FRENCH LICK, Ind. (October 2, 2026) – Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim) has announced that the Town of Zionsville is the recipient of the 2026 Aim Green Project of the Year Award for its Carpenter Nature Preserve. The town was recognized during the Annual Awards Luncheon, presented by Baker Tilly, on Wednesday, September 30, at the 2026 Aim Ideas Summit in French Lick.
Once a golf course sitting at the crossroads of expanding residential development, agricultural land, and the ecologically sensitive Eagle Creek corridor, the 215-acre site was secured in 2021 through a partnership between the Town of Zionsville, the Zionsville Parks and Recreation Department, and local philanthropists Jim and Nancy Carpenter. The preserve has since been made possible by more than $8 million in Town investment, over $800,000 raised by the Zionsville Parks Foundation, a $3 million Next Level Conservation Trust grant for land acquisition, and a $500,000 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant for Phase I implementation. Together, these public, private, and philanthropic resources preserved a critical segment of Zionsville’s long-term vision as “a town within a park.”
Phase I restoration transformed a landscape overrun by invasive species into a mosaic of prairie, woodland, and wetland habitats, including 19 acres of new native prairie, 10 acres of invasive vegetation removal, four acres of reforestation, and new wetland habitat along Eagle Creek. Visitor amenities are concentrated on upland areas to protect the more sensitive corridor. The Prairie Pavilion welcomes guests with a rainwater-harvesting roof that visibly feeds adjacent bioswales, a nature-based playscape built from repurposed trees, universally accessible trails and boardwalks, and sculptural wildlife viewing blinds shaped by native flora and fauna that let visitors observe birds, deer, and foxes without disturbing them.
“This year’s recipient of the Aim Community Green Project of the Year Award is a community that demonstrates what environmental stewardship looks like at municipal scale,” said Aim CEO Matt Greller. “Zionsville’s Carpenter Nature Preserve reflects a bold vision for how land, wildlife, and people can thrive together, made possible by the kind of public, private, and philanthropic partnership every Indiana community aspires to build. We are proud to present the Green Project of the Year Award to the Town of Zionsville for the vision and coordination behind this remarkable achievement.”
Learn more about the completed project here:
Aim launched the Green Communities Initiative in 2008 in partnership with Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC, to help municipalities identify cost-saving sustainability practices, strengthen quality-of-life initiatives, and serve as role models for environmental stewardship. The Green Project of the Year Award recognizes a program or project implemented within the past year that demonstrates exceptional commitment to sustainability, energy efficiency, and environmentally responsible community development.
Conference Facts:
2026 Aim Ideas Summit
September 29-October 1, 2026
French Lick Springs Resort | French Lick, Indiana
Attendance: 1,100 (pending final registration count)
Further information: www.aimindiana.org
Since the 1890s, Aim, formerly the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, has been an advocate for Indiana municipalities. Aim is the official voice of municipal government in Indiana, with more than 460 cities and towns as members. Our purpose is to foster, promote and advocate for the success of Hoosier municipalities as laboratories of innovation, hubs of talent and the engines driving our state’s economy.