Research & reports

Sarah Rabkin · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)

A profile of Pie Ranch, a farm on a coastal hillside in southern San Mateo County, California, between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Jered Lawson and Nancy Vail, together with San Francisco-based Karen Heisler, established this non-profit working farm in 2002 as a place for city youth to learn about food. It produces nearly everything needed to make pie — pumpkins, berries, tree fruits, eggs, milk, butter, honey, and wheat. Students and teachers from urban high schools make monthly farm visits throughout the school year, experiencing hands-on learning about soil, compost, weather, the cycle of planting, tending and harvesting crops, the challenges and rewards of group work, and cooking and eating from-scratch meals. Pie Ranch also offers year-long apprenticeships, summer internships, monthly work parties and barn dances, and various educational and cultural events, sells produce at a roadside stand on coastal Route 1, and works with the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) to protect the historic Steele dairy lands. Lawson is described as a UC Santa Cruz community studies graduate and former apprentice at the university's Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), who spent a summer during college at Live Power Community Farm in Covelo, Mendocino County. The text is cut off mid-sentence during this biographical description.

Samireille Silvano Messias, Ednaldo Michellon, Marcos Rogério da Silva Alves dos Santos, Camila Pereira Croge, Juliano Tait Vareschini, Fernande Antunes Fernandes · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Brazil (Maringá)

In Maringá, Paraná, the growing need for urban and peri-urban agriculture led to the establishment of the Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Reference Center (CERAUP) by Maringá State University, in partnership with municipal governments and funded by the Ministry of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger. This project aims to enable the region's most vulnerable families to produce healthy food without pesticides and earn extra income by selling surplus produce. This initiative facilitates food re-education and capacity building for direct beneficiaries and the entire population around these urban agriculture spaces.

James C. Anderson, Eun‐Young Kim · Journal of Agricultural Education · United States (Chicago)

This descriptive study investigated leadership development perceptions and preferences among 284 students in a comprehensive urban agriculture program at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. Students reported limited involvement in school or community organizations, learning leadership primarily through sports, work, and FFA. They preferred leadership activities to be organized, fun, interactive, and provide real-world application, with training occurring in school, national workshops, or international experiences.

Éric Duchemin, Fabien Wegmuller, Anne-Marie Legault · Field Actions Science Reports · Canada (Montreal)

This article discusses urban agriculture (UA) initiatives undertaken in Montreal, Canada, for over 30 years, specifically the City-managed Community Gardening Program and six collective gardens managed by community organizations. These UA initiatives have fostered vegetable production and a socialization and education environment, contributing to individual and collective social development in economically disadvantaged districts. The various approaches achieve their established objectives and serve as multi-dimensional tools for the social development of disadvantaged populations.

Erica Rose Menkel Mintzer · · United States

This study evaluated a garden-based curriculum and school lunch program at Common Ground High School in the United States using mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. It found that Common Ground students had more food system knowledge but not more basic nutrition knowledge than comparison schools. While Common Ground students increased fruit and vegetable intake at school over the year, comparison school students ate more familiar vegetables, and Common Ground students ate more unfamiliar vegetables. BMI data showed varied averages between schools and grades, with no statistically significant difference (p = 0.0622).

Colleen O’Holleran · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · United States (Boulder, Colorado)

A study in Boulder, Colorado, interviewed thirteen community gardeners to understand their motivations for participation. Gardeners were found to come from diverse backgrounds and participate for various reasons, including the desire to be outdoors, curiosity, resource sharing, a closer connection with food, self-reliance, health commitment, and pride. Despite challenges, gardeners overcome them due to their commitment to cultivating their plots.

Rachel Chadderdon, Laura Colangelo, Joel Heeres, Brian Lipinski, Rachel Steel · · United States

This project assessed how the Ypsilanti-based nonprofit Growing Hope could best utilize its recently acquired Growing Hope Center to promote garden-related social enterprise activities. Through literature review, surveys of urban agriculture nonprofits and Ypsilanti residents, and a survey of Washtenaw County food businesses, sufficient community demand for a market gardener training program and willingness of local businesses to purchase produce were identified. The research led to the formulation of two models, the Food Security Model and the High Production Model, and a recommendation for Growing Hope to form an Ypsilanti Food Policy Council.

