At UConn, the disciplines of plant science and landscape architecture are housed in a single department.
This arrangement provides unique opportunities for students like Brianna Collazo ‘26 (CAHNR), a landscape architecture student who spent this past summer working on the UConn Plant Science Research & Education Farm, which serves both plant science and landscape architecture projects.
“It’s lovely,” Collazo says. “There are so many opportunities that have been opened and so many events where we get to socialize and learn from one another.”
Collazo had explored several academic pathways while at Manchester Community College before coming to UConn. She took courses in everything from computer science to sculpture before realizing she was interested in architecture. Given this and her love of being outside, the landscape architecture program at UConn was a perfect fit.
“When I was looking up majors similar to architecture, I found landscape architecture and I did a little bit of research and I was like ‘wow, I think I’ll really like doing this’,” Collazo says.
Collazo says she quickly fell in love with the program at UConn.
“I’m so excited to go to class every day,” Collazo says. “You can ask anyone, I’m usually the first one to get to studio and the last one to leave.”
UConn’s landscape architecture program is nationally accredited and provides a close-knit educational atmosphere for around 60 students. Working closely with ten faculty, communities, and practicing landscape architects, students have the opportunity to participate in experiential learning across Connecticut.
“Brianna is a wonderful ambassador for our program and department. She brings an infectious energy to all that she does. Her skills and thinking have grown tremendously over the past year and we can’t wait to see her work progress,” says Jill Desimini, program director for Landscape Architecture.
During her sophomore year, Collazo decided she wanted to gain more practical experience to better prepare her for internships.
She found an opening on the Research Farm and with encouragement from Travis Clark, the Research Farm manager, decided to apply.
The Research Farm has been in operation for over 100 years supporting research, teaching, and extension work at CAHNR. The 153-acre facility is a short drive from UConn’s main campus in Storrs, making it uniquely accessible for students. There are over 50 research plots where faculty and graduate students conduct basic and applied scientific experiments in subjects like sustainable agriculture, turfgrass and soil science, greenhouse and nursery operations, and fruit and vegetable production.
“The summer was really exciting,” Collazo says. “[Clark] was really happy to have me there and I felt like I was being cared for.”
“I was excited to be able to bring Brianna on the farm this summer. Her unique background in landscape architecture and her willingness to learn made her an asset to our team,” says Clark ’09 (CAHNR). “This internship provided Brianna with a lot of the hands-on skills through experiential learning that will continue to be valuable to her throughout her career.”
Over the summer, Collazo not only gained practical skills for working on a farm, but learned outside of her major about soil science, cover crops, and how to use different species for different purposes.
“I wanted to take so much out of this experience,” Collazo says. “Every single day I would learn something.”
Collazo also supported graduate students working on the farm over the summer and has continued assisting two: Julie-Ann Adorno, an advisee of Haiying Tao, associate professor of soil nutrition management and soil health; and Brian Garzon, an advisee of Mariana Fragomeni, assistant professor of landscape architecture.
After this experience, Collazo decided she want to go to graduate school to continue her studies, looking at how to design agricultural sites for research.
“Hearing about their passion and their work over the summer really got me to understand how much it takes to make a landscape, how much goes into the different systems of the outdoors, and how we need to combine all of those to create the best design to benefit us,” Collazo says.
This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Ensuring a Vibrant and Sustainable Agricultural Industry and Food Supply.
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