My research interests revolve around landscape preservation, cultural identity and spirit of place, rivers and ecological systems, legacy dams, and the built environment’s spatial relationship with waterways.
Over the last academic year, I have developed a body of work revolving around the Assabet River watershed, where I live, looking at the visibility of our waterways, the legacy dams and resistance to their removal, and the ecological, spatial, and social forces that impact the health of our water systems.
In summer 2025, I was fortunate to undertake more independent research, supported by the Garden Club of America’s Moore Family Fellowship in the Making of the American Landscape. This project looked at legacy dams regionally, and particularly those located in town centers, cities, or hamlets, to better understand the breadth of conditions that exist, and to analyze the spatial relationship of the built environment to the river. This embodied research serves as the foundation of my ongoing thesis project, which explores the opportunities that these legacy dam sites present.
These projects have led me to my thesis project, which will speculate on how these sites could become opportunities to build ecological literacy through the creation of immersive public spaces that could reframe the human-river relationship within these town centers.
In spring 2025, I undertook a research project looking at the Trustees of Reservations, the history of landscape preservation, and practical realities related to preserving and managing historic landscapes. My interest in cultural landscapes combines my expertise in garden management and a passion for history.
© 2026 Travis Kelley
Travis Kelley 