Testimonials

The Fellowship Program will not be held in 2023.
Program to Resume for Summer 2024.

A rare opportunity

I highly recommend the Garden Club of Virginia Research Fellowships to any student interested in landscape architecture history. The fellowships provide a rare opportunity to develop an extensive range of landscape history research skills under the supervision of a dedicated, engaged, and knowledgeable team. Through the fellowship research, I expanded my knowledge of both archive and site research techniques, as well as the possible interplay between these methods. I was… Read more “A rare opportunity”

Krista Reimer, 2017 Rieley Fellow
Westover Plantation, Charles City County

Gain hands-on experience

I found my experience as the 2014 GCV Rudy J. Favretti Research Fellow to be an excellent complement to my academic training in landscape design and historic preservation, providing a wonderful opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the field of historic landscape preservation.  I was encouraged to truly own my research and documentation project from beginning to end, with enthusiastic support and expert guidance along the way as needed from… Read more “Gain hands-on experience”

Cheryl Miller, 2014 Favretti Fellow
Belvoir, The Plains

Highly collaborative

While completing the masters of landscape architecture program at the University of Minnesota with an emphasis in cultural landscape studies, I learned of the Garden Club of Virginia and its incredible contributions to landscape preservation and restoration. When I discovered that GCV’s 2013 William D. Rieley Fellowship would provide an opportunity to research and document the Reynolds Homestead, a National Historic Landmark property, I knew that it would be a… Read more “Highly collaborative”

Matthew Traucht, 2013 Rieley Fellow
Reynolds Homestead, Critz

Connecting people to the outdoors

My time spent with the Garden Club of Virginia and in my Fellowship was made meaningful through the people I encountered in telling the story of the Western State Hospital. I was able to open a dialogue with some of the site’s current users, with past physicians and their family members, and share the story widely in my graduate studies. Getting lost in libraries throughout the state opened up a… Read more “Connecting people to the outdoors”

Ashley Allis, 2011 Favretti Fellow
Old Western State Hospital, Staunton

Productive, fun and engaging

My experience living in Virginia for the summer as a Rudy J. Favretti Fellow sponsored by the Garden Club of Virginia was a tremendous opportunity for me both personally and professionally. This Fellowship provided me with the time, space, project and support to apply my design, representation and research skills towards the production and documentation of a summer’s worth of discoveries. The combination of gaining insight about my site from… Read more “Productive, fun and engaging”

Maria Counts, 2010 Favretti Fellow
Green Plains, Mathews County