COMMUNITY & EDUCATION
Gardens have the power to foster connection, resilience, and care. Alongside my design practice, I collaborate on community-based projects and occasionally share my experience through teaching, invited talks, and writing. These opportunities allow me to explore the social and emotional dimensions of landscape, particularly in places where access to nature is limited or unequal.
Selected Presentation
Planting Justice: A Garden Designed to Empower Youth in a Juvenile Detention Facility
University conference, Italy, 2024
How does interacting with nature mitigate the harm of incarceration and cultivate hope? This presentation examined the transformation of a small, fully caged outdoor area into a therapeutic garden for incarcerated youth—reclaiming physical space while offering moments of autonomy, beauty, and possibility.
Pro Bono Projects
Much of my community work grows out of a simple question: who has access to gardens, and who does not?
While many private clients seek refuge and restoration through landscape, I’m equally interested in how gardens can serve people and communities who may not otherwise have access to these experiences. Working with schools, youth organizations, and nonprofit partners has broadened my understanding of how different communities relate to land and plants, and continues to shape my thinking about gardens as places of belonging and care.
Teen Garden, Tiburon Library, Tiburon, California, 2023
Pollinator Garden, Wade Thomas Elementary School, San Anselmo, California, 2022
Community Butterfly Garden, Tiburon, California, 2021
Play Garden, Ross Preschool, Ross, California, 2020
Heritage Edible Garden, China Camp State Park, San Rafael, California, 2019
Therapeutic Teaching Garden, Marin Juvenile Hall, San Rafael, California, 2018-2024
Sensory Garden & Colonial Garden, Lucas Valley Elementary School, San Rafael, California, 2018
Edible Garden planning & education, Edna Maguire Elementary School, Mill Valley, California, 2009-2012