Research & reports

John Diaz, Laura A. Warner, Sue Webb, Debra M. Barry · Applied Environmental Education & Communication · Global

This study used a consensus-driven process to identify central issues impeding the sustained success of school gardens. It outlined practical, logistical, and institutional barriers that need to be addressed to ensure their success in supplementing education.

Cristh Ellen Ferreira Pinheiro, Hélder dos Anjos Augusto, Cledinado Aparecido Dias, Fábio da Silva Gonçalves, Marcelo Oliveira · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (São Paulo)

This study in Montes Claros, MG, Brazil, investigated the reality of urban farmers commercializing vegetable production to propose multidisciplinary extension and research actions. It identified agricultural production regions, the main functions of urban agriculture from the farmers' perspective, and the difficulties faced by these producers. The analysis highlighted the need for multidisciplinary approaches due to the identified demands, implying challenges in economic viability.

Jose Martinez Carbonell · Cultura Educación y Sociedad · Colombia

A qualitative study involving twelve tenth-grade students and their parents at Jose Dadul Agroecological Technique IED in Colombia implemented a school garden as a research tool. The study found limitations during activity implementation, including lack of interest from parents acting as companions, insufficient space and time, and cessation of academic activities. Despite these constraints, it was possible to increase motivation for both parents and students through research and contemporary strategies.

Fikret ALINCAK, Mehmet Ali Öztürk, Tuğba TURAK · The Online Journal of Recreation and Sport · Turkey (Gaziantep)

This study investigated the pedagogical expectations of 25 classroom teachers in Gaziantep, Turkey, regarding playgrounds in school gardens, using open-ended questions and content analysis. The findings revealed that teachers perceived school gardens as inadequate and unsuitable for students' levels, and considered the areas unreliable. Teachers concluded that playgrounds should be wide, have diverse game tools, be educational, and have corrected ground for student safety to support children's development.

Arlinda Sheqiri, Parna Rastgo · Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering - A · Europe

A study on the use and value of green school grounds in developing countries was conducted across five schools in Podujevo, Kosovo. The findings revealed that the potential of green school grounds in most studied cases has not been utilized. Opportunities provided by the municipality and environmental NGOs are insufficient, suggesting a need to rethink the design and use of green school grounds in developing countries.

Virginia L. J. Bolshakova, John Gieng, C. Sheena Sidhu, Mary Vollinger, Lorena Gimeno, Jessica Guild · Journal of Youth Development · United States (California)

The "Healthy Living Ambassador" school garden program in low-income communities integrated resources from schools, community programs, and the University of California Cooperative Extension. This program utilized culturally competent teenagers as teachers to educate elementary school youth on healthy living. The successes and challenges of the program development were discussed, revealing that public schools often lack the resources and support to establish sustainable garden-based programming.

김정식, 한미영 · · South Korea

This study examined the suitability of urban agriculture expert training programs in South Korea, surveying students in Daejeon in 2018. Over 60% of students viewed experts as knowledge transmitters, with most motivated by qualification acquisition. While major city programs focused on basic cultivation, the study concluded that current curricula are insufficient for future urban agriculture trends. It recommended adding programs on urban community understanding, industrialization, cooperative agriculture, and farm management.

Kate Wright · Cultural Studies Review · Australia (New South Wales)

A postdoctoral project involving collaboratively planting and maintaining a community garden on land that was once part of the East Armidale Aboriginal Reserve in New South Wales, Australia, began in 2014. This research offers a personal narrative of involvement in an anti-colonial multispecies research project within the confines of a neoliberal university, interrogating the potential and limitations of anti-colonial projects undertaken from colonial subject positions predicated on social and environmental privilege.

Natalia Caroline de Souza Aguiar, Marcelo Alves Ramos, Múcio Luiz Banja Fernandes · Asian Journal of Applied Sciences · Brazil

This study analyzed the views of thirteen teachers in a public school in northeastern Brazil regarding the importance and use of a medicinal garden planted in 2014. Interviews revealed a lack of interest among teachers in using the school garden, despite most recognizing its importance as a didactic resource. The findings suggest that intervention projects in schools require teachers to be prepared for their use, highlighting the need for a teacher training plan.

