Research & reports

Brenda B. Lin, Monika Egerer, Heidi Liere, Shalene Jha, Stacy M. Philpott · Scientific Reports · United States (California)

A six-week study in summer 2017 in urban gardens in California, conducted with volunteer gardeners, examined how ambient temperature, water use, vegetation, ground cover, and soil management affect soil moisture gain and loss rates. The research found that plot-level soil management is essential for maintaining stable water levels within garden soils. Plots with better soil quality, indicated by higher water holding capacity, experienced slower rates of soil moisture gain after watering but also slower rates of soil moisture loss, resulting in more stable moisture profiles over time.

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.

Marcos Daniel Schmidt de Aguiar, Cláudio Fioreze, Danielle Grassi · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Porto Alegre)

This research, part of the EcoViamão project in the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre, Brazil, identified community gardens in the municipality of Canoas. Through data collection from public and private entities, bibliographic review, field visits, and extension action reports, an alternative form of urban agriculture was revealed, practiced collectively in socially vulnerable areas with a strong agroecological and food security bias. The study also analyzes possibilities for strengthening actions with the community and the mission of IFRS and the EcoViamão project for more sustainable regional development.

Sara J. Taetzsch, Andrea S. Bertke, Karen Gruszynski · Zoonoses and Public Health · United States (Richmond)

This study investigated the potential overlap between feral cat territories and human-frequented areas in the Richmond metropolitan area, Central Virginia, using GIS. From July to November 2016, 275 feral cats were trapped for TNR clinics. Findings showed that 8.0% of feral cats had the potential to range onto public elementary or preschool property, and 81.5% of those trapped in Richmond City could roam into public parks and community gardens, indicating a risk of zoonotic disease transmission.

Juliana Cavalheiro Costa, Mayara Pisssuti Albano Vieira · COLLOQUIUM SOCIALIS · Brazil

This work aimed to gather knowledge on applying the placemaking concept to implement a community garden and orchard in an urban empty space within the Ana Jacinta Housing Complex in Presidente Prudente-SP, Brazil. The methodology involved bibliographic research on housing complexes, documentary research, and field surveys.

Janine Fernanda da Silveira, Maria Dalva Pereira, Suelen Ferreira Matoso Couto, Viviane Santos Pereira · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil

This experience report investigated the daily dynamics and existing agroecological practices of a community garden in COHAB I, Lavras-MG, Brazil, which originated from a city hall initiative. The garden became an association with approximately 50 members two years prior, and while it has made some progress in production methods and social organization, further capacity building is deemed necessary.

Wanda Martin, Lindsey Wagner · Agriculture & Food Security · Canada

In a Canadian prairie city, 66 participants used concept mapping and group discussions to develop an urban agriculture action plan. The plan consists of six concepts, with increasing food production in public spaces and improving education strategies ranked as both important and feasible. Participants stated that an integrated vision from city administration, along with a paid position to oversee bylaws and consider local food procurement systems, is necessary to advance urban agriculture.

Mitra Mobin, Maria Walderez Szeszs, Juliana Possatto Fernandes Takahashi, Marilena dos Anjos Martins, Daise Damaris Carnietto de Hippólito, Jhonatas Cley Santos Porto, João Batista Mendes Teles, Sidney Gonçalo de Lima, Márcia de Souza Carvalho Melhem · PubMed · Brazil

A 2014 study in a community garden in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil, investigated the antifungal susceptibility of Candida species isolated from horticulturists with onychomycosis. Samples were identified using phenotypic methods, MALDI-TOF MS, and PCR, and their susceptibility to four antifungal drugs was determined. All isolated Candida species were found to be sensitive to the tested antifungal drugs, with no resistance observed.

Fernanda Maciel Mendes Costa, Ana Paula Leite Fabrini, Tânia Vital, Aline Neves Costa, Tatiana Perassolo, Rodrigo Borghezan · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil

This experience report describes the introduction of Unconventional Food Plants (PANC) into a school environment in Campo Grande, Brazil, through culinary workshops for staff and lectures for students. The initiative aimed to promote healthy eating and prevent chronic non-communicable diseases. As a result, Taioba (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) was included in the public call for supply to municipal schools, ensuring frequent PANC consumption for approximately 1100 students.

Anderson Luiz Duarte, Bezamat de Souza Neto · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (São João del-Rei)

This research examines a type of solidarity female entrepreneurship carried out by a group of women participating in a community garden in São João del-Rei, Brazil. The objective is to demonstrate how knowledge exchange and management practices are established within this endeavor. The community garden is presented as an educommunicative ecosystem that creatively transforms urban space through micropolitics, aiming to address social inequalities and mitigate economic vulnerability. It also highlights female empowerment, promoting self-esteem and a sense of community belonging among participants.

Michael Carolan · Rural Sociology · United States

Understandings of "social justice" and "autonomy" were investigated among conventional corn producers in North Dakota and participants in an urban agriculture cooperative in an anonymized U.S. city. Qualitative interviews and "word cloud" analysis revealed greatly differing understandings of these concepts, but both groups were grounded in a shared neoliberal world that negatively impacts both populations. Interviewees in the rural space failed to understand their marginalization as an artifact of the neoliberal worldview.

Sue Webb, John Diaz · EDIS · United States (Florida)

A Delphi study was conducted to identify the barriers, challenges, and obstacles to starting and sustaining community gardens in Florida. This 3-page document summarizes the results of that study.

Rachel Watson, John Willford, Mariel A. Pfeifer · Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning · United States

A problem-based capstone course at the University of Wyoming Microbiology Program was designed to assess student learning objectives. Students collaborated with a local farm, community garden, and clinic to address partner problems. Instructor assessments and external subject matter experts confirmed students' mastery of learning objectives, and community partners expressed satisfaction with the solutions.

Eileen V. Wallis · Western Historical Quarterly · United States (California)

This article explores the significance of urban agriculture in Southern California from the late nineteenth century to World War II. It examines how informal, small-scale, part-time urban and suburban agricultural production contributed to the region's economic development and cultural identity.

A. Laitif Qureshi · Digital Commons - Wofford College (Wofford College) · United States

This research investigated how residents in Victoria Gardens and Cleveland Heights, located in the Northside area of the United States, perceive the Hub City Farmers’ Market and Monarch Café. The Northside, previously considered a food desert, is no longer classified as such due to the establishment of Harvest Park, which includes these facilities. The study aimed to gain insight into how Harvest Park benefits the Northside community and to explore suggestions for future improvements to attract more residents.

Ana Paula Borges Martins, Júlia Pimenta Pereira, Polyanna Abreu Corrêa, Mariene Cristina Conceição De Melo, Francisco Adriano de Souza · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Brazil (Sete Lagoas)

This record provides information about a field study paper on the inoculation of Efficient Microorganisms (EM) and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (FMA) in lettuce, made available in DSpace on November 8, 2017. The paper is provided in PDF format.

Patrícia Fernandes Forny, Luana Mota e Sá Silva, Wyara Ferreira Melo, Patrício Borges Maracajá, Micheline Braga Lopes, Adrielly Braz Rolim · · Brazil

This study aims to detail and provide an understanding of the human right to adequate food through urban agriculture, within the context of the 1988 Federal Constitution and post-World War II developments in Brazil. This understanding was gained through a bibliographic review on the adequacy of this right, agroecology, and urban agriculture.

R. Witt, Erika S. Svendsen, Marianne E. Krasny · Cornell University Press eBooks · United States (Detroit)

This chapter explores how civic stewardship has driven social-ecological transformation in Detroit through the work of the nonprofit Greening of Detroit. The organization expanded its mission from restoring the city's tree canopy to include urban agriculture, environmental education, and workforce development, acting as a bridging organization connecting various stakeholders. Sustained community-based stewardship builds resilience, strengthens social networks, and shapes both local change and broader social movements through inclusive green infrastructure and civic participation.

