Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
598 results(4 / 24)
Always Been (English)
2024Yarrow Koning, Sofía Abreu · Occasional Paper Series · United States (Florida)
This abstract describes a nature journaling session held in a community garden as part of an LGBTQ+ youth summer day camp in Florida in summer 2022. The session took place shortly before new anti-LGBTQ+ laws, including the "Don't Say Gay" law, went into effect, which are intended to erase LGBTQ+ people and histories from schools and highlight the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ educators and youth.
Governance failureCommunityFood educationWelfareCommuniTee’s (SP24.C)
2024SP24.C, CommuniTee’s · Bucknell Digital Commons (Bucknell University) · United States
CommuniTee’s partnered with the Lewisburg Community Garden (LCG) and the Donald Heiter Community Center (DHCC). At the LCG, they completed three service projects: painting a sign, stabilizing 93 fence posts, and starting a pollinator garden. CommuniTee’s sold 229 t-shirts, generating a net profit of $1,614.64 for the DHCC. Additionally, they raised $1,213.04 through five fundraising events and an advocacy campaign, with a total of $2,827.68 to be donated to the DHCC.
CommunityFood educationWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceRELATO DE EXPERIÊNCIA: PRODUÇÃO DE UMA HORTA COMUNITÁRIA DE UM PROJETO DE EXTENSÃO UNIVERSITÁRIO EM UMA ESCOLA MUNICIPAL DE PORTO VELHO, RONDÔNIA
2024Bárbara Rios Lacerda, Rafael Sanginez Zebalos Lourenço, Aleffy Helberty Alves da Silva, Ana Cláudia Barroso · Revista Ibero-Americana de Humanidades, Ciências e Educação · Brazil (Porto Velho)
This experience report details the implementation of a sustainable vertical community garden and a composting system at a municipal school in Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil, as part of the "Urban and Community Gardens: Cultivating Connections" project. The project aimed to provide food and food education, promote practical skills, environmental awareness, and healthy eating habits for students. Despite difficulties such as finding new locations and shortened deadlines, which limited contact with students and the local community, the project successfully established a sustainable garden for community consumption and environmental education for those involved.
CommunityFood educationOrganic cycleCompostChicago's urban food networks: Mapping the future of a thriving metropolitan foodshed
2024Gundula Proksch, George Lee · · United States
Based on data from the Chicago Urban Agriculture Mapping Project, this study used GIS mapping to investigate urban agriculture typologies and their distribution in the Chicago metropolitan area. It showed that small-scale non-profit gardens are integrated closely with communities, while commercial controlled environment agriculture (CEA) operations utilize existing infrastructure and buildings in commercial and industrial corridors. Both types of urban agriculture serve different needs, providing various benefits to the urban population, from social services to fresh food production and economic development.
CommunityFood educationPolicyWelfareUrban–rural linkagePerfil de alimentação promotora de saúde entre produtores de horta comunitária de Teresina, Piauí
2024Kaline Soares da Costa, Regina da Silva Santos, Carmen Viana Ramos, Ana Karolinne da Silva Brito, Luana Kelle Batista Moura, Liriane Andressa Alves da Silva, Joyce Lopes Macedo, Maria do Carmo de Carvalho e Martins · Somma Revista Cientifica do Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Piauí · Brazil
This cross-sectional study investigated the profile of healthy eating habits among 45 community garden producers in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil, referencing the "10 Steps to Healthy Eating" from the Brazilian Dietary Guidelines. The dietary profile of the producers was considered inadequate; while 97.78% followed the water consumption guideline, only 4.44% followed the guideline for milk/meat/eggs consumption and 6.67% for fruits/vegetables consumption. No participant followed all 10 steps, and a better socioeconomic level was associated with healthier behaviors.
CommunityHealthFood educationSquatter Care: The Social Curricula of Escuelita Semillera , an Agroecological Community Garden in San Juan, Puerto Rico
2024Carol E. Ramos-Gerena, Alane Celeste-Villalvir, Huerto Semilla School Facilitators, Aníbal Y. López-Correa, Samina Raja · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · United States (Puerto Rico)
This case study unveils the social curriculum and community farm practices at Escuelita Semillera, an adult agroecological school initiative located on the premises of the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras. Maintained by students and alumni for 14 years, this community garden offered free in-person classes to 50 participants in 2022 and 2023. The research shows how its social curriculum fosters a transition from personal care to community and ecological care, highlighting the vital role of care in adult agroecological education.
CommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceCharacterization and agroecological management of school gardens in the Serra Gaúcha region, Brazil
2024Alessandra Russi, Danni Da Silva · Agroalimentaria · Brazil
This qualitative-quantitative study characterized school gardens in public education networks across twenty-four municipalities in Brazil's Serra Gaúcha region using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data revealed most schools were located in urban areas, predominantly served elementary school students during the daytime, and lacked guidance from qualified professionals and agroecological management for their gardens. Based on these findings, four educational brochures on agroecological techniques were developed for elementary students.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleDevelopment and Validation of a Functional Health Literacy Survey for School Gardening
2024Valerie A. Ubbes, Karly S. Geller, Sophia Whitesel · American Journal of Health Education · United States
This study developed and validated the Functional Health Literacy Survey for School Gardening (FHLS-SG) using 31 questions administered to 651 children in grades K-4 in the United States. The FHLS-SG demonstrated statistically significant reliability (Cronbach’s alpha 0.69-0.84, test-retest 0.59-0.81). Health literacy showed small to medium mediation effects on relationships between individual, environmental, and behavioral factors in school gardening, particularly between the garden environment and the individual (M = 0.36).
Food educationHealthInvestigating the Social Relations of Community Gardens for Adult Education
2024Mitchell McLarnon · Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education · Canada
This paper described and analyzed the social relations emerging from an adult education internship and community-based garden project in Montreal, Canada. Using institutional ethnography, it uncovered how adult education internships in community gardens and gardening programming can produce disproportionate outcomes for adult learners, community workers, and community members. It elucidated that specific institutional contrivances, such as funding, policy, work processes, and discourse, structure and define who experiences access to gardens, gardening, its ostensible health and well-being benefits, and adult education.
Equity & displacementCommunityFood educationPolicyRAÍZES DO BEM: EXPERIÊNCIA EXTENSIONISTA VOLTADA À PROMOÇÃO DE SAÚDE E BEM-ESTAR PARA A POPULAÇÃO IDOSA ATRAVÉS DA HORTICULTURA TERAPÊUTICA
2024Stephanie Bezerra Muniz Falcão, Laysla Tamyres de Oliveira Borges, ANA PATRICIA BASTOS FERREIRA · International Journal of Health Science · Brazil
This extension project in Jaboatão dos Guararapes-PE, Brazil, aimed to promote mental health and physical well-being for elderly residents in a Long-Term Care Institution (ILPI) through horticulture. A community garden was created for therapeutic horticulture activities, including sensory gardening and aromatherapy. The project found that horticulture was effective in reducing depressive symptoms, improving mood, and enhancing the quality of life for participants.
ElderlyHealthCommunityFood educationHorta comunitária – produção de hortaliças para segurança alimentar de famílias com vulnerabilidade social
2024Ive Mariana Guissoni Arantes, Cícero José Da Silva, Natália Gislene Silva Salvador, Anselmo Afonso Golynski, Ênio Eduardo Basílio, Danilo Silva de Oliveira, Valentine Virginia Matheus, Eduardo Cardoso da Silva Assunção · Caderno Pedagógico · Brazil (Morrinhos-Goiás)
The Horta Comunitária extension project in Morrinhos-Goiás, Brazil, produces vegetables to ensure food security for socially vulnerable families. Managed by teachers, staff, and students from Intituto Federal Goiano Campus – Morrinhos, the project has achieved significant results in training and providing healthy food.
CommunityWelfareFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceMapping and Assessing Urban Agriculture in São Paulo: Tackling Socio-Economic and Environmental Issues through Nature-Based Solutions
2024Luiza Vigne Bennedetti, Silvia Ronchi, Maurício Lamano Ferreira, Fabiano Lemes de Oliveira · Sustainability · Brazil (São Paulo)
This study assessed São Paulo's urban agriculture (UA) potential using an Ecosystem Services (ES)-based approach, combining ES spatial mapping and a producer survey at 49 UA sites. Results showed natural habitats and anthropic areas within urbanized land, especially in the south, with high habitat quality scores. Nine ES were identified: food supply, commercialization, income generation, waste mediation, lifecycle maintenance, soil formation, leisure/social, well-being, and education.