Illana C. Livstrom, Amy Smith, Mary Rogers, Karl Hackansan · Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies · Global

A qualitative case study of "Grounding Roots," a community-based collaborative educational program that aims to build food, environmental, and cognitive justice through sustainable urban agriculture and horticulture via intergenerational communities of practice. Drawing on Linda Tuhiwai Smith's framework of decolonizing methodologies, the study examined both the ways a Community-University partnership engaged in decolonizing work through research and practice, and the ways the same partnership served to preserve colonizing practices, using deductive coding grounded in decolonizing-practice theory. Identified decolonizing practices included implementing a program of worth to the community and youth, building from community-led agendas, and prioritizing community healing and transformation over academic research agendas. Identified colonizing practices included inequitable power hierarchies within the leadership team and in garden groups, deficit-oriented talk about minoritized youth, and the devalorization of youth voice. The study concludes that researchers doing community-based work need to examine the white supremacist roots embedded in their own practices, embrace decolonizing and humanizing approaches, engage in community-driven agendas that prioritize process over product, facilitate distributed leadership in collaboration with community members, and produce work of genuine value together with the community.

Elizabeth W. Cotter, Carla Teixeira, Annessa Bontrager, Kasharena Horton, Deyanira Soriano · Public Health Nutrition · United States (Washington, DC)

This study conducted focus groups with 28 adults in three affordable housing communities in Washington, D.C., USA, to understand low-income adults' attitudes towards participating in farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA), and nutrition education programming. The results revealed that adults living in urban, affordable housing communities desire access to healthy foods but are limited by cost. Programs could have a higher likelihood of success if they accept benefits like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), are heavily marketed, and incorporate culturally relevant nutrition education components.

Michael Kennedy · OpenSIUC (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) · Global

Community gardens can serve as important local greenspaces to address environmental degradation and educate individuals about the importance of food and the environment. However, certain barriers need to be overcome and addressed before community gardens are successfully implemented. Participation and interaction within community gardens may provide a pathway to long-term commitment to sustainability, encouraging individuals to adopt more environmentally supportive behaviors and a deeper commitment to environmentalism.

Nele Huys, Katrien De Cocker, Marieke De Craemer, Marleen Roesbeke, Greet Cardon, Sara De Lepeleere · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Belgium (Ghent)

In four primary schools in Ghent, Belgium, twelve interviews with 14 key members and five focus groups with 38 children (fifth to sixth grade, 10-13 years old) were conducted to investigate school garden implementation practices and perceptions. School gardens were primarily initiated to involve children in nature, not to improve vegetable consumption. Participants were positive about school gardens but also experienced various barriers, including difficulties with startup, maintenance during summer holidays, and integration into the school curriculum.

Erin Vernoni, Jessica Price, Shoko Kumagai · · Global

A systematic review of quantitative peer-reviewed Farm to School (FTS) research found ambiguity and variability in FTS inputs. This makes it difficult to generalize outcomes for policymakers. The study proposes a pre-tested intensity measurement tool to standardize research in this area.

Kathy B. Knight, Janie W. Cole, Lacy M. Dodd, Charlotte B. Oakley · International Journal of School Health · United States

The "Eating good and moving like we should (EGMLWS)" school-based intervention aimed to prevent and reduce childhood obesity among primarily African American third-grade students in 7 Mississippi Delta schools. The program included curricula, school gardens, and school menu consultation. Pre- and post-intervention BMI z-scores and Fitnessgram parameters (PACER and back-saver sit-and-reach) were compared. Mean BMI z-scores significantly lowered in 2 schools, did not change in 4 schools, and increased in 2 schools. PACER scores increased in 5 of 7 schools, and sit-and-reach scores increased in 5 and 6 schools respectively.

Carl E. Taylor, Elizabeth B. Symon, Amy Dabbs, Alexander Way, Olivia M. Thompson · HortTechnology · United States

An online survey of 37 educators (36% response rate) in South Carolina, who completed a school gardening training course between 2012-2015, assessed a pilot farm-to-school initiative. The study found that most educators were unaware their garden was part of the initiative, and gardens were not integrated with school-wide programs, particularly cafeteria meals. However, most educators maintained their gardens for over a year and used them for academic instruction.

Andrea Oyuela, Arnold van der Valk · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Honduras (Tegucigalpa)

This study questions the adequacy of Tegucigalpa's top-down planning system in Honduras and explores urban agriculture (UA) as a potential building block for a bottom-up strategy. While UA is organized in Tegucigalpa due to residents' need to overcome food insecurity and hardship, the concept of active citizenship and bottom-up development is not yet consolidated. Furthermore, challenges exist regarding the resources needed for practicing UA and the diffusion of knowledge to the population.

