About Forests for All Project
The Forests for All Project was started in 2025 by longtime Indiana organizers and environmental leaders Jeff Stant and Mike Oles. It is housed by the Tim Carpenter Institute, a 501(C3) organization.
Mike and Jeff started working together in 2023 to stop the rezoning of 192 acres of environmentally sensitive forest on the northwest corner of Indianapolis. Jeff was the executive director of the Indiana Forest Alliance, and Mike was a well-known Bernie Sanders-style organizer with a track record of success in tough campaigns.
In 2024, Mike became Director of the Forests for the Indy Program at the Indiana Forest Alliance. Within months, Mike and Jeff had taken the Forests for Indy program into uncharted territory. For the first time, the five-year-old campaign successfully persuaded the Indianapolis City Council and the Mayor's office to take action on forest acquisition.
Over fourteen months, between February 2024 and April 2025, Forests for Indy successfully secured over three million dollars to enable the city of Indianapolis to purchase privately owned urban forests.
The Forests for All Project was started after both Oles and Stant left the Indiana Forest Alliance, but wanted to to keep the fight for urban forests moving forward.