PolicyEconomicsBiodiversityFood educationHORTA MANDALA
2024Daniele Silva de Almeida, Diana da Silva Ribeiro, Ellen De Oliveira Marques · Nexus · Brazil (Itacoatiara-AM)
This study discusses the experiences and learnings from creating a mandala community garden at the Chico Xavier social work institution in Itacoatiara-AM, Brazil. Motivated by a local need for agroecological awareness, the project involved dialogical classes, soil planning, mandala-shaped bed formation, and vegetable distribution. Results included sustainable planting, environmental and artistic awareness, and the promotion of environmental education in the Amazonian context.
CommunityFood educationOrganic cycleEffects of a School-Based Garden Program on Academic Performance: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (TX Sprouts)
2023Landry M., Asigbee F., Vandyousefi S., Ghaddar R., Davis J. · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 123(3):637-643 · United States
A cluster randomized controlled trial in mostly low-income, Hispanic Texas elementary schools testing whether the TX Sprouts garden, nutrition and cooking intervention affected academic performance. It found the program did not harm academic outcomes, showing that garden-based food education can be integrated into instructional time without lowering achievement.
Food educationHealthEconomicsHorta orgânica no semiárido: dispositivo de mediação interdisciplinar e educação ambiental em escolas públicas de Irecê - BA
2023Alex Salviano da Silva, Célia Regina Batista dos Santos · Revista Macambira · Brazil (Irecê)
This study investigated the contributions of interdisciplinary interventional actions, mediated by organic garden construction, to public school students' teaching and learning processes and their interest in environmental education within the context of remote education in Irecê, Brazil. Using a qualitative, interventionist action research methodology, activities integrating subjects like Biology, Mathematics, Geography, History, and Arts were conducted remotely and in person. Findings identified significant changes in school management, suggesting new perspectives for environmental education, and students showed increased awareness of their actions concerning school and home environments.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleSchool-based intervention impacts availability of vegetables and beverages in participants’ homes
2023Erin A. Hudson, Marissa Burgermaster, Sophia M. Isis, Matthew Jeans, Sarvenaz Vandyousefi, Matthew J. Landry, Rebecca A. Seguin‐Fowler, Joya Chandra, Jaimie N. Davis · Frontiers in Nutrition · United States
A secondary analysis evaluated the TX Sprouts school-based gardening, cooking, and nutrition education intervention on the home availability of vegetables, fruit juice, and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). The cluster-randomized trial involved 16 schools (8 intervention, 8 control) over one academic year, serving predominantly Hispanic families with low incomes, with an analytic sample of 895 participants. The intervention positively changed the home availability of targeted foods and beverages, primarily by improving the availability of vegetables and vegetable juice, suggesting a positive influence on the home food environment.
Food educationHealthCommunityMapping and characterizing the urban and periurban agriculture in Porto Alegre, Brazil
2023Geisa Zanini Rorato, Eugenia Aumond Kuhn, Bruno Luan Soares Paula de Mello, Rodrigo Vitória Alves, Giulia Togni Geremia · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Porto Alegre)
This study mapped and characterized 82 urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) initiatives in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It found that educational and health-related initiatives with social and ecological objectives predominated. A significant finding was that only half of these initiatives were active at the time of the survey, with the rest being inactive or closed, indicating structural fragilities, especially in peripheral and less dense areas impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Economic viabilityFood educationHealthCommunityPeri-urban agricultureUrban agriculture in California: Lessons learned from an urban farmer workshop series
2023Rachel Surls, Rob Bennaton, Gail Feenstra, Ramiro E. Lobo, Alda F. A. Pires, Jennifer Sowerwine, Julia Van Soelen Kim, Cheryl A. Wilen · California Agriculture · United States (California)
From 2017 to 2018, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) researchers conducted a series of 16 workshops for urban farmers in California. The evaluation found that economic issues such as profitability and land access are among the greatest barriers for urban farming in California. While networking among participants was an unexpected positive outcome, urban farmers expressed a need for more opportunities for mentoring and building partnerships.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCommunityFood educationSchool Gardens and the Urban Child
2023Angela Oulton, Susan Jagger · · North America
A discourse analysis of historical school garden texts in North America reveals that school gardens have not been welcoming or accessible to all children, despite persuasive research on the positive effects of nature-based learning. Historically, school gardens were used to serve adult agendas, including containing urban children, assimilating marginalized groups, and creating laborers, thereby reinforcing patriarchal, colonial, white supremacist, and eugenic aspirations. This study explores how these discourses culturally constructed childhoods and influenced children.
Equity & displacementFood educationCommunityHealthPolicyEducação para alimentação saudável: experiências com hortas escolares na educação básica
2023Alvorí Ahlert, Tatiane Fátima Nandi · REVISTA DE EDUCACIÓN AMBIENTAL Y SOSTENIBILIDAD · Brazil (Paraná)
A qualitative and quantitative study in schools bordering Lake Itaipu in western Paraná, Brazil, verified the use of school gardens as an environmental education tool. The research applied questionnaires to public elementary, primary, and special education teachers in the region. Findings showed that most teachers favored using school gardens but found it difficult to teach students about their importance due to a lack of technical knowledge on the subject.
Limited or null effectFood educationCommunityHealthCommunity Gardens: A Solution to Combat Food Insecurity and Promote Native Bee Conservation
2023Sarah E. Orr · American Entomologist · United States
Community gardens are presented as a solution to food insecurity and a means to promote native bee conservation. They provide local fresh produce, affordable nutritious options, and foster education in gardening and nutrition. Additionally, community gardens support biodiversity, as roughly 35% of human food crops depend on animal pollination, with bees being primary pollinators for many crops.
CommunityFood educationWelfareBiodiversityPollinatorsExpanding institutionalized learning spaces in/for science teacher education: the case of a community garden in Ottawa
2023Giuliano Reis, Harveen Sandhu · Em Aberto · Canada (Ottawa)
This experience report describes the adoption of place-based pedagogy in a community garden in Ottawa, Canada, to create a science learning space within a teacher education program. Based on field trips with student teachers over the last five years, it argues that non-institutionalized outdoor urban spaces can offer valuable opportunities to enrich science student teachers' experiences in their training programs.
CommunityFood educationODS agroecological urban agriculture and food security in Palmas-TO
2023Keile Aparecida Beraldo, Rayele Moraes Silva, Rose Mary Gondim Mendonça, Maria Emília Mendonça Pedroza Jaber · Seven Editora eBooks · Brazil
This paper publicizes public policies and urban agriculture initiatives in the municipality of Palmas, Brazil. It identifies twelve public areas with families engaged in urban agriculture and proposes inclusive actions to strengthen the agroecological transition in family urban agriculture. The proposed actions aim to foster new sustainable practices based on environmental education and food and nutritional security.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyFood educationCommunityDiálogos entre saberes: a organização da horta comunitária junto aos moradores do Abussafe/Londrina/Paraná
2023Ideni Terezinha Antonello, Léia Aparecida Veiga, Alan Alves Alievi · Revista de Geografia · Brazil
This qualitative study in Londrina, Brazil, investigated the initial actions of an extension project by the State University of Londrina with residents of the Abussafe irregular settlement. Using secondary and primary data, it found that families in the irregular settlement face social vulnerability and food insecurity. Both these families and residents of the nearby formal neighborhood desire to create a community garden and neighborhood association, suggesting that dialogue between the university and residents is a fruitful path for collective actions to improve quality of life.
CommunityFood educationWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceAGROFLORESTA URBANA COMUNITÁRIA
2023Marina Carboni, Vitoria Maria Domingues Moço · Revista Fatecnológica da Fatec-Jahu · Brazil
This paper presents a project proposal for an urban agroforestry system combined with a community garden in Brazil. The project aims to revitalize a 2,500m² urban green area currently lacking leisure attractions and adequate tree cover. The plan includes planting 35 trees of 8 fruit species and 9 vegetable species, and fencing the area to prevent theft and vandalism. The project is expected to offer vegetables and fruits to the local population, promote environmental education, and enhance ecosystem services such as temperature reduction and increased rainwater infiltration.
CommunityFood educationBiodiversityClimate change