Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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724 results(17 / 29)
The Growing of Plants by Children—The School-Garden
2019· Cornell University Press eBooks · Global
The main idea in this chapter is that "the love of plants should be inculcated in the school." Knowledge of plants and horticulture extends beyond mere information, taking children outdoors and increasing their engagement with life. The chapter concludes by outlining types of school gardens, including those for ornamenting grounds, establishing collections, providing instruction, and serving as test grounds for new varieties.
Food educationCommunityA Case Study on the Farming Experience to Spread the Value of Urban Agriculture
2019Kim Gokmi, Ahn Jia · The International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology · Global
This study aimed to analyze the significance and types of urban agriculture, examine domestic and foreign cases, and seek development directions for urban agriculture. It notes that urban agriculture is taking hold in the West due to concerns over global warming, food safety, and urbanites seeking health and relaxation. The research plans to present development measures and conduct follow-up research for safe food.
Food educationCommunityClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceEstrategia educomunicativa para la visibilidad de los procesos de agricultura urbana de la Huerta Guerreros y Guerreras Unidos en acción de la Localidad de Suba - Bogotá
2019Rubén Darío Peña Chacón, Viviana Alejandra Vergel Rojas · · Colombia (Bogotá)
This project implemented an educommunicative strategy through a communication piece to promote the visibility and recognition of the "Guerreros y Guerreras Unidos en Acción" urban garden in Fontanar del Río, Suba, Bogotá. The garden strengthens social fabric, offers cultivation activities and urban agriculture training, and aims to share knowledge on good practices for organic food cultivation for self-consumption and as a business option. The goal is to make the garden's urban agriculture processes and organic products visible in Bogotá, demonstrating how environmental actions can foster social cohesion, good food practices, business opportunities, and coexistence.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCollections of botanical gardens - a modern practice of conserving and studying the diversity of the plant world
2019К. Г. Ткаченко · HORTUS BOTANICUS · Global
Botanical institutions should create and maintain diverse plant collections, including local flora, ethnobotanical knowledge, and carpological collections, for research and education. These collections can inform urban gardening and floristics, but it is crucial to evaluate the invasive potential of introduced species to prevent their spread in the region's flora.
Food educationBiodiversityHeirloom & landraceThe School-Plus-Home Gardens Project in the Philippines: A Participatory and Inclusive Model for Sustainable Development
2019Bessie M. Burgos, Henry Custodio, Shun-Nan Chiang, Anna Gale C. Vallez, Elson Ian Nyl Ebreo Galang, Maria Katrina R. Punto, Leila S. Africa, Blesilda M. Calub · · Philippines
The School-Plus-Home Gardens Project (S+HGP) was implemented in six pilot schools in Laguna province, Philippines, through a collaboration of SEARCA, UPLB, and DepEd. This project focused on nutrition, education, and economic well-being by providing school garden harvests for school feeding programs and establishing food gardens in children's homes. The S+HGP demonstrated the multi-functionality of school gardens as learning laboratories for sustainability, food and nutrition, organic agriculture, climate change, and solid waste management.
Food educationCommunityHealthWelfarePara comprender la práctica de la agricultura urbana
2019Edgar Alfredo Portilla-Flores · DU & P: revista de diseño urbano y paisaje · Global
This article discusses urban agriculture as a contemporary practice that requires understanding across multiple dimensions. It states that urban and peri-urban food production encompasses not only agronomic aspects but also relates to food security, public policies, urban planning, entrepreneurship, recycling culture, environmental education, and recreational and therapeutic activities.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyFood educationCommunityHorta no ambiente escolar: promoção de saúde por meio de práticas alimentares
2019Anelise Pillon Ortiz, Lilian Regina Lengler Abentroth, Polliana Radtke dos Santos, Edna Linhares Garcia, Suzane Beatriz Frantz Krug · RBONE - Revista Brasileira de Obesidade, Nutrição e Emagrecimento · Global
This narrative literature review aimed to identify the results of implementing vegetable gardens in school environments and analyze their impact on children, adolescents, and family life. Out of 28 analyzed articles, 13 answered the research question. The study concludes that school gardens have positive repercussions on the lives of children and adolescents, directly influencing food behavior, fostering environmental awareness, improving school performance, and enhancing social interaction and quality of life for those involved.
Food educationHealthCommunityO ensino de ecologia em uma horta escolar / Teaching ecology in a school garden
2019Andréia Quinto dos Santos, Ricardo Jucá‐Chagas, Regileno da Silva Santana, Evton Farias Quinto Santos, ALISSON SANTOS DA SILVA · Brazilian Journal of Development · Global
This research evaluated the limits and possibilities of learning ecological interactions in elementary school using a school garden, involving a supervising teacher, a classroom teacher, and 30 students. While students demonstrated understanding of ecological interactions through oral communication, the study identified significant limitations including difficulties in reading and writing, a lack of volunteers, and insufficient technical and administrative support from the school.
