Research & reports

Daniel Goleman, Lisa Bennett, Zenobia Barlow · · Global

The book "Ecoliterate" presents a new educational model integrating emotional, social, and ecological intelligence. It shares stories of educators, students, and activists addressing ecological issues related to food, water, oil, and coal from over 400 communities across the United States and other countries. The book also outlines five core practices of emotionally and socially engaged ecoliteracy and a professional development guide.

Silvana Maria Ribeiro, Elaine de Azevedo, Maria Cecília Focesi Pelicioni, Cláudia Maria Bógus, Isabel Maria Teixeira Bicudo Pereira · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global

This documentary research examined agroecological urban agriculture in relation to health promotion and food security movements, involving local communities. Data was synthesized from reports, field records, testimonies, and interviews with a project coordinator. The study found that agroecological urban agriculture contributed to community protagonism, popular participation, and increased feeding and environmental awareness among social actors.

Maha Kandil, Ahmed El-Masry, Amira Fathy · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Egypt (Cairo)

This study examines the impact of school gardens on urban youth nutrition knowledge in Cairo, focusing on students aged 14-18. It will conduct a literature review to identify relevant theoretical constructs and employ a qualitative approach to explore school garden impacts. The theoretical framework suggests schools can act as hubs for nutrition education through garden-based learning, potentially leading to healthier dietary habits.

Luis. Verplancken · · Global

This record is an image of Father Luis Verplancken visiting children working in a school garden. The photograph was taken in the village of Gonogochi.

L. Gómez Tejeda · RIT Scholar Works (Rochester Institute of Technology) · Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic's public investment in education was 2% of GNP in 2010, falling below UNESCO's 6% minimum. This pilot project, conducted at The Community for Learning School (TCFL) in the Dominican Republic during the 2011-2012 school year, enhanced 5th-8th grade science curricula with four activities: composting, a school garden, a garbage project, and an energy audit. While the school garden and composting project improved student motivation for group work and left a positive perception of environmentally friendly practices, knowledge gain about their environmental benefits was not as expected.

Jessica Isler · Educational Media Reviews Online · Global

The 2011 film "A Community of Gardeners" explores the impact of community garden projects in various urban settings. It highlights that community gardens fulfill important needs for individuals and communities by providing access to fresh food, increasing self-sufficiency, improving urban aesthetics, and strengthening communities through connections across diverse socio-economic groups. The film also presents the historical origins and different incarnations of community gardens.

Franck Halatre, spip · · Global

The MJC created a shared space for cultivating vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs, establishing a place and time for interaction.

Sandra Lorena Herrera Giraldo, Adriana Panader Torres, Luz Mery Cárdenas Cárdenas, Nancy Aurora Agudelo Cely · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Colombia (Bogotá)

In Tunja, Colombia, an intervention strategy to increase vegetable availability in a community was implemented through a qualitative study applying five principles of community-based research. The strategy included educational and urban agriculture components, involving seven participatory educational sessions and the implementation of eight home gardens and one community garden. The intervention increased vegetable availability, empowered the community, created social networks, and highlighted the role of nursing professionals in leading community actions for healthy lifestyles. The consumption of five portions of fruit/vegetables daily was insufficient in Tunja's 15-44 age group.

Sandra Lorena Herrera Giraldo, Adriana Panader Torres, Luz Mery Cárdenas Cárdenas, Nancy Aurora Agudelo Cely · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Colombia

A qualitative study in Tunja, Colombia, designed, implemented, and evaluated an intervention strategy to increase vegetable availability in a community. Applying five principles of community-based research, the strategy included educational and urban agriculture components. Seven participatory educational sessions were conducted, and eight home gardens and one community garden were implemented. The intervention strategy successfully increased vegetable availability, fostered community empowerment, built social networks, and highlighted the role of nursing professionals in community actions.

Mat Jones, Emma Weitkamp, Richard Kimberlee, Debra Salmon, Judy Orme · Children Youth and Environments · Global

This mixed-methods study analyzed the development of school garden initiatives by tracking the progress of 55 primary schools participating in the "Food for Life Partnership" program. Findings showed considerable expansion of food growing facilities, outputs, and supporting infrastructure. Participating students, parents, and community volunteers created new links to food-related activities in the dining hall, classroom, and home environment. The effectiveness of these changes was connected to the strategic redevelopment of growing spaces and conceptually integrated messages on food sustainability.

WU Yi · · Marshall Islands

This record describes a horticulture project by the Taiwan Technical Mission promoting school gardens. It is situated in the Marshall Islands, a country heavily reliant on imports, where food security and self-sufficiency are essential to agricultural development. Additionally, a significant number of Marshallese citizens suffer from nutritional deficiencies and chronic diseases.

Marcelo Milo Vaccaro, Geovanny Francisco Ruiz Muñoz, CARLOS HENRIQUE FARIAS TORRES, Javier Couretot · · Argentina (Rosario)

Research conducted in Rosario, Argentina, in 2012, evaluated the efficiency of cover crops in recovering urban soils and characterized agro-ecological practices among urban vegetable producers. The study found that cover crops are effective for urban land recovery and that producers possess the knowledge to integrate them. Additionally, the experience enhanced agricultural engineering students' professional training by developing their social skills and ethical commitment.

Maleka P. Hashmi, Kitrina M. Carlson · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Global

A student-driven, community-engaged learning course on food systems and choices was developed to enhance student understanding of food security determinants. The course, guided by the socio-ecological model, included student-led modules and community research projects in metro Atlanta, focusing on local food distribution and access in low-income areas. It culminated in a symposium and research reports, with a grant from Emory's CFCP supporting community collaboration.

&NA; · Nurse Educator · Global

This paper describes the development and integration of a multidisciplinary community garden as a service project for a baccalaureate nursing cohort at an urban university. It discusses the application of professional ethics, service, nutritional theory, and community health nursing competencies within this project.

Keith Sterling Miller · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · Global

This literature review was conducted to support the design of a Community Garden Social Impact Assessment Toolkit. Its first section reviews key literature defining social capital, including its forms, distinctions, and conceptual limits; its second section reviews the most relevant research literature on social capital and community gardens. The review played three roles in developing the toolkit: providing a conceptual foundation for social capital, informing an interview guide used with community garden stakeholders, and shaping reflection exercise questions within the toolkit. To make the toolkit accessible to a wide and diverse audience, it deliberately avoids the phrase "social capital," instead using language that captures its essence and meaning as defined in the literature.

Zai Xue-ming · Horticulture & Seed · Global

A Chinese report on building a practical teaching system for applied urban horticulture talent, using the College of Horticulture at Jinling Institute of Technology as a case example, addressing systematic skills training, improving the occupational skills of urban gardening talent, and enhancing students' innovation and entrepreneurial capability.

Amadou Diop, Seyni Ndiaye · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Senegal

A study replicating earlier field surveys on crop yields and nutritional benefits of urban farming in Dakar, Senegal, using standardized sampling across selected urban villages. Crop yields from the replicated plots showed an average increase of 15% over initial estimates, with significant variation between crop types such as vegetables versus grains. Nutritional analysis found that urban farming increased micronutrient content in staple foods by up to 20%, particularly in leafy greens and fruits.

· · Global

A theoretical discussion grounded in structural-functionalist sociology (Fend, 1980; Parsons, 1959) addresses the two functions schools and universities serve for society and the individual: qualification and integration-enculturation. It engages the proposition that people learn for life rather than for school, but the abstract text itself contains no specific description of school gardens or technology-based learning environments.

Rachael Jaenke, Clare E. Collins, Philip J. Morgan, David R. Lubans, Kristen L. Saunders, Janet M. Warren · Health Education & Behavior · Australia (New South Wales)

This study investigated gender differences in the impact of a school garden and nutrition curriculum on fruit and vegetable intake, willingness to taste, and taste ratings among 127 children (11-12 years, 54% boys) in regional New South Wales, Australia. A significant gender difference was found only for carrot taste rating, with girls rating it higher, but no significant gender differences were observed for fruit and vegetable consumption or willingness to taste other vegetables. While a group effect was seen for overall willingness to taste and taste ratings for several vegetables, no significant treatment-time effect was found for vegetable intake in either gender.

Lori Annis · DigitalCommons@Linfield (Linfield College) · Global

This project proposes elementary school students participate in planning, producing, preparing, and tasting school garden produce. Food preferences for familiar and novel varieties were surveyed before and after the garden program, and percentage changes were measured. Student participants are hypothesized to gain enhanced consumption habits and food preferences for produce in their diets.

A. J. Gilbert, Yael Raviv · Women & Performance a journal of feminist theory · Global

The abstract for this record is incomplete. It introduces "Sharecropper," a series of micro farming installations, as an artistic, practical, and philosophical exploration of growing, cooking, and eating food within a community.

Mihye Won, Bertram C. Bruce · Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) · Global

This discussion explores the integration of community action projects, such as urban agriculture, into science education from a Deweyan perspective. It raises questions about valuing students' experiences and identity development, integrating community needs into science classes, and the availability of appropriate curricular resources and teacher commitment. The paper emphasizes considering students' experiences from science activities for scientific literacy.

Shane J. Ralston · Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) · Global

This paper compared John Dewey's work on school gardening with Community Studies scholar Mary Beth Pudup's scholarship on the politics of gardening movements. The comparison is argued to be fruitful in exposing the political reasons for gardening education, relating school gardening to contemporary movements, and giving greater normative force to the call for creating more school garden projects.

John James Okiror, Biryabaho Matsiko, Joseph Oonyu · Journal of Agricultural Education · Uganda

This study, conducted in eight primary schools in Uganda, compared the learning achievement of pupils taught using supervised home gardens and those taught using school gardens. Data were collected over four school terms using questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews, observations, and a posttest examination, and analyzed with a t-test. Findings showed no significant difference in knowledge achievement between the two groups of pupils.

Helen M. Byamugisha, Robert Ikoja-Odongo, George William Nasinyama · Library and Information Research · Uganda (Kampala)

A qualitative and quantitative study was conducted in Kampala City, Uganda, involving 380 urban farmers and 36 focus group respondents, to investigate the information needs and use among urban farmers. Results indicated that urban farmers' information needs were as varied as their diverse agricultural enterprises, and information use depended on the type of farming enterprise and activity undertaken. The study recommends that agricultural information dissemination in Kampala City should be based on urban farmers' enterprise groups and their specific information needs.