Research & reports

Andréa Nunes Moreira, Camila Torres Valgueiro Ferraz, Doyglas Rafael Sales Marques, Jarbas Florentino de Carvalho, Jane Oliveira Perez · Revista Semiárido De Visu · Brazil (Petrolina)

This study aimed to present efficient and low-cost methods for preserving ladybugs, excellent predators of agricultural pests, to horticulturists in Petrolina, Brazil. "Ladybug Preservation Kits" containing seed mixes and explanatory materials were distributed to 10 community gardens, and "Knowing Ladybugs Kits" with ladybug specimens were also distributed to 2 gardens. The survey identified 17 community gardens in Petrolina, and the activities received excellent receptivity, contributing to knowledge building about natural enemies.

Kristen Speakman, Nicole Neault, Ventura Lovato, Katie Cueva, Ivanka Szabo, Rebecca Wallis, Jennifer Richards, Allison Barlow · Progress in community health partnerships · United States

Three tribal communities in the Southwestern United States partnered with the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health to develop culturally relevant plans for the "Feast for the Future" program, addressing community concerns about obesity. Using a community visioning process, Community Advisory Boards from each community identified opportunities, challenges, goals, and visions, leading to the development of seven program components including Edible School Gardens and Community Gardens. A community-based participatory action research process was critical to this development.

Rodrigo Rossi Morelato · MEDIACIONES · Brazil

This article addresses the communication practices of agroecological-based social movements in Rio de Janeiro, correlating them with theories of communication for social change. Based on extensive participatory research with the Rio de Janeiro Urban Agriculture Network (Rede CAU), it concludes that agroecology is capable of promoting processes of citizenship and social change through popular communication.

Tanya Denckla Cobb, Shantell Bingham · Urban agriculture · United States (Charlottesville)

Using the University of Virginia's experience with Charlottesville, USA, this study demonstrated how university classroom engagement with the community can perpetuate inequities and legacies of harm. The research noted the potential for communities to view universities as "extractive industries" and proposed a new framework called "equitable pedagogy" to avoid perpetuating privilege and systemic inequities.

Talita Gonçalves Posser, Damiana Machado de Almeida, Vânia Medianeira Flores Costa, Sabrina Nascimento Borba, Paula Balardin Ribeiro Aragão, A C Carvalho · Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental · Brazil (Santa Maria)

This study reports on actions developed by the extension project "Actions to combat social vulnerability: work and income for women in Vila Maringá/RS" by the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) in Brazil. In 2018, using a participatory methodology and public funds, the project conducted cooking workshops, a mini-course on integral food use, a lecture on medicinal plants and spices, and built a community garden. Participants generally evaluated the project positively and frequently requested new workshops and training.

Yarrow 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.

SP24.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.

Bárbara 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.

Gundula 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.

Kaline 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.

Carol 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.

Alessandra 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.

Valerie 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).

Mitchell 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.

Stephanie 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.

Ive 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.

Luiza 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.

Daniele 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.

Áurea Espinosa Cerón, Chacón Zavala Ángel Leonardo · Journal of Agricultural Sciences Research (2764-0973) · Mexico

This paper proposes the portable urban garden (HUP) as an innovative solution to the lack of cultivable space in large cities like Mexico City. HUPs can be placed in various urban areas, such as schools and housing units, to facilitate citizen participation in cultivation. The paper presents calculations for HUP construction, material budgets, and assembly schemes.

Uilma dos Santos Ramos, Heron Ferreira Souza · Revista Macambira · Brazil

This study investigated the meanings of work relationships in the Ipiaú community garden in Bahia, Brazil, which was established in response to 1980s unemployment. Using semi-structured interviews and thematic content analysis, the research found that "freedom" emerged as a central meaning of work. The educational character of the work was reinforced through the experience of values and practices supporting an "Other Economy."

Nicole Cuya, Paul Estrada, Doris Esenarro, Violeta Vega, Jesica Vilchez Cairo, Diego C. Mancilla-Bravo · Buildings · Peru

This research aimed to create comfort for users of an educational center in Carabayllo, Peru, by applying sustainable design strategies. The study involved a literature review, flora and fauna analysis, passive design, and climatic analysis using digital tools. The resulting design proposes an educational center with year-round comfort through energy efficiency, eco-friendly materials, green roofs, dry toilets, biofilters, and xerophytic vegetation for orchards, promoting food production and improving public spaces.

Alessandro Silva de Oliveira, Gustavo Carvalho da Rocha Lima Martins, Gonzalo Oviedo, Lucas José de Oliveira Gomes · Revista Tecnia · Brazil

A 2024 paper reports on an educational practice with elementary school students at a community garden at IFG-Anápolis, Brazil, framed around "omnilateral formation" and critical environmental education. Through periodic visits, workshops, and discussion sessions, the practice addressed problems arising from the use and consumption of pesticides in food. It reports that the critical environmental education approach was significant in revealing the latent meanings behind an agribusiness food market based on unrestrained pesticide use.

Carol E. Ramos-Gerena, Allison DeHonney, Shireen Guru, Rachel Grandits, Insha Akram, Samina Raja · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

This article examines the Seeding East Buffalo Fellowship (SEBF) program, co-founded by community and academic organizations in Buffalo, NY in 2022, which supported residents of Buffalo's Black neighborhoods in growing their own food, emerging as urban agriculture leaders, and engaging in urban agriculture policy advocacy. The authors, who are co-founders or team members of SEBF, draw on field notes and qualitative interviews with SEBF growers to reflect on lessons from this pilot program. Key lessons for policy change identified are that programs must be rooted in community history, pedagogical strategies must be tailored to local context, and long-term relationships must be fostered.

Nova Southeastern University · NSUWorks (Nova Southeastern University) · United States

A description of the "Get Well" Community Garden and Eat Well Project — the Community Health Intervention Program in Neighborhood Gardens (CHIPING) — in the United States. The project's stated aim is to determine whether providing community gardens in diverse low-income neighborhoods promotes health by increasing knowledge of healthier food choices and increasing access to foods rich in micronutrients.

Eduardo Chierrito de Arruda, Gabriela Costa Alves, Catherine Menegaldi Silva, Barbara Macedo Soares de Araujo, Rute Grossi Milani · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil

A study in Brazil used the Affective Map Generator Instrument to interview 40 community garden users aged 45 to 80 about their emotional experiences during gardening activities. Analysis of the images produced showed that experiences in these gardens were mediated by feelings of pleasantness, belonging and restoration, with connection to nature and social interaction as the most cited senses.