Governance failureFood educationBiodiversityCreativity within urban gardening at times of emergency
2019Nina Gren · Lund University Publications (Lund University) · Sweden
This presentation, based on ethnographic research from 2017-2018 in the Malmö-Lund area, Sweden, examines creativity in urban gardening projects as a response to ecological crisis. Urban gardeners, particularly project coordinators, expressed concerns about ecological emergency and sought to promote sustainable living. They developed creative events and workshops for children, including storytelling, planting, harvesting, and making 'bee hotels', to educate them on ecological issues and inspire aspirations for a different future.
CommunityFood educationClimate changeBiodiversityCampesinos de Sonsón-Colombia frente al programa de fortalecimiento de la capacidad productiva
2019Edgar Ortiz-Mena, Jairo Ricardo Mora-Delgado · Revista de Ciencias Sociales · Colombia (Sonsón)
This hermeneutic study analyzed the Urban Agriculture Program in Sonsón, Colombia, which aims to improve the living conditions of violence victims. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation with 40 elderly beneficiaries over two months, it was found that while 40% improved their diet through broiler chicken training, beneficiaries perceived that the taught production techniques were time-consuming and did not lead to short-term cost reduction or income increase. The study concludes by recognizing the perceptions and adaptation strategies of families facing change.
Economic viabilityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsFood educationSustainability: through cross-cultural community garden activities
2019Ranjan Datta · Local Environment · Global
This study explored the concept of sustainability among First Nations, visible minorities, and non-visible minorities through cross-cultural activities in a community garden setting, using a relational participatory action research (PAR) process. It argues that cross-cultural activities, such as dance, music, children’s art, anti-racist workshops, traditional story-sharing, land-based learning, and cross-cultural food sharing, can create positive change in an urban environment by empowering communities through cross-cultural bridging.
CommunityWelfareFood educationHealthDemystifying Science Teachers’ Epistemic Belief on Chemical Concepts: Students’ Engagement in the School Garden
2019Kamal Prasad Acharya · Pedagogical Research · Nepal
This study in Nepal aimed to transform chemistry learning from textbooks to school gardens through activity-based learning, involving students and science teachers. In-depth interviews and participant observations revealed that science teachers' positivist congestions, rooted in a dogmatic approach to chemistry teaching, hindered students' eloquent engagement in school gardening activities. The study concluded that positivist epistemology and related traditions superficially forced activity-based chemistry learning in community schools.
Limited or null effectFood educationRestorying Garden Relations
2019Fikile Nxumalo · · Global
In this chapter, the author explores the practices, sociomaterialities, and colonial histories and relations that contribute to the creation of a community garden visited with children and early childhood educators in child care centers where her research is situated. School gardens were widely introduced as tools to teach desired moral and social attributes, such as pride in community and individual responsibility for public property.
CommunityFood educationImpact of school gardens and complementary nutrition education in Burkina Faso
2019Pepijn Schreinemachers, Mamounata Sandaogo Ouedraogo, Serge Diagbouga, Amadou Thiombiano, Serge Rodrigue Kouamé, Caroline Makamto Sobgui, Hsiao-pu Chen, Ray-Yu Yang · Journal of Development Effectiveness · Burkina Faso
A repeated cluster randomized controlled trial in 30 schools with 1,760 schoolchildren (8–14 years old) in Burkina Faso evaluated the impact of school vegetable gardens combined with nutrition education. The study found a small but significant increase in knowledge of sustainable agriculture (+5.0%) and food/nutrition (+6.6%). However, there was no significant increase in other outcome indicators, including fruit and vegetable consumption.
Limited or null effectFood educationHealthCommunityStudy on acceptance of urban garden in bamboo seating structure in Ipoh, Perak
2019Mohd Hamezan, Intan Syafiqah · · Malaysia
This project, conducted in the Plan B area of Ipoh, Malaysia, investigated urbanized residents' interest in urban gardening and their perception of an ergonomic bamboo seating structure design. A questionnaire survey revealed that 59% of respondents lacked awareness of urban gardening. Among the proposed bamboo seating structure designs, Design 2 was the most selected by 57.8% of respondents, and younger respondents showed the most interest in urban gardens.
