Research & reports

Romana Brunner · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Switzerland (Luzern)

This report documents an urban gardening project implemented at Jugendkulturhaus Treibhaus Luzern from October 2016 to November 2017. The project's main goal was to participatively involve youth and young adults in urban gardening, fostering their identification with and appropriation of the space. The report details the project's planning, execution, organization, and the difficulties and insights gained during its implementation.

Jens A. Geißler, Tim Schümann · · Germany (Bad Oldesloe)

The "Ernte deine Stadt" project series in Bad Oldesloe, Germany, combines civic engagement platforms with makerspace and community building ideas, focusing on local sustainability, particularly urban gardening and green libraries. Due to the project's success, the Bad Oldesloe City Library won the IFLA Green Library Award in 2017.

Clétina Inês de Brito Rodrigues, Rafael Pereira Barros, Iraci Fideles, João Victor de Brito Rodrigues, Genilson Tabosa Wanderley, Glicia Luiza nunes · Fórum de Integração Ensino, Pesquisa, Extensão e Inovação Tecnológica do IFRR - e-ISSN 2447-1208 · Brazil

This project aimed to encourage the Guariba indigenous community in Brazil to produce vegetables through a community garden, promoting food access and security, work opportunities, and income generation. Activities included environmental and social education, entrepreneurship, and healthy eating practices. The project involved over 20 participants and resulted in the construction of a community garden and training for community members and student interns.

Giuseppe Carmelo Pillera · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Italy (Sicily)

This article analyzes the school culture of school gardens in Sicily, examining how they are conceived, the value assigned by the teaching community, and expected outcomes. Data from 49 surveyed schools, part of a regional mapping of educational projects on soil cultivation, were analyzed using quantitative textual analysis. The study interprets meanings of key concepts and their relationships based on recurrent morphemes and their contexts.

John Dotter · · United States (California)

This paper documents people-plant relationships in San Jose, California's ethnically diverse Community and Cultural Heritage Gardens from 1977 to 1992. Unpublished university research, magazine articles, and newspaper stories show how partnerships with grassroots community groups contributed to the gardens' sustainability. Preliminary findings suggest greater utilization of non-English speaking skilled horticulturalists, and case studies illustrate how cooperative development of San Jose gardens produced benefits like neighborhood beautification, stimulated social interaction, and nutritious food production.

Leandro Matias dos Santos, Michelle Emanuelle Silva, Cirlene Jeane Santos e Santos · Diversitas Journal · Brazil

This article is based on fieldwork conducted by NUAGRARIO researchers and Agrarian Geography students from the Federal University of Alagoas in Maceió-AL, Brazil, focusing on urban agriculture. The fieldwork aimed to verify if virtually selected areas contained urban agriculture practices. The article's main objective is to demonstrate the importance of fieldwork in social formation through understanding, observation, and recognition of reality, highlighting geographic contents that can be approached through this methodology.

Petrona Rodríguez · Módulo Arquitectura CUC · Colombia

This study in Remolino-Magdalena, Colombia, aimed to design a school garden as a pedagogical strategy to encourage research among 35 elementary school students aged 8-10. Using observation and field journals, the project found that the vegetable gardens fostered ecological awareness, stimulated investigative capacities, and improved interpersonal relationships among the students.

Lenny Prastiwi, Diana Vivanti Sigit, Agung Sedayu · Biosfer · Indonesia (Tangerang)

This quantitative correlational study, conducted in May 2015 at SMAN 4 Tangerang and SMAN 5 Tangerang, Indonesia, investigated the relationship between students' perceptions of school gardens and their attitudes towards school environmental management. Using simple random sampling, 214 eleventh-grade students who used school gardens as learning resources were surveyed. The study found a positive correlation (correlation coefficient 0.715) between students' perceptions of school gardens and their attitudes towards school environmental management, with perceptions contributing 51.1% to the attitude.

Georgia Pollard, Philip Roetman, James Ward, Belinda Chiera, Evangeline Mantzioris · Urban Science · Australia (South Australia)

This research investigated the perceived health, social value, and happiness benefits of urban agriculture in home and community food gardens in South Australia. Through an online survey and in-field data collection, dominant home gardener motivations were produce, enjoyment, and health, while community gardener motivations were enjoyment, connection to others, and produce. An overall social connection was the key difference between the two, suggesting that engagement in gardening may provide a preventative or supportive role for gardener health and wellbeing.

Kathleen Howe, Jenny Bach, Myles DeCoito, Shari Frias, Rebecca Hatch, Susan I. Jarvi · Frontiers in Public Health · United States (Hawai'i)

A collaborative project with five Hawaiʻi Island schools developed an integrated pest management plan to control slugs and snails, intermediate hosts of rat lungworm disease (Angiostrongylus cantonensis). Curricula for grades 5-8 were created, and students trialed five shelter materials, removing over 4,000 invasive slugs and snails while collecting data. This initiative aimed to reduce human cases of the disease and restore public trust in local agriculture through education and pest control.

Rayssa da Rocha Batista, Aparecida Hurtado Soares, Carolina Simões dos Santos, Henderson Gonçalves Nobre · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil

In Capitão Poço, PA, urban and peri-urban farmers cultivate vegetables for subsistence and surplus sale. The NEA/UFRA/Capitão Poço/PA has supported these farmers by providing information on agroecology principles and building participatory knowledge on sustainable vegetable production technologies. This initiative included three training workshops on agroecological production systems, covering biofertilizer production, composting, and vermicomposting, fostering learning and knowledge exchange.

Hélder Ribeiro Freitas, Suellen Bispo Coelho, Vashtir Ramalho dos Santos Braga, Diego Cesar Alves Lima Verde, Cristiane Moraes Marinho, Rita de Cássia Rodrigues Gonçalves Gervásio · · Brazil

This work analyzed knowledge exchange processes promoted by the Center for Research and Studies Sertao Agroecological, focusing on the experiences of farmers and organizations in the Sertao do Sao Francisco Baiano and Pernambucano Territories. Through extension projects and teaching activities, students and teachers interacted with agroecology, organic production, and urban and peri-urban agriculture experiences. These interactions fostered closer ties between farmers and the university community, enabling dialogical exchanges and strengthening perspectives in teaching, research, and university extension.

Antônio Domingos Moreira, Aurélio José Antunes de Carvalho, Márcio Harrison dos Santos Ferreira · Revista Macambira · Brazil

This study describes a project implemented since September 2015 at Sinésio Costa State College in Riacho de Santana, Brazil, using theoretical-practical and participatory methodologies. The project is guided by agroecological and organic systems, recently integrated into the school's Pedagogical Political Project, enabling greater school community participation. Its aim is to propose sustainable alternatives for providing healthy food produced in small spaces.

Beatriz Bellenda, Guillermo A. Galván, Margarita García, Inés Gazzano, V. Gepp, Gabriela Linari, Stella Faroppa · Agrociencia · Uruguay

The Faculty of Agronomy at the University of the Republic in Uruguay has implemented activities since 2002 to promote food production, social organization, and agroecological projects. This study analyzed these efforts over more than a decade using qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, censuses, and surveys. Findings indicated contributions to participant learning, food and nutritional security, healthy food production and consumption, and strengthened collective projects supported by the university.

John Diaz, Laura A. Warner, Sue Webb, Debra M. Barry · Applied Environmental Education & Communication · Global

This study used a consensus-driven process to identify central issues impeding the sustained success of school gardens. It outlined practical, logistical, and institutional barriers that need to be addressed to ensure their success in supplementing education.

Liutauras Nekrošius, Indrė Ruseckaitė, Edita Riaubienė · Landscape architecture and art · Lithuania

This paper examines the educational function and development of schoolyards in Lithuania, noting that many have been "Forgotten Spaces" despite their potential for urban gardening and environmental education. The study found that most schools, built in interwar and Soviet periods, do not meet contemporary spatial needs. Since 2014, VGTU's Faculty of Architecture has facilitated discussions and alternative visions for school space changes, engaging youth in co-creation and maintenance of their environment.

Cristh Ellen Ferreira Pinheiro, Hélder dos