Michael Sifferman · Digital Commons - CSUMB (California State University, Monterey Bay) · United States (California)

For a capstone project, a school garden comprising an herb, vegetable, and flower garden was built at Meadowlark Elementary. The author taught garden-related lessons to kindergarten classes, integrating various subject standards. A random survey of parents and teachers was conducted to assess the project's usefulness.

A. D. Jones, Jennie Popp · Discovery The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural Food and Life Sciences · United States

This research aims to develop enterprise budgets for sustainable school gardens as part of a service learning program at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (UAF). These budgets are used to evaluate the costs and returns of producing crops that meet three criteria: minimal negative environmental impact, just-in-time production for school needs, and financial solvency. The research focuses on developing enterprise budgets for four crops—chili peppers, cabbage, corn, and tomatoes—and an interactive Excel® budgeting tool to evaluate revenues and expenses.

David M Ahronian, Kelly R Ashton, Erin G Bassett, Maxwell A Cohen, Victor J Czulak, Gregory S Dunbar, Brendan T Farragher, Jonathan L Gorman, Peter L Guy, Timothy J Iles, Piyawut Inthasorn, Travis A Johnson, Jonathan B. Koch, Justin J Kronewitter, Zachary B Livingston, Matthew Morano, Brian Mulvehill, Kevin Murphy, Sean P O'Connell, Peter W. Stephens, Christopher Tourigny, Bryce P White, Timothy E Young · ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst (University of Massachusetts Amherst) · United States (Springfield)

This work explores a service learning strategy within an Urban Design Studio at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, focused on envisioning Springfield's North End. The project aimed to stimulate conversation, develop green design strategies, improve services, and foster cultural engagement to enhance the community's vibrancy and quality of life. It proposes that improved physical, cultural, and social connectivity is key to achieving these goals, and identified six sustainable learning and planning principles, including urban agriculture and education for healthy living.

J. C. Pawelek, Gordon W. Frankie, Robbin W. Thorp, Maggie Przybylski · Cities and the Environment · United States (California)

A community garden in San Luis Obispo, California, was modified by planting bee-attractive plants to attract native bee pollinators. Garden modification and monitoring of native bees occurred from 2007 through the 2009 growing season. The diversity of collected and observed native bees increased each year, with 40 species in 17 genera recorded to date.

Rich Pirog, Ross Baxter, Kate Lyon · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States

This Iowa State University document is a practical guidance resource, not an empirical study. In response to growing interest in and demand for local food in Iowa and nationally, it answers frequently asked questions about food regulations from small market producers who sell through farmers markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) enterprises, farm stands, and institutions such as restaurants, hospitals, schools, and conference centers. Responses were prepared by state agency and university specialists in food safety and food regulations.

Catherine Sands, Lee Reed, Krista Harper, Maggie Shar · Practicing Anthropology · United States

In spring 2008, a grassroots organization called Fertile Ground conducted a participatory Photovoice evaluation of its school garden program with fifth-grade students at Williamsburg Elementary School in rural western Massachusetts, United States. Photovoice places cameras in participants' hands so they document and discuss their own concerns and perspectives. The project aimed to capture what students, after six years of hands-on garden programming, understood about food, nutrition, and community food systems, and their impressions of leadership, fellowship, and care for land and community. The article outlines the evaluation's context and design but does not report specific quantitative findings.

Sally Gregory Kohlstedt · History of Education Quarterly · United States

The school gardening movement, prominent from the 1890s into the twentieth century, exemplified progressive educational ideas of integrating school and society, as advocated by educators like John Dewey. School gardens, found in both urban and rural settings, connected intellectual and practical learning, with evidence of their widespread presence documented in newspapers, magazines, and school reports. These gardens were encouraged in both theory and practice across various educational institutions.

Laure DeMattia, Shannon Lee Denney · The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science · United States

This article reviews community-based programs in the United States aimed at slowing the rate of childhood obesity, which affects one in three children. It examines interventions such as recipe preparation demonstrations, community gardens, and school-based curricula. The article concludes with suggestions for intervention efforts and funding priorities, emphasizing the importance of primary prevention focusing on high-risk populations of low-income overweight women of childbearing years.

