Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Horticulture

Advisor/Mentor

McDonald, Garry

Committee Member

Wisdom, Michelle

Second Committee Member

Whitehead-Adams, Isabel Maria

Abstract

As horticulture becomes increasingly popular as a subject, activity, and form of therapy, its inclusivity has not kept up with the pace of its growth. In order to address the need for inclusivity and accessibility, gardens must adopt universal design. Individuals with special needs continuously face discrimination. While horticulture therapy has long been studied and catered to primarily neurotypical and able-bodied individuals, there is limited research on creating gardens specifically to include those with disabilities. This project aimed to create a garden that could serve the needs of all participants, regardless of their ability and sensory needs. The garden was constructed at Camp Barnabas, a summer camp for children and adults with special needs, to allow for an extensive range of feedback in terms of age and ability. The aim was to create enough diversity within the garden to be accessible and inclusive to all, to provide foundational designs to be expanded upon by Camp Barnabas or other entities, and to provide examples that people can adapt to their own public or private gardens.

Keywords

public and community gardening; sensory gardening; landscape design; accessibility; sustainability; disability

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