Just a few miles from The Heritage Group headquarters on the northwest side of Indianapolis is Moore Road Farm, a property that borders Little Eagle Creek and provides habitat for a diverse collection of flora and fauna. Wandering the acres of gardens and forest trails, you’ll see all kinds of plants from squash to sunflowers to towering sycamore trees and countless creatures — bees, bugs, beavers, bunnies, deer and even an eagle or two. 

The farm is also home to The STEM Connection (TSC), a program that invites children of all ages to unleash their curiosity through nature-related field trips, summer camps and at-home kits that inspire futures in STEM fields. With their focus on STEM education and commitment to those who are under-represented in STEM careers, TSC closely aligns with our giving strategy and is one of The Heritage Group’s community partners.  

Within the last year, this partnership has grown beyond just sponsorship dollars and donations to include fun touchpoints and opportunities: scientists from Heritage Research Group have shared their love of STEM with young campers during a lunch-and-learn session. Our THG Young Professional Affinity Group visited the farm last summer for a tour and happy hour and members of that group have returned to volunteer. When the YP group learned of TSC’s need for new aggregate for their driveways and pavement of their parking lot, they made an important connection to people at HC+M. 

AMI Director of Sales Dave Rassel and Milestone Senior Project Manager Justin Patterson walked the property with TSC’s team to hear about the issues and then pulled in Milestone Senior Estimator Joel McClenney. Within days, Joel and his team had the paperwork ready for the grant that helped pay for the project and Joel made sure TSC got the most from their budget. 

The project expanded bus turnaround and parking areas, added stone-covered spaces for overflow parking and enlarged the entrance drive to make vehicle access easier. Drainage problems were solved with some small cross pipes and sheet draining of the asphalt pavements. Pathways were regraded and stoned to make pedestrian traffic a little safer. 

The result: Moore Road Farm is safer and more accessible for people to navigate. 

“Accessibility is critical to serving those underrepresented in STEM careers,” said TSC Director of Operations Ruth Wolff. “The improvements to the hardscape allow easier access for those providing transportation, but also to all those physically navigating our spaces each day including our own staff, participants, teachers and chaperones, ensuring greater access to our programs and support for all.” 

“Milestone has worked with us to meet our needs within our budget,” said TSC Executive Director Vera Vanderkooy. “And the relationships we’ve formed have been key in making this project go from dream to reality. We are extremely grateful to make a difference together.” 

The Milestone team enjoyed the change of scenery that the farm offered. “The view and surrounding property were gorgeous,” said Joel. “Working in a natural environment was a nice change from the typical construction and road sites. We also enjoyed working on a project that would benefit so many children and met a lot of nice volunteers along the way.”