Laura Greenwold Derks · The South Carolina State Library Digital Collections (South Carolina State Library) · United States

A 2008 survey was conducted among 175 public and private schools in South Carolina to assess the impact of school gardens. The survey covered garden type, activities, costs, and assessment. Most responding schools indicated that students participate in the garden, suggesting opportunities for student interaction with the garden.

Anna Differnderfer, Tim Reusch, Nic Acker, Candace Moyer, Marcy Gaston, Charles A. Holt, Alison H. Harmon · · United States

This report describes the Towne's Harvest Garden, a 3-acre diversified vegetable plot at the MSU Horticulture Farm, established by the MSU Friends of Local Foods Student Organization in 2006. The garden aims to raise awareness about local foods and encourage sustainable lifestyles on campus and in the community. Its name honors a former landowner.

Monika Roth, Leigh MacDonald Rizzo · eCommons (Cornell University) · United States

This paper proposes developing an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) fruit and vegetable demonstration garden and six hands-on IPM lessons for youth gardening programs. The initiative aims to address the disconnect between children and the outdoors, promoting physical activity and improved diets. The lessons, to be piloted at Ithaca Children’s Garden, will teach youth and adults about pest identification, beneficial insects, and pest management, with training offered to school garden coordinators.

M. Pilar Viviente · Visual Culture & Gender · United States (New York City)

This visual essay discusses the feminist pedagogy of double-coding embedded in the "SAVE NATURE-SAVE CULTURE" (2006) art installation. The installation, located in Le Petit Versailles (LPV), a community garden in New York City's East Village, addressed the sustainability of community gardens. LPV is a public garden maintained by neighbor volunteers, focusing on environmental sustainability and themes such as housing, graffiti, gender, and sexuality.

Dorothy Blair · The Journal of Environmental Education · United States

An evaluative review of U.S. literature on children's gardening found that quantitative studies showed positive outcomes in science achievement and food behavior. However, these studies did not consistently demonstrate improvements in children's environmental attitude or social behavior, and validity and reliability issues reduced general confidence in the results. Qualitative studies documented a wider range of desirable outcomes, but teacher enthusiasm varied based on support and horticultural confidence.

Michelle Lee D’Abundo, Andrea M. Carden · Community Development · United States

A Community Garden Education Program created to combat obesity in a low-income community in eastern North Carolina, United States, was examined through observations conducted throughout the program and two focus groups held at the end of its first phase. The focus groups found that the administrators' initial program goals, centered on obesity reduction, differed from participants' own goals, which centered on wellness and community development. Participants also reported improved food sustainability as a result of the program.

Emily J. Ozer · Health Education & Behavior · United States

While thousands of school gardens exist in the United States with anecdotal evidence of enhancing student learning, rigorous research on their effects and sustainability factors is limited. This review conceptualizes school gardens as systemic interventions for promoting student health and well-being and strengthening the school environment. It summarizes existing literature, provides a conceptual framework, and suggests further research to inform practice.

Michelle Melissa Althaus Ottmann, Áurea Portes Ferriani, Ricardo Serra Borsatto, Homero Cidade Júnior, Cláudio Ferraz Oliver, Eduardo Feniman, Lourival de Moraes Fidelis, Nilce Nazareno da Fonte · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Brazil

Since August 2006, an urban agriculture, landscaping, and horticulture program has been developed with children attending the Casa da Videira NGO in Vila Fanny, Curitiba, Brazil. Weekly transdisciplinary sessions have shown preliminary results including increased children's interest in environmental topics, proposals for solutions, and changes in family attitudes. Qualitatively, the program has improved the visual appearance of the area and fostered team cohesion.

Levon T. Esters · Career and Technical Education Research · United States

A study identified factors influencing the postsecondary education enrollment behaviors of students who graduated from an urban agricultural education program in the United States. Students reported that parents or guardians had the most influence on their enrollment decisions, with mothers or female guardians having slightly more influence. Interest in agriculture, personal factors, and job opportunities also influenced decisions, while non-enrolling students cited a lack of interest and personal factors.

· · United States (Lawrence)

The JJAMM Food Network was launched in Lawrence, MA, in summer 2006 to address three community needs: health, education, and employment. The program enabled elders and teenagers to learn nutrition, fitness, gardening, and money management, grow crops in community gardens, and sell produce to local restaurants. Although initial funding was challenging, the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted funding for 2007, fostering intergenerational interaction and relationship building.