Garden Behind The Fence

Supporting curricula in horticultural therapy programs, Garden Behind The Fence rethinks the typical detention environment by integrating raised planter beds with seating to create programmable social hubs, thereby transforming the contremporary prison landscape and promote the rehabilitative experience of gardening through stewardship. By engaging incarcerated students of prison horticulture programs to construct the planters, the project aims to help instill ownership and and lifelong skills, while transforming the landscape. Garden Behind The Fence assures that interaction with plants, soil, and wildlife is ongoing, and the stewards of the garden can always plan for the next season.

This project was conceived while volunteering at Rikers Island Jail Complex in the Horticultural Therapy Program. Personal participation, research, and testing led this project to be reviewed by multiple horticultural therapy organizations who operate in the US correctional system.