Research & reports

Joseph H. Konen · Journal of Extension · Global

This article summarizes three years of experience in training and supporting volunteer mentors who work with juvenile offenders in an urban gardening program. It details the program parameters and describes the methods used for selecting, orienting, and training these volunteers.

Raúl Ortíz, Celia Patricia Vera, Antonio Leyva · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba

A diagnostic study was conducted on the conditions of urban gardens, their producers, and families in 20 gardens across five localities in the "Boyeros" and "Arroyo Naranjo" municipalities of Havana, Cuba, between December 1998 and March 1999. While the garden agroecosystems showed satisfactory biodiversity, general knowledge of biological technologies in sustainable urban agriculture remained relatively low. None of the surveyed plot owners consciously knew or used vermiculture, pisciculture, biofertilizers, biopesticides, or biostimulants, and almost half did not consciously use crop rotation.

Bu Miao · Journal of Zhangkai Aguotechaical College · Global

Urban agriculture aims to meet the needs of modernization and high-grade consumption in large central cities. Its establishment and development rely on creative, highly skilled personnel and scientific research from agricultural higher education and research organizations. Colleges and universities involved in urban agriculture education should establish appropriate specifications, patterns, and mechanisms for personnel cultivation, aligning with urban modernization demands for the industry's establishment, operation, and management.

Tina M. Waliczek, J.C. Bradley, J.M. Zajicek · HortTechnology · Global

Children participating in garden activities were evaluated for improvements in interpersonal relationships and attitudes toward school, using pre- and post-tests comparing control and experimental groups. No significant differences were found between pre- and post-tests or between the control and experimental groups overall; however, demographic comparisons showed female students had significantly more positive attitudes toward school than males at program's end, interpersonal relationships differed by grade level, and children's attitudes toward school were more positive in schools offering more intensive, individualized gardening.

Isabel María Madaleno · Food, nutrition and agriculture · Global

An essay argues that urban agriculture—food and non-food production occurring throughout urban and peri-urban fabric—could improve city dwellers' nutritional status and food security, strengthen food self-reliance and employment prospects, and make survival strategies more effective. It describes urban agriculture as a setting where children, young people, and adults engage directly in safe food production and develop respect for farmers' work, surveys the evolution of cities and green-space use in Europe and North America, presents recent urban agriculture experiences in African, European, and Latin American countries, and advocates urban agriculture as a local solution to social, ecological, political, and economic problems.

Libby Robin · Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes · Global

This historical account traces how new educational theories at the turn of the century in the British world reconceived the school child from an 'administrated unit' into a 'growing flower,' drawing on Swiss and German ideas of the school as a kindergarten, as noted by education professor Patrick Geddes. It describes the progression from an indoor flower shelf, through window boxes, to a full school garden in the playground, and details Miss Latter's design for a British school garden: eighteen kitchen-garden plots of 4 by 2 feet and eighteen flower-garden plots of 3 by 4.5 feet, separated by paths, laid out to read as a formal classroom exercise.

Sarah Lineberger, Jayne M. Zajicek · HortTechnology · Global

This study evaluated the "Nutrition in the Garden" program's effect on students' attitudes and behaviors regarding fruit and vegetables. While students' attitudes towards vegetables and fruit/vegetable snacks became significantly more positive after gardening, no differences were detected in attitudes towards fruit. Crucially, students' fruit and vegetable consumption did not significantly improve, remaining at an average of 2.0 servings per day, which is below national averages and recommendations.

Foo Tuan Seik · Local Environment · Singapore

The Nature Corner project, a city farm involving animals and plants, was launched in Ghim Moh housing estate, Singapore, in 1997 to introduce nature and encourage social interaction among residents. A 1998 survey of users and non-users found the project was successful in introducing nature to users. However, it was less successful in encouraging social interaction among them.

Megan Poole · · Global

Factors influencing primary school teachers' decisions to utilize school gardens in their STEM curriculum were investigated using a mixed methods design in a single school district. Quantitative data was collected from garden resource and teacher self-efficacy surveys, while qualitative data was extracted from in-depth teacher interviews. Overall analyses determined that aspects of instruction and logistics were the most important factors for teachers in their decision to utilize school gardens.

Tina M. Waliczek, R. Daniel Lineberger, Jayne M. Zajicek, Jennifer Bradley · HortTechnology · Global

This study investigated adults' perceptions of the benefits of children participating in gardening through a web-based survey (320 responses) targeting adults working with youth in garden situations. The study covered 128,836 children, primarily under 12, involved in gardening with teachers in school gardens. Adults reported benefits to children's self-esteem and reduction in stress levels. Comparisons showed parents viewed food production as most important, while teachers prioritized socializing and learning about plants.

Paul L. Swanson · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · Global

This NebGuide, published by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is a practical explainer describing what community-supported agriculture (CSA) is, how it works, and what producers need to do to participate — not an empirical study. At the time of writing, most Nebraskans had not heard of CSA, though the concept was about three decades old in Japan and Europe and 10-15 years old on the US East Coast. In Japan, amid continued loss of farmland to urbanization and farmers' migration to cities, a group of women approached local farm families proposing direct marketing of produce to urban residents; the resulting cooperative buying-club arrangement, called teikei, now involves millions of people. In Europe, farmers and community members concerned about food-system industrialization started the CSA model in the early 1970s. In the United States, two farms in the eastern US began CSAs based on the European model in 1986, and the guide states that more than 1,500 CSA farms existed across the country by the time of publication.

Martha S. Burns, Nicholas J. Certo, Keith Storey · Education and training in mental retardation and developmental disabilities · Global

This quantitative study explored regular education students' attitudinal changes towards students with severe disabilities through inclusive service learning projects. The study involved a first intervention group of 12 volunteers who created a community garden with 8 students with severe disabilities, and a second intervention group of 12 Outdoor Education students who assisted 8 students with severe disabilities at a Special Olympics event. An attitudinal questionnaire was administered before and after the projects, and a control group was also included, but the abstract does not report the findings.

Sarah Lineberger, J.M. Zajicek · HortScience · Global

A study (HortScience, 1999) developed a teacher curriculum guide, "Nutrition in the Garden," combining horticulture and nutrition lessons, and tested its effect on children's food preferences and eating behaviors using a pretest/posttest attitude instrument developed by Tom Baranowski and a 24-hour food recall journal. The abstract states that results examine the effects of school gardens on nutritional attitudes and behaviors but does not report specific outcome figures.

ETC Agriculture · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Global

A resource guide compiling information on people and organizations with expertise relevant to formulating and implementing urban agriculture policies, plans and projects.

Laura Stocker, Kate Barnett · Local Environment · Australia (Western Australia)

This paper reviews the types and roles of community gardens, which are managed by community members and contribute to Local Agenda 21 planning and sustainable communities. It presents a case study of a community garden in Western Australia, analyzing lessons learned and the potential contributions of such gardens to physical, ecological, sociocultural, and economic sustainability. Community gardens produce fresh organic food, create community spaces, and disseminate community science.

Tina M. Waliczek, R. Daniel Lineberger, J.M. Zajicek · HortScience · Global

An online survey was conducted on the KinderGARDEN Web page to investigate children's perceptions of gardening benefits. Children responded via email, reporting on their gardening experiences, learning, and perceived advantages. Results indicated that children positively valued gardening for recreation, and also mentioned educational, environmental, aesthetic, social, and economic benefits. Specifically, 81% felt they learned about the environment, 54% about plants, 31% cited recreation/fun, and 15% mentioned socialization with friends and family.

Parajas Il · PubMed · Global

A 3-year study in two elementary schools investigated the caries preventive effect of wild tea (tsaang-gubat) among schoolchildren. The experimental group drank one cup of tea daily for 17 months, prepared from fresh school garden leaves. Results indicated that wild tea is an effective caries preventive agent, showing a 75.67% decrease in caries incidence, though an increase in the third year was attributed to irregular consumption and reduced tea fluoride content.

N.K. Lownds · HortScience · Global

This article describes a case where a university landscape horticulture professor, a landscape design class, a landscape construction class, elementary school teachers, and a principal collaborated to create school teaching gardens. University students engaged in a problem-solving project from the perspective of elementary school children, deepening their own understanding by explaining horticulture. This process was a genuine learning experience for all university students, elementary teachers, and students, with dynamic idea sharing throughout the design and construction.

Sandra A. Balch, D. L. Auld · HortScience · Global

This article discusses methods for communicating composting information to the public, noting that many potential composters lack expertise, information, and support. It finds that hands-on instruction and active involvement in ongoing programs, as well as integration into established programs like community gardens, are effective methods for conveying composting information.

Kasipathy Kailasapathy · Ecology of Food and Nutrition · Sri Lanka

This study developed a model school garden (28m²) in Sri Lanka to provide part of the nutritional requirements for school children. The garden produced an average daily yield of 813g of vegetables, supplying significant percentages of a 10-12 year old child's recommended daily intake, including 115% of calcium, 151% of iron, 557% of vitamin A, and 1222% of vitamin C.

William E. Roweton · Psychological Reports · Global

This study discussed the instructional advantages of growing vegetable seedlings in an introductory child psychology course. The project drew students' attention to the importance of nutrition in child development, as well as the popularity and practicalities of urban gardening. Additionally, the activity of "raising" plants proved to be a provocative analogy to "rearing" children.

Rayna Sharova · Soviet Education · Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, labor education was introduced into general schools shortly after World War I, with manual training for boys and handwork and domestic science for girls. After 1921, "Subotniks" (Sundays) were organized for pupils to perform mass work, including harvesting on school property, planting trees in drought-ridden lands, and cultivating school gardens and flower beds.

Aleksandr Filatov · Soviet Education · Russia (Moscow)

This text suggests that school garden areas in large industrial centers like Moscow should be integrated into the city's green spaces, functioning as well-planned squares within their district subdivisions. It asserts that this integration does not conflict with the garden's designated role as a living laboratory for the school.

Diana Paola Betancurth Loaiza, Natalia Sánchez Palacio, Jorge Lino Moreno Aricapa · Repositorio Universidad de Caldas · Colombia

This report details the experience of implementing the Urban Community Garden in the Villa Juanita neighborhood. The project focused on fostering urban agriculture as a strategy to improve food security and promote sustainability within the community. The garden became a space for community participation where diverse sustainable agricultural practices were integrated. Through this project, social cohesion was strengthened, environmental education was promoted, and spaces for interaction and collective learning were generated.

Wilbur S. Jackman · The Elementary School Teacher and Course of Study · Global

The school garden is a useful accessory for nature study from aesthetic, economic, or botanical viewpoints. While aesthetics offer strong attractions, the most important aspect is understanding plant habits and their adaptations to soil, light, heat, air, and other plants, as a garden cannot grow beautifully without this knowledge.