Grassroots Seed Grant

Grassroots Seed Grant is a grant from University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA) that “The Grassroots Seed Grants are vital to fostering the early-stage ideas that can grow into transformative research, teaching innovations, and creative work,” said Bo Yang, associate dean of research for CAPLA.

This project addresses that gap by integrating environmental economics into the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture curriculum, giving students the tools to evaluate and communicate the value of ecosystem services such as clean air, water filtration, climate regulation, and recreation. Universities, Nonprofits, State/local governments.

CAPLA announces 2025 Grassroots Seed Grant Awardees | College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture CAPLA announces 2025 Grassroots Seed Grant Awardees Announcing the 2025 Grassroots Seed Grant Awardees School of Landscape Architecture and Planning Sustainable Built Environments The College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Grassroots Seed Grants, which support innovative teaching, research, scholarship, and creative activity.

“The Grassroots Seed Grants are vital to fostering the early-stage ideas that can grow into transformative research, teaching innovations, and creative work,” said Bo Yang, associate dean of research for CAPLA. “They empower our faculty to explore bold approaches, build collaborations, and make meaningful contributions to the communities we serve,” said Nancy Pollock-Ellwand, dean of CAPLA.

Grassroots Teaching Innovation Seed Grant Project: The Worth of Place: Building an Interdisciplinary Framework for Landscape Design and Valuation Team: Kirk Dimond, April Athnos For true sustainability, design must balance environmental, social, and economic dimensions—a framework known as the triple bottom line.

While landscape architecture education already engages deeply with environmental and social systems, it often lacks an equally strong economic foundation. This project addresses that gap by integrating environmental economics into the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture curriculum, giving students the tools to evaluate and communicate the value of ecosystem services such as clean air, water filtration, climate regulation, and recreation.

The project will introduce an environmental economics module into Design Studio III (LAR 301), apply real-world landscape architecture case studies in Economics of the Natural Environment (AREC 478), and create an open repository of economic benefits data for CAPLA students.

Outcomes will be shared through conferences and peer-reviewed publications, positioning CAPLA’s program as a leader in applying economic principles to sustainable design education. Grassroots Research Innovation Seed Grant Project: Housing Medicaid-Enrolled Adults with Serious Mental Illness Team: Atticus A.

Jaramillo, Maia Ingram, Arlie Adkins This project advances the evaluation of the Housing and Health Opportunities (H2O) demonstration, a unique Medicaid-funded policy experiment administered by Arizona’s Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS).

Implemented in October 2024, H2O funds specialized homelessness prevention and support services for low-income adults with serious mental illness, aiming to improve health and wellbeing, reduce costs of care, and increase housing stability.

Grassroots Scholarship and Creative Activity Seed Grant Project: More-Than-Human Design Methods in Sonoran Ecologies Team: Sheehan Wachter, Chris Tucker, Jesus Robles In response to the climate and biodiversity crisis, this project explores how design can embody “more-than-human” ethics—approaches that honor the interconnected relationships between humans, other living beings, and ecological systems.

Partnering with The Land With No Name Sanctuary, a nonprofit arts and cultural organization located on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O’odham people, the project will conduct site research and pre-design activities for new arts programming structures.

Drawing on both indigenous knowledge and ecological science, the team seeks to reframe ideas of “site” and “nature” while integrating these concepts into CAPLA courses such as advanced studios, material economies electives, and visualization and fabrication classes.

The work will not only support the Sanctuary’s mission but also develop design methods that strengthen multispecies relationships and ecological stewardship in the built environment. These projects exemplify CAPLA’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and addressing complex challenges in the built and natural environments—creating new knowledge and practices with real-world impact.

Latest CAPLA News, Projects and Profiles School of Landscape Architecture and Planning Kirk Dimond honored with CELA TRIAD Award Kirk Dimond has received the TRIAD Award from the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, recognizing his exceptional leadership and sustained service to the field.

Over eight years with the organization, including five as treasurer, he strengthened its financial stability, advanced long-term planning and helped establish key scholarships and endowments.

School of Landscape Architecture and Planning Sustainable Built Environments CAPLA faculty awarded grant to support planning in Idaho community Associate Professors Philip Stoker and Shujuan Li have received a two-year grant to support community scenario planning and long-term water supply strategies in Blaine County, Idaho, a rapidly growing gateway region facing increasing development and water resource pressures.

By combining urban growth modeling, water demand forecasting and spatial analysis, their work will help local leaders understand how different development patterns could impact future water availability. Design Arts and Practices Cookbook Creation: Ella Parsons ‘27 B. Arch CAPLA student Ella Parsons ('27 B.

Arch) shares her ecological “cookbook,” blending art, architecture, and ecology to explore site, narrative, and design through experimental methods.