DIYFood educationCommunity‘The play’s the thing’: A creative collaboration to investigate lived experiences in an urban community garden
2019Yvonne Black · Management Learning · Global
This article explores a non-traditional qualitative research project that used a creative approach, specifically collaborative performance ethnography, to investigate lived experiences in an urban community garden. Working with a playwright and garden staff/volunteers, the study explored connections between people and nature and their impact on well-being. The creative method, incorporating arts-based inquiry and performance, facilitated relaxed communication with participants and provided new perspectives on data collection and analysis, stimulating discourse on community gardens' role in social and environmental change.
CommunityHealthFood educationCan participating in school gardens increase fruit and vegetable intake, subsequently enhancing students’ academic performance?
2019Victoria Holmes · Proceedings of Student Research and Creative Inquiry Day · Global
This literature review analyzed research data from 2002-2018 to investigate the effects of school garden programs on students' fruit and vegetable intake and the impact of increased intake on academic performance. Findings support the claim that school garden programs promote an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption among participating students. In one study, nutrition education and garden-based activities doubled daily fruit and vegetable servings among sixth graders. A positive relationship was shown between academic performance and fruit and vegetable consumption, but more studies are needed to understand long-term effects.
Food educationHealthCommunityUrban Farming Movement
2019Pierluigi Nicolin · IGI Global eBooks · Global
This article describes the urban farming movement as a global phenomenon, emerging in cities worldwide from Mumbai to Tokyo, where cultivated areas produce food distributed locally. Driven largely by the poor and women on small farms, this politico-cultural movement integrates with urban ecosystems through food production, educational aims, and sustainability. It creates new landscapes that warrant aesthetic analysis and could influence urban visual conventions and lifestyles if scaled up.
CommunityFood educationUrban–rural linkageWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceA CASE STUDY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOL GARDENS IN DAKAHLIA GOVERNORATE
2019A. Hegazy · Scientific Journal of Flowers and Ornamental Plants /Scientific Journal of Flowers and Ornamental Plants · Egypt
This landscaping study, conducted from 2017-2018, investigated eight school gardens in Mansoura City and Talkha District, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. The study revealed that most school gardens contained toxic plants like weeds and cacti, and that utilized areas were not correctly used with poor maintenance. Roof gardens and improved irrigation systems were suggested.
Limited or null effectFood educationCommunityOrganic cycleBuilding sustainable university-based community gardens: Volunteer perceptions of enablers and barriers to engagement and benefits received from volunteering in the Moving Feast
2018Anderson C., Maher J., Wright H. · Cogent Social Sciences · Australia
Qualitative study of volunteers at a university-based community garden in Queensland, Australia, identifying enablers, barriers, and the social, educational, and career benefits relevant to sustaining institution-supported community gardens.
CommunityWelfareFood educationMapping the Agrodiversity in Bogotá – the Platform Mapeo AgroEcoBogotá
2018Pinilla K., Hoinle B., Mahecha-Groot A., Cepeda J. · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · Colombia (Bogotá)
This paper presents AgroEcoBogotá, an open counter-mapping platform that cartographically documented 47 urban agroecological initiatives in Bogotá to promote visibility of the local agroecology movement and foster solidarity networks between urban and peri-urban food producers.
CommunityBiodiversityFood educationIs community management of resources by urban households, feasible? Lessons from community gardens in Gweru, Zimbabwe
2018Mwakiwa E., Maparara T., Tatsvarei S., Muzamhindo N. · Urban Forestry & Urban Greening · Zimbabwe (Gweru)
This study used econometric methods to analyze participation factors in NGO-introduced community gardens in Gweru, Zimbabwe, finding that food-insecure households with strong social capital were most likely to engage in community resource management, while tenure insecurity and water access were key barriers to sustained participation.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsWelfareRole of Urban Agriculture in a Secure, Healthy, and Sustainable Food System
2018· BioScience · Global
Comprehensive analysis of urban agriculture's role in achieving secure, healthy, and sustainable food systems. Examines how citizen-driven agriculture can transform food systems.
Food educationWelfareBiodiversityCommunityCommunity gardening in Stockholm: participation, driving forces and the role of the municipality
2018Madeleine Bonow, Maria Normark · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Sweden
Research on Stockholm community gardens. Analyzes participation mechanisms, driving forces, and municipal support role. Examines implementation mechanisms for sustainability improvement.
CommunityPolicyFood educationHabitar, compartir, producir
2018Cisneros Bestene, María Alexandra · · Colombia (Bogotá)
In Localidad Ciudad Bolivar, Barrio Las Namas, Bogotá, Colombia, a social interest housing project was developed after analyzing qualitative and quantitative housing deficits. This project aims to resettle families from high-risk zones and integrates activities that generate a neighborhood economy and enhance social cohesion. Additionally, a series of spaces encouraging and promoting urban agriculture is proposed as a method to train the population on nutrition-related issues.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfare