Indy’s Urban Wilderness – Lawrence

Local Nonprofit Indy’s Urban Wilderness Seeks to Improve Connectivity and Quality of Life in Geist

Writer / Lynda Hedberg Thies

Photography Provided

What is an urban wilderness, and why does Indianapolis need one? Sargent Road Nature Park was just purchased and we have Fort Harrison State Park, as well as Skiles Test Nature Park. The Monon Trail is also not too far away.

By definition, the phrase urban wilderness is a place to experience adventure and solitude, and perhaps see rare and endangered species, on the edge of modern development. This basically describes Geist – beautiful landscapes hidden in plain view.

A small group of Geist residents got together and Indy’s Urban Wilderness (IUW) officially became a nonprofit in August of 2019. They have wasted no time getting to work. IUW is a community partnership designed to bring together our government, businesses, the public and other nonprofits to create a better Lawrence Township.

Their mission is to promote a sustainable trails system, providing safe connectivity for social, economic and healthful recreational pursuits in greater Lawrence Township, while advocating for respect and preservation of the natural environment.

Can this be achieved, and has anyone done this? Board President Bruce Lockhart, an area dentist, along with other board members, traveled to two cities that specifically designed a trail, path and park system, connecting residents for biking and hiking access. The public and private partnerships in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee, developed plans to create a better lifestyle for residents and more.

Over a 10 year period, leaders in Bentonville, known as the corporate headquarters of Walmart, developed a plan by hiring a park designer to create a comprehensive trail system that connects neighborhoods with paths and trails through the community to museums, restaurants, shops and parks. The plan was a major success, leading to a major improvement in the quality of life for residents.

Perhaps a more tangible result, beyond community pride, is the economic impact. Homes located on the trails and paths experienced a 7% to 10% increase in property values. The overall impact for Bentonville is $100 million annually to the local economy. Memphis achieved similar results with homeowner values, and an annual impact of $50 million per year to the local economy.

For IUW leaders the needs were different, in that there is a lot of infrastructure already in place, so enhancing quality of life is based on creating a plan to connect what already exists and enhancing existing locations. While this might sound easy, this project will require a complete public-private partnership.

The overall vision for Indy’s Urban Wilderness is as follows:

1. To improve the options for walking and biking around the community for healthier lifestyles.
2. To preserve green space because the natural character of our township needs protection.
3. To offer safe connections (including 82nd Street, Fall Creek Road, 96th Street and Sargent Road, particularly at rush hour) for unlimited, safe access from neighborhoods to green spaces, amenities and recreational areas.
4. To develop valuable infrastructure to strengthen Lawrence Township for businesses, to attract and retain families.

Lockhart and the rest of the IUW board are very passionate about the potential to improve the quality of life here in Geist, while also providing connectivity to surrounding communities.

“We have all gone out of town and visited some special place where we enjoyed the ability to bike or hike from where we were staying to a nice restaurant, coffee shop or ice cream cone and back, without ever getting in our car,” Lockhart says. “The experience of enjoying nature with family or friends often creates indelible memories which can last a lifetime.”

The group is currently working on completing the Fall Creek Greenway, a paved multi-use trail along Fall Creek from downtown Indianapolis to Fishers and beyond, via the City of Lawrence and Fort Harrison State Park. This is a 22-mile regional connector, of which all but six miles has been completed. This project was originally part of George Kessler’s Park and Boulevard Plan. The group is working closely with several municipalities and needs the cooperation of the Department of Natural Resources to achieve this goal.

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb has committed $90 million for the development of trails and paths throughout the state, so the group is encouraged by the recognition of each project’s potential. The recent acquisition of 25 acres of land along Sargent Road and 82nd Street, to be called Sargent Road Nature Park, brings the total to 60 acres of protected land in the community.

Once there is a safe way to connect neighborhoods, residents will be able to spend an evening or day biking to areas that would ordinarily require a car, such as Fort Harrison State Park and shops in Fort Ben, or shops on the Geist Marina. Residents will see and feel a difference in their community, and locally-owned shops, restaurants and parks will naturally benefit too.

Imagine being able to walk or bike to dinner, enjoy a relaxing hike after a stressful day at work, and experience a weekend that feels more like a vacation.

“We have a unique opportunity in Lawrence Township to create central Indiana’s healthiest and most desirable neighborhoods for generations to come,” says Dr. Franklin Roesner, an Indy’s Urban Wilderness board member.

Our community has a lot to offer, and creating an urban wilderness is truly a clear path to a better quality of life in Lawrence Township. To learn more, visit indysurbanwilderness.org.