In Powell, Tennessee, Magnolia Harbor Carefarm offers something many people navigating grief struggle to find: a space for connection. Founded by UT College of Social Work alumna Dr. Bree Conklin (DSW ‘17), the care farm is a therapeutic program designed for individuals experiencing traumatic grief and loss. Located on a property filled with more than 50 rescued animals, Magnolia Harbor blends evidence-based therapy with the healing presence of nature.
Last month, Conklin’s work was recognized by the college when she received the Outstanding Alumnus Award at the fifth annual eVOLve Conference.
“We’re not a production-based farm,” Conklin said. “It is a sanctuary where animals are there just living their lives, and we honor the connection between humans, animals, and nature in a way that supports healing.”
The model itself is both simple and deeply intentional. “One of our 11-year-old clients said it best… a care farm is a farm that cares,” Conklin said. That philosophy is at the heart of Magnolia Harbor, where individuals who have experienced losses such as sudden, violent, or unexpected death are supported in processing grief that often cannot be put into words.
Conklin said her path to this work was shaped by both her professional background in trauma and deeply personal experiences with loss. “Walking the daily trauma of watching someone you love suffer and knowing it won’t get better… that rocks your world,” she said.
As she navigated her own grief while working clinically, Conklin began to recognize a gap in available resources, especially for those experiencing traumatic grief. “Grief resources are not a lot, and specifically, traumatic grief resources are not a lot,” she said. “A lot of the programming that exists focuses on recovery or healing, but if you’ve loved someone, you don’t just get over it.” That realization led her to establish Magnolia Harbor Carefarm, which is currently one of only two therapeutic care farms of its kind in the United States.
At the care farm, healing is not approached through traditional clinical methods alone. Instead, clients engage with animals, nature, and one another in ways that foster connection and resilience. “No matter what adversity we’re facing, if we have at least one safe human that we can connect with, the impact is buffered, and resilience can start to build,” Conklin said.
For Conklin, the work taking place at Magnolia Harbor is best described in two words: “tragic magic.” “I very much view the work of Magnolia Harbor as tragic magic,” she said. “It’s the most tragic circumstances of someone’s life, but it’s the connectedness that happens with each other, with the animals, with nature. There’s a shared understanding of what somebody else is experiencing that is so connecting and uniting.”