By Jason Donati—
MUNCIE, IN—As the Muncie Action Plan (MAP) looks back on a productive year, we are excited to reflect on our continued efforts to enhance the quality of life in Muncie and Delaware County. We invite the community to join us for our Annual Report to the Community, taking place Wednesday, January 28, at 6:00 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room at Ivy Tech.
During this gathering, each of MAP’s four task forces will present their accomplishments and progress from 2025 and their goals and aspirations for 2026. This article marks the fourth and final in a series of updates from our dedicated task force leaders, highlighting the impact of MAP’s initiatives and the power of collaboration across our community.
Muncie Action Plan’s Task Force 4: Parks and Connective Corridors – Task Force 4 is tasked with increasing investments in Muncie’s parks and improving the quality of place along corridors, parks, and city neighborhoods. Muncie has some amazing amenities in our parks and one of the best trail systems in East Central Indiana. A lot of this work is done through many partners and community collaborations that include local municipalities, non-profits, and foundations. Lately there’s been a lot of synergy centered around Muncie’s most precious natural resource, the White River. The recovery and restoration of the White River in the last 50 years is as impressive as the Indiana Hoosiers football team making it to the national championship this year.
In 2025 we saw the launch of the Ball Brothers Foundation Project Blueways, which aims to increase access and appreciation of local waterways through greater watershed planning, recreation, education, and pollution prevention efforts. This is combined with a new promotion and branding campaign for the White River in collaboration with the Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District and Destination Muncie.
The Ball Brother Foundation has graciously funded grants in the last couple of years that added more safe and accessible canoe/kayak launches at Barlow Landing, Memorial Drive, and a clearing of overgrown access along McCulloch Blvd in the park. They’v also funded a mile marker sign program in collaboration with Delaware County Emergency Management Services to install 69 new mile marker signs in quarter-mile intervals between Muncie and Daleville along the White River. The sign information has been incorporated into the County’s dispatch and 911 services to help with communication in case of an emergency. More grant funds were included to extend the multi-use trail at Prairie Creek Reservoir, connecting 1.2 miles of ADA accessible gravel along the eastern bank of the reservoir linking the trail connection from the Cardinal Greenway through the Red Tail Nature Preserve to the existing multi-use trail at the southern tip of the reservoir.
In 2025, we also saw the opening of the Muncie Sanitary District’s Bureau of Water Quality (BWQ) White River Education Center and freshwater mussel propagation program. The BWQ released 39 juvenile native mussels into the White River so they can continue to serve as natural water filters and help with river restoration efforts. We also saw Muncie Delaware Clean and Beautiful, the Muncie Sanitary District, Indiana American Water, and numerous other community partners lead hundreds of volunteers for the 17th annual White River Clean-up.
The combination of these efforts and the multi-pronged approach towards river restoration, watershed planning, and trail connectivity will have incredible quality of life impacts for many generations to come. Stay tuned for more exciting developments and access through continued efforts to extend our network of greenways and blueways throughout our slice of Midwest paradise.
Join us on January 28 at 6:00 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room at Ivy Tech’s George and Frances Ball Building. You may park in the Green Lots and enter the door on Charles Street. This year’s Annual Report to the Community is made possible by generous support from Destination: Muncie and the Horizon Convention Center.
