The People Who started Slow Foot Movement
Take a man from Italy who grew up in the thriving, eclectic eight-century-old communal town centers known as the piazza. Move him to the Midwest of the United States for love and opportunity. Add a born and raised Michigander, whose first love is the outdoors. Over time and through life experiences that first love evolved into a passion for getting more people “out there” for recreation, health, and soul-soothing. Mix in a dose or two of Hoosier Hospitality and you have The Slow Foot Movement—dedicated to enabling people to enjoy their personal journey, not just the destination.
Guido Maregatti has always been a futurist. His early work included developing the Intulisten Program; teaching its concepts of the use of Classical Music to improve learning skills in children.
He then focused on the visual arts. He was the first photographer to use large format close-up photographs of nature to sooth and heal patients, family and staff at Riley Hospital for Children, in Indianapolis. His work continues to enrich the walls there today.
Moving into the digital arts; Guido designed, built and ‘filled/populated’ the most comprehensive, statewide trails website; www.indianatrails.com. Not only can one find up to date information and maps of any trail in Indiana; but the history of trail development has been documented by him in over 100 videos including interviews and trail rides.
As the Founder of Slow Foot Movement, Guido has now turned his focus to facilitating the enjoyment of one’s journey through life; whether for an hour, a day, week or lifetime.
Tina Jones, Guido’s assistant at Slow Foot Movement, is a landscape planner. She earned a Master Degree in Landscape Architecture from Ball State University. Her work and research in historic landscapes throughout the state provided an insight into the “lay of the land” in Indiana beginning with the Buffalo Trace and Wabash-Erie Canal and then transitioning to the century old historic greenways systems designed as the city plan by George Kessler for our larger cities. Adding to her knowledge base of how people re-create and their preferred uses of outdoor lands; Tina authored an Indianapolis-Marion County Comprehensive Park, Recreation and Open Space Plan, taught planting design and mentored graduate students in Urban Planning at Ball State University. On a daily basis she interacted with trail users as a city greenway planner from her office at the Depot on the Monon Rail Trail in Indianapolis/Broad Ripple.
She began her collaborations with Guido as assistant videographer, writer, and interviewer for the Indiana Trails video library. Coincidentally, they met in the Crossroads of America—Indianapolis, Indiana.