Marci-Ann Smith is designing healing landscapes and helping to debunk cultural fallacies. For decades, there has been an inaccurate narrative in society that Black Americans don’t seek the same enjoyment of outdoor recreation and nature as others. But Smith, a 2023 Landscape Architecture Master’s student is helping to change the conversation through a powerful thesis project at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
“I discovered the concept of designing a Nature Rx, which explores how green spaces can help the mental wellbeing of college students, through my thesis project because I had to figure out what gap my work would address,” said Smith. “While researching, I realized there were no such spaces or programs at any HBCUs. That’s where the idea sparked to reimagine the landscape of my alma mater, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) because I personally could’ve used more places designed for reflection and tranquility while I was an undergraduate student.”
To accomplish this, she conducted three site visits to UMES to take inventory of trees, storm drains, bog life, vegetation, and trails while also interviewing university community members. She also spoke with Black female leaders in the nature community like Jennifer Roberts from the UMD School of Public Health (who co-founded the Nature Rx@UMD program) and renowned public horticulturist, historian and writer, Abra Lee. Smith even received assistance from her mom, who helped count campus trees.
Smith personalized the designs for her project by incorporating culturally significant Black American gardening styles into her work, such as large potted plants, which she learned more about through works such as Places for the Spirit: Traditional African American Gardens. She also included a plaza design featuring vibrant floral decorations and colors like those in the Kente cloth pattern, which can be representative symbols of African tribal history, values, and ethics.
“For me, what is most critical is to change the perception that Black people can’t embrace nature and spend time outdoors as recreation,” said Smith. “It’s a big communication and misrepresentation issue that dates back to slavery. Black Americans are very vibrant and there are a lot of colors in nature that reflect our personality, which should be incorporated into designed spaces.”
Smith also paid tribute to Indigenous Americans in her design of the Manokin Walk, a proposed path that is curvilinear to reflect the movement of water and is paved with embedded glass beads to represent the lives of the Manokin Tribe.
Raised in Jamaica, Smith and her family moved to the United States when she was 14 years old. Trading an environment she viewed as “wild and free” for the “uniform and maintained” suburbs was initially a culture shock but also motivation to transform the landscape around her, leading to her studies at UMES then to UMD.
From her experience with this project, Smith has become a champion for Nature Rx programs, which provide a holistic way of addressing mental health issues such as anxiety and depression that are prevalent among students. Multiple studies have shown that spending even a few hours each week in nature can improve mood, cognitive ability, alertness, ability to concentrate, social connection and overall sense of well-being.
Thanks to the strength of her community empowering designs, Smith was recognized for her project, “Creating Space for Nature Rx at Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” by receiving the 2024 Professional Design Award in the category of Research from the Maryland American Society of Landscape Architects. Dr. Naomi Sachs, Smith’s thesis chair, points out that this was not a student award, but instead fully competitive with other landscape architecture firms. “The jury recognized Marci’s exemplary research and resulting design. I’m very proud of her.”
While she was honored to have received recognition for her work, Smith is most hopeful that her designs will ignite a similar spark from other HBCUs to pursue becoming Nature Rx spaces, further helping to change misconceptions and create more inclusive spaces.
by Andrew Muir : Momentum Magazine Summer 2024
