spring of 2007, 35 redbud trees were planted by Carmel Scouts along the trail, now known as the Redbud Tunnel Trail. In all of 2007, 1,500 ferns, sedges and cammasia bulbs were planted to create the Fern Walk. Bottlebrush Buckeye trees, Forsythia and Sumac were added in 2008, and an Eagle Scout candidate organized and planted 85 native shrubs to re-vegetate another area.
Heavily volunteer oriented, the project included enlisting volunteers to hand carry jugs of water to the new plantings until they were established.
The Green Award will be presented, along with the Carmel Chamber’s Applause, Look and volunteer award, at the chamber’s eighth annual Images of Excellence Awards Luncheon on December 10th at the Ritz Charles. Reservations are required and may be made until noon on December 8th on line at www.carmnelchamber.com or by calling 846.1049.
Others nominated this year included the Carmel Green Initiative, Castillia Homes, NUVO Magazine and Mayor Jim Brainard.
The selection committee for Carmel Green included Christine Barton-Holmes, LEED AP from the Department of Community Services in Carmel;
Frank Duck, Shiel Sexton; Lisa McKinney Goldner, Bose McKinney & Evans; Tom Harton, Editor, Indianapolis Business Journal; Judd Scott, Vine & Branch, and Scott Truex, Department of Urban Planning, Ball State University.
The Chamber’s Civic Pride Committee is chaired by Alana Shane, Huntington Bank, and includes Ron Carter, Carmel City Council; Celest Mathews-Higgins, Old National Bank; Mike Hollibaugh, Carmel Department of Community Services; Nick Kestner, NK Rental; Diana Schmid, Irwin Union Bank; Joy Stafford, ReMax Ability Plus; Jeff Worrell, Advantage Medical and Mo Merhoff, Carmel Chamber.
Contact:
Mo Merhoff
846.1049
mm@carmelchamber.com
Jud Scott, Vine & Branch
846.3778
Pattie Chester, Citizens for Greenspace
848.2339
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