Converging on the White River:
The 52nd Annual SMA Conference in Indianapolis
Photos by Michelle Sutton
24 City Trees 24 City Trees
We who attended the 2016 SMA conference in November
in Indianapolis, Indiana were blessed with sunny days. This
enhanced our enjoyment of the preconference tour of parks
in Indianapolis-adjacent Carmel, including the Village/planned
community of West Clay. In 2015, under the leadership of urban
forester and MFI grad Daren Mindham, Carmel became
SMA
Accredited.
In between sessions, conference goers could enjoy the impres-
sive Indianapolis downtown, including an 8-mile (13-km)
urban bike and pedestrian trail system called the Indianapolis
Cultural Trail. The Trail connects half a dozen neighborhoods
and is dotted with public art installations. There are 29
Indiana Pacers bikeshare stations to get you to world-class
museums and to an unusually extensive selection of downtown
restaurants. Thoughtful horticulture abounds and there are
25,400 square feet (2360 sq m) of attractive bioswales and
stormwater planters along the Trail; you can watch an excellent
Sunset along the downtown canal, which runs alongside the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus.
Carmel Urban Forester and MFI Grad Daren Mindham
