Research & reports

Tomoko Imoto, Nobutaka ISHITSUKA, Cheligeer, Kiyohide Morita · JOURNAL OF RURAL SOCIETY AND ECONOMICS · Japan

This study investigated allotment garden use among child-rearing generations in Japan, identifying preferences for "free space (play area)," "staff to answer questions," and "events." A questionnaire survey of first-grade parents revealed a high potential demand for allotment gardens, with preferences for lower fees, play areas, cultivation guidance, and events. However, an analysis using a cross-effect model found a disconnect between preferences for garden use and food preferences, as those who buy domestic products generally did not value events, indicating a "food-agriculture gap."

Bianca Jacqueline Silva, André de Carvalho Bandeira Mendes · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil

A report on a project to implement a community garden on the Itabira campus of the Federal University of Itajubá (UNIFEI) in Brazil. The proposal originated in dialogue with campus workers, and aims through extension actions to engage both the university community and the local population across social, cultural, and environmental dimensions in the garden's management, implementation, and maintenance. Planning stages include awareness-raising and mobilization, a survey of human and material resources, and exchange of experience among participants, with particular attention to including elderly residents in cultivation activities to transmit cultural knowledge and strengthen group bonds. A management team was formed to prepare the physical space and coordinate maintenance, with the garden planned as a space for observation, cultivation, and leisure.

Illana C. Livstrom, Gillian Roehrig, Amy Rex Smith · International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement · Global

A single-case study examined Grounding Roots, an urban agricultural internship program that brings together youth interns, undergraduates and community elder mentors in intergenerational garden groups, asking how community-based education through internships can support youth marginalized in traditional educational settings. The program was found to support youth in multidimensional learning and identity development within community-based spaces that connect learning to their communities and lives, particularly for youth with marginalized identities, through elements including recognizing and leveraging youths' existing assets, building confidence, leadership identities and diverse relationships, and connecting participants with the broader community, underscoring the value of intergenerational mentoring, diverse learning communities and work-based learning.

Wooley, Megan Katherine · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · United States

This study interviewed four community gardens in low-income neighborhoods across the United States about their programs and outreach activities. It also conducted an in-depth review of existing literature on community gardens and their benefits. The research noted that some difficulties exist with creating community gardens.

Abbey L. Moellering · UKnowledge (University of Kentucky) · United States

This paper highlights that older adults often do not meet dietary requirements for fruits and vegetables, increasing their risk of chronic disease. Community gardens are presented as a successful intervention to engage older adults, offering benefits such as improved dietary behaviors, increased socialization, and better mental health. Sustainable interventions of this type require collaborative efforts among university researchers, community members, and cooperative extension, engaging all socioeconomic levels.

Alexandra Klann, Linh Gia Vu, Mollie Ewing, Mark Fenton, Rachele Pojednic · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Global

This review examines best practices from urban initiatives to increase walkability for older adults, focusing on their implementation in rural, resource-limited communities. The literature review revealed that simple, built environment approaches such as microscale and pop-up infrastructure, municipal parks, and community gardens can increase physical activity in urban neighborhoods for older adults. These strategies suggest great potential for rural communities.

Simone Betti · U-PAD Unimc - Open Digital Publications (University of Macerata) · Global

Urban horticulture, traditionally a marginal activity for the elderly, is gaining popularity in post-modern society for educational, rehabilitation, or hobby purposes. This growing interest in urban gardening, manifesting in various forms globally and locally, addresses needs beyond food production, often promoting social inclusion and the restoration of urban green areas. Gardens serve as spaces for reconnecting with nature, stress relief, social interaction for the elderly, outdoor classrooms for children, and therapeutic support in healthcare facilities.

Maria Lúcia da Silva Sodré, Ubirani Oliveira Santos, Altemar S. Dias · Revista GeoNordeste · Brazil

This study demonstrated the experience of vegetable production and consumption at an elderly home in Cruz das Almas, BA, Brazil. Field research, including semi-structured interviews, was conducted after the vegetable garden was built. The main results indicated that the produced food provided access to agrochemical-free consumption, ensuring food and nutritional security. It also portrayed the inmates' life histories, family memories, and recollections of past agricultural activities, leveraging their cultural background in the urban territory.

In-Kyoung Hong, Young Chae, Sang-Mi Lee, Young-Bin Jung · Journal of people, plants, and environment · South Korea

This study aimed to improve the diversity of urban gardens by identifying suitable crops from "Gwanhyuji," an agricultural book from the Joseon Dynasty. Fifty-three crops were selected based on traditionality, historicity, health functionality, and popularity, and their properties were evenly distributed. The study suggests that applying traditional knowledge to urban agriculture can transform urban gardens into resources offering educational and traditional values, thereby enhancing their diversity and utility.

Ian Siddons Heginworth, Gary Nash · · United Kingdom (London)

This introduction provides an overview of a book discussing an eighteen-week environmental arts therapy pilot group for adult mental health clients. The book explores themes related to hostile mothering and connections to nature, and considers trauma-informed environmental arts therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome. It also describes the Community Outdoor Art Therapy Service (COATS) in London, which uses urban parks and community gardens.

Bianca Jacqueline Silva · · Brazil

This study describes a project for implementing a community garden at the Itabira campus of the Federal University of Itajubá. The project began with dialogue among campus workers and aims to foster greater involvement with the university community and local population. The garden is planned as a space for observation, cultivation, and leisure, potentially contributing to education and activities on ecology, environmental education, and integrated management of solid and organic waste, with positive impacts on the local environment and participants' health.

藤井 至, 稲葉 修武, 藤田 武弘 · 農業市場研究 27巻1号 pp.12- · Japan

Based on hearings with all Nerima experience-farm operators and user surveys, this paper analyzes how publicly subsidised experience farms support farm management and community exchange, empirically showing effects on profitability, successors and local understanding.

· International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Singapore

A waitlist-control randomized controlled trial recruiting 59 older adults (29 horticultural therapy, 30 waitlist control) to investigate improvements in mental well-being and modulation of biomarker levels.

Érich Vinícius Nogueira Gonçalo, Rysley Fernandes de Souza, Hernandes Rufino dos Santos, José Lucas da Silva Neto, Antonio Monteiro de Morais, Cláudia Araújo Marco · · Brazil (Juazeiro do Norte)

This project involves students from the NUPEH group at UFCA Campus Crato-CE developing a community garden at the Lar Fraterno Irma Sheila nursing home in Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil. The students received theoretical and practical training, then presented a methodology and garden layout to the nursing home's director and coordinators. Selected elderly residents and staff will receive one month of weekly theoretical and practical training from NUPEH members, after which the garden will be implemented, with irrigation handled by the elderly residents twice daily. Project evaluation will use questionnaires for beneficiaries regarding training quality and achieved objectives.

Leelanayagi Ramalingam, Juwaidah Sharifuddin, Zainal Abidin Mohamed, Fazlin Ali · International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences · Malaysia

This paper aimed to identify volunteer satisfaction with the Community Garden Programme in Malaysia. A survey of 375 volunteers, using items adapted from Omoto and Snyder (1995), indicated that the majority were satisfied. Elderly males were found to be significantly satisfied with the program.

Jheri-Lynn McSwain · Index of Texas Archaeology Open Access Grey Literature from the Lone Star State · United States (Texas)

This study investigated the feasibility of using community gardens as a supplemental food assistance tool for congregate meal sites and food pantries, through a survey of 83 senior adults and interviews with four nutrition site directors in Shelby County, Texas. The surveyed senior adults reported experiencing food security issues, and nutrition site directors faced challenges in providing fresh vegetables. However, no significant differences were found between life satisfaction and food security by age or education level.

Rita de Cássia Gabrielli Souza Lima, Camila Gonçalves Labrêa, Marco Aurélio Da Ros, Adriana Grabner Corrêa, Paula Côrrea Souza, Liana Riveiro, Joelma Feliciano, Marina Goelzer Kieling · International Journal for Innovation Education and Research · Brazil (Itajaí)

This article reports on an extension project experience conducted in 2016 with elderly people from the Community Center for the Elderly in Itaipava, Itajaí city, Brazil, in partnership with a local Health Primary Care Unit and Local Health Council. Testimonies were dialectically analyzed using the category “We want to dance again, and we appreciate plants,” revealing symbolic pain over municipal resource cuts for monthly trips and balls, alongside a willingness to create a community garden. The involved sectors recognized the extension program as an effective class and a locus for developing praxis.

Simone R. de Bruin, Yvette Buist, Lenneke Vaandrager, Jan Hassink · Innovation in Aging · Netherlands

This study in the Netherlands aimed to understand the value of nature-based adult day services (ADS) for people with dementia (PwD) in urban areas. Researchers interviewed 40 PwD and their carers, who indicated that these services positively affect PwD's health and wellbeing by stimulating physical activity, social interaction, a sense of dignity, relaxation, and a sense of meaning in life.

Yoshifumi Ikejima · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Japan

A geographic information system (GIS) study examined food access among urban residents in Japan, focusing on elderly residents, across two study areas. Approximately 60% of residents aged 65 or older were found to live far from food stores needed for daily shopping, and the study identified nearby farmer-owned produce stands and farmers' markets as local agricultural outlets that could improve access to fresh food.

Matheus Fernandes Iida Domiciano, Andressa Giovannini Costa, Tatiane Melo de Lima, Bruno Nery Fernandes Vasconcelos, Leidiane da Silva Rodrigues, Cleuder Roque Arruda de Matos · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil

A university extension project (UFU's PEIC, with the Nucleus of Agroecology Studies of Cerrado Mineiro, NACEM) installed and maintained a vegetable garden at a nursing home for the elderly in Monte Carmelo, Minas Gerais, Brazil, involving university teachers, students, community volunteers, and elderly residents. The project reports indirect social and economic benefits, including interaction between students and elderly residents, inclusion activities for the elderly, and sale of garden produce to the community, which contributed to the residents' diet quality.

J. T. Roane · AAIHS (African American Intellectual History Society) — Black Perspectives · Cuba

Published on AAIHS's Black Perspectives blog on January 4, 2018, this article by J. T. Roane describes the Organopónico Vivero Alamar as 'founded in 1997 on ten and a half hectares of land,' framing Cuban urban agriculture as a response to food shortages and oil scarcity during the post-Soviet 'Special Period.' The author reports the average laborer age at the farm visited was 56, with the tour guide noting difficulty attracting younger workers. It describes methods including worm beds converting livestock waste to compost, strategic plant biodiversity for insect regulation, and integration of plants used in Santería practice, and positions Cuban organopónicos as an alternative to fossil-fuel-dependent U.S. agribusiness.

· BMC Geriatrics · Netherlands

A cross-sectional study in the southern Netherlands comparing quality of care and quality of life for 115 residents with dementia across green care farms, regular small-scale living facilities, and traditional nursing homes.

Katherine Frances Petroka, Rania Campbell-Bussiere, Dan Dychtwald, Brandy‐Joe Milliron · Nutrition and Health · United States (Philadelphia)

This 2017 qualitative study in Philadelphia, USA, investigated barriers and facilitators to healthy eating among 24 low-income seniors (65-75 years old) in subsidized housing, which included a community garden and food pantry. Personal barriers included food cost, physical limitations, and low self-efficacy, while external barriers involved lack of transportation and market distance. Facilitators focused on food preparation, and participants expressed interest in community nutrition programming.

Daisuke Machida, Tohru Yoshida · PubMed · Japan

A cross-sectional study in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, investigated the relationship between fruit and vegetable (FV) gardening and health-related factors among men aged 50-74. Community gardeners showed significant positive correlations between gardening frequency/time and perceived changes in FV intake and physical activity. Logistic regression models indicated that community gardeners had significantly greater physical activity, and other types of gardeners had greater FV intake, perceived neighborhood social cohesion, and less sitting time compared to non-gardeners.

Cho-Hee 성초희Sung, Yeun-Sook 이연숙Lee · 한국실내디자인학회 학술발표대회 논문집 · South Korea (Seoul)

This study analyzed the characteristics of communal spaces in supportive housing for vulnerable elderly, focusing on their role in health promotion. Using the first supportive housing in Seoul, South Korea, as a case, 18 communal spaces, including a rooftop garden, were classified into five purpose types. The research found that communal spaces are largely related to social health, indicating a strong correlation between communal spaces and a sense of coherence for achieving salutogenesis.