The Problem
Fort Wayne is losing ground, literally. As our city grows, pavement and conventional landscaping replace native green space, leaving neighborhoods hotter, flooding more frequent, and creating disconnect from the natural ecosystems that once supported us. A 2024 city-commissioned heat study found temperature differences of nearly 8 degrees between Fort Wayne's greenest and most developed neighborhoods, with the hottest areas concentrated in communities that already have the least access to resources. Stormwater flooding is also an ongoing and well-documented struggle across our city, one the community continues to pour significant resources into addressing. Meanwhile, wildlife habitat continues to shrink and young people who care about these problems are left without a clear way to act on that.
Our Plan
Through The Flyway, we are planting a community microforest in Fort Wayne utilizing the Miyawaki Method, an approach that creates dense, biodiverse, native forests in small urban spaces that grow up to ten times faster than conventional plantings and become largely self-sustaining over time. We are bringing together young people from across our community to lead every step of this project, from the planning and species selection to the planting day itself and the long-term care that follows. Volunteers with different strengths and backgrounds will each find a place in this work, whether that means getting their hands in the soil, spreading the word, or helping document the forest as it grows. The goal is to leave a small but thriving patch of native ecosystem in the middle of our city that cleans the air, absorbs the stormwater, and welcomes back pollinators and wildlife. A microforest won't fix everything, but it's a living response to local problems, and living proof of what young people can build when they work together