Pepijn Schreinemachers, Dhruba Raj Bhattarai, Giri Dhari Subedi, Tej P. Acharya, Hsiao-pu Chen, Ray-Yu Yang, Narayan Kaji Kashichhawa, Upendra Dhungana, Gregory C. Luther, Maureen Mecozzi · Journal of Development Effectiveness · Nepal

This study evaluated the combined impact of school gardens and nutrition education on 10- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in Nepal, using a cluster randomized controlled trial with 1275 students (2014) and 785 students (2015). After one year, significant improvements were observed in children's awareness of fruits and vegetables, knowledge of sustainable agriculture, food, nutrition, and health, and stated preferences for eating fruits and vegetables. However, these improvements in intermediary outcomes did not translate into significant improvements in fruit and vegetable consumption or nutritional status.

Devon A. Mihesuah · American Indian Culture and Research Journal · United States

In Oklahoma, tribes have initiated numerous food projects over the past three decades aimed at achieving food sovereignty. However, Oklahoma's complex history, environmental issues, and current politics present challenges such as uneven food quality, poor indigenous health, intratribal factionalism, racism, and a stark dichotomy of affluence and extreme poverty. These factors complicate the creation of self-sufficient food systems and the reconnection of tribal members with traditional foodways.

Donovon Ceaser · Ethnography & Education · Global

This study analyzed the leadership of founder John Browne at Green Shoots, a nonprofit service-learning urban farming school established in 2010, using the theory of founder's syndrome. Browne, despite an openly egalitarian community of practice ethic, created a hierarchy at the school that led to a staff walk-out and subsequent firings. Findings revealed Browne as a charming and inspirational teacher who engaged in dominating leadership contradicting the community of practice's ideals, resulting in disrespected students, disillusioned staff, and a founder unable to take responsibility for his leadership.

Sertaç Güngör · Journal of Agricultural Faculty of Gaziosmanpasa University · Turkey (Konya)

This study investigated the current state of gardens in 7 nursery schools in Selçuklu district, Konya city, Turkey, regarding landscape design and space usage. The findings revealed that the nursery school gardens were not used effectively, lacked sufficient green space in their landscape design, and were not properly designed to contribute to children's mental and physical development.

Yoonah Jang, Sun Jin Jeong, Kyeong Suk Han, Gyung Mee Gim, InChan Choi, Joonyung Heo · The Korean Journal of Community Living Science · South Korea

A study investigated the status of school gardening in 164 elementary schools (39.4% of 416) in Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. The installation and automation of garden facilities, such as greenhouses and tool sheds, were poor. Teachers, who most often operated the gardens, reported difficulty managing them due to a lack of knowledge about sustaining gardens and expressed a need for training programs.

Aysun Çelik, Elvan Ender Altay · Kocaeli Üniversitesi Mimarlık ve Yaşam Dergisi · Turkey

A study evaluating the landscape condition of school gardens at 49 schools (30 primary, 19 secondary/equivalent) in the central district of İzmit, Kocaeli Province, Turkey, assessed for space-use profiles, landscape design components, and vegetal components (using a proportional range method for space use and frequency analysis for landscape and vegetal component data). The study found that landscape design of the school gardens is neglected, and that space-use rates fall far below standards compared with developed countries. Green space use was observed in only 43.33% of primary schools and 57.89% of secondary schools; the gap between the school with the largest green area and the one with the smallest was 313 times in primary schools and 57 times in secondary schools. Plant diversity in existing green spaces was found to be quite poor, with grass areas and flower beds rarely used. 93.34% of primary schools, which serve children of play age, had no play equipment areas, and 47% of secondary schools lacked multifunctional playgrounds suitable for basketball and volleyball. The study recommends treating school gardens as part of education and adopting a uniform standard for organizing spaces and components so all students have equal access.

Alexandra Grace Lancey · · United States (Florida)

This ethnographic study in Pinellas County, Florida, investigated school gardening efforts at Title I elementary schools, focusing on an organization that installs gardens in "failing" schools. The research found that strict public school standards and neoliberal education reform paradoxically prevent teachers and administrators from fully utilizing school gardens for nutrition education. This limits their effectiveness in discussing nutrition, healthy eating, and local food, as the focus shifts to state-regulated education standards, revealing significant infrastructural challenges.

Rob Moquin, Alan P. Diduck, A. John Sinclair, Iain J. Davidson‐Hunt · Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l alimentation · Canada

This research documented participants' experiences of community-building through community gardening in Kenora, Ontario, Canada, using Photovoice with twelve participants, follow-up interviews, and participant observation. Findings revealed a relational perspective of community gardening and the importance of sharing and learning, but also identified barriers to social capital and ecological citizenship. Future initiatives must address colonial and racial barriers to collaboration and ensure accessible garden locations.