29-05-2025
Indy neighborhood lacked a public park - so residents got together and made their own
The 317 Project tells stories of life in all of Indianapolis' vibrant neighborhoods – 317 words at a time.
A couple of years ago, if Kristen Tjaden wanted to go to a park, she'd have to choose between driving there or crossing a dangerous intersection. Tjaden, chair of engagement for the South Village Neighborhood Association, said her neighborhood didn't have an outdoor space of its own.
What it did have, though, was an abandoned patch of land backing up to the banks of Pleasant Run Creek. Longtime residents like Gene Parsley recalled there had once been a paved walking trail, and a pedestrian bridge crossing the water.
Parsley, now a co-chair of the neighborhood association, remembered plucking crawdads from the same creek as a child. Over the years, though, it had become a dumping ground.
"We have this natural resource in the middle of an urban neighborhood that is underutilized," recalled Laura Piercefield, also a neighborhood association co-chair.
The group applied for a grant from the city, pitching a garden designed to let people gather and learn about the native ecosystem. They were awarded $10,000 to convert the once-forgotten acre into an inviting, peaceful space.
Today, native wildflowers bloom around the large rocks that serve as benches. Red-winged blackbirds call to each other across the water. Visitors include people but also owls, herons and foxes.
There's no specific name — it's just "the garden."
Maintenance remains a group effort. Piercefield marks invasive species with weed dye and Parsley pulls them out. Volunteers are welcome.
The group hopes to put in signs describing the native flora and fauna to make the garden as educational as it is sensory.
Tjaden now has a safe place to walk with her big dog, and Parsley has a place to enjoy the sun and listen to the water.
Piercefield said the garden offers a way for people to learn and connect without sitting in front of a screen.
"I've met neighbors — every single time — that are people that I have never known," Piercefield said.
