Garden History & DesignKailey Kruse
2026 The Douglas Dockery Thomas Fellowship in Garden History and Design
Therapeutic Gardening in Transient Shelter Environments
This project examines how therapeutic agroecological gardens function as spaces of care, cultivation, and restoration within transient and resource-constrained shelter environments. Through site-based analysis of established educational and community garden precedents, the research investigates how spatial design, placement, microclimate, and stewardship practices support environmental comfort, everyday use, and a sense of belonging. The study situates shelter-adjacent gardening within a broader inquiry into therapeutic agroecology, emphasizing the integration of ecological cultivation, participatory stewardship, and socially responsive landscape design. By translating insights from existing garden models into adaptable placemaking and placekeeping strategies, the project hopes to expand access to design knowledge relevant to homelessness-serving environments.
School: Arizona State University
The Douglas Dockery Thomas Fellowship in Garden History and Design
To further the study of history and design in the American garden and to look to the future of gardens and their unique place in our environment.
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