The Gardening Hobbyist
Sierah Barnhart
Sierah was born and raised in Fort Wayne. After graduating from college, she returned to the city and started her family in the Southwood Park neighborhood.
Since then, Sierah—armed with strong civic pride and a love for gardening—has worked tirelessly to make a difference in her community. Her most ambitious project is Redbud Orchard, an urban garden she developed to beautify the Fairfield Terrace Belmont neighborhood.
After claiming the formerly blighted corner lot through an urban gardening program, she began planting a wildflower garden and food forest with native grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees. Many of the plants are not only beneficial for wildlife but are edible for humans, as well. They include the American hazelnut, the American plum, the blossom of the eastern redbud, New Jersey tea, elderberries and black raspberries.
“I am proud of the positive feedback I’ve received from residents of the neighborhood,” Sierah said. “Although I own the land, I’m technically an outsider there, so knowing that the residents are happy with what we’re doing is important to me.”
She added, “You can completely change the trajectory of a community by convincing residents to care for it. That’s why giving residents opportunities to feel like they belong and have ownership in their community cannot be undervalued.”
What a life of significance and worth looks like to Sierah:
“A life of significance and worth is one where my time, talents and passions improve the lives of my neighbors and the conditions of the neighborhoods I serve.”
Learn more about Sierah’s work
- Redbud Orchard
- Her work as the Southwood Park neighborhood’s beautification chair, courtesy of the Waynedale News