Bruno Martins Dala Paula, Luana do Carmo Araujo de Oliveira, Emmanuel Duarte Almada, Filipe Freitas Chaves, Maura Neves Coutinho · Expressa Extensão · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)

This essay reflects on the relationship between urban agriculture practices and life care, based on a university extension project mobilized between resident groups of the Aglomerado da Serra communities in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and members of Grupo Aroeira, over six years (2008-2013). The project was structured through main activities including surveying urban agriculture initiatives in the community, holding a cycle of 'Cultivating Health' meetings, forming a Medicinal Plants Group, creating a literacy class, and organizing open-air markets with urban agrobiodiversity products. This project aimed to cultivate and promote the care for the lives of the residents, valuing their popular knowledge, while bringing these experiences into the university through the practice of 'reverse extension'.

David Vieira Lima, Geovane Rocha de Carvalho, Jaqueline Silva Sousa, José Weselli de Sá Andrade · Global Science and Technology · Brazil

This research in Brazil evaluated the viability of a low-cost, handmade hydroponic system for sustainable urban agriculture, constructed from 25 reused 2L PET bottles. Lettuce was cultivated in this system and a commercial system for 57 days. Statistical analysis showed that while the handmade model was less productive, it yielded plants in excellent condition for consumption at a low cost, validating it as a viable alternative for sustainable urban agriculture.

Lucas Bras Barbosa, Sérgio Syddney Borges de Araújo, Evelyn Maria Alexandre da Silva Lima, Erikson Kadoshe de Morais Raimundo, Alexandre Eduardo de Araújo, Carlos Roberto Marinho Silva Filho · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Paraíba)

This study analyzed the resocialization aspects for eight prisoners in the Public Penitentiary of Bananeiras-PB, Brazil, through labor activities in educational community gardens. Using a qualitative approach, it found that remuneration was not a primary factor for prisoners; instead, sentence remission, improved food, and occupation of time and mind were the most important aspects.

Kaitlin Hathaway · Digital Showcase Research, Scholarship, & Creative Works (University of Lynchburg) · United States (Lynchburg)

The Lynchburg College Community Garden at Beaver Point, United States, was established in 2016 by students and faculty to teach sustainable agriculture and enrich soil. In spring and summer 2017, projects included donating produce, promoting pollinators, raising chickens, and composting. The abstract also describes a designed rainwater collection and irrigation system.

Tyler Pratt, L. Allen, David E. Rosenberg, Andrew A. Keller, Kelly Kopp · Agricultural Water Management · United States (Utah)

Irrigation evaluations were performed for 24 urban and small farms in Cache Valley, Utah, during the 2015 growing season. A great degree of heterogeneity was observed in irrigation methods, equipment, and management practices. Small fields had lower application uniformities and greater irrigation depths than large fields, and surface-irrigated fields had higher depths than sprinkle and drip-irrigated fields. The study concluded that urban and small farm irrigators need improved knowledge of proper irrigation management.

Maclóvia Corrêa da Silva, Cristianne Teixeira Carneiro, Ana Lúcia Barbosa Monteiro, Natália Pereira Marinelli, Eloy Fassi Casagrande · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Brazil (Teresina)

This study analyzed the characteristics of urban agricultural work in community gardens in the Dirceu and Renacimiento II neighborhoods of Teresina - PI, Brazil. A field survey of 32 farmers found that 71.88% worked 4-8 hours daily, 59.38% were retirees, and 50% worked with family collaboration. Income from vegetable sales showed 50% earned up to one minimum wage and 43% up to two minimum wages, but the activity depends on land owners, public policies, seed producers, and traders.

Angelina Moreira Melo, Daniel Calbino, Alair Ferreira de Freitas · Revista Ciência em Extensão · Brazil (Sete Lagoas)

This experience report analyzed the methodology used by extension agents in implementing the Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) model in a community garden in Sete Lagoas, Brazil. Responding to producers' demand regarding production flow problems, CSA was introduced as a fair trade marketing alternative connecting consumers and producers through weekly sales of agroecological product baskets. The methodology focused on constructing participatory methods based on producers' reality and interests, with the autonomy given to subjects being a central point, leading to significant economic, social, and cultural contributions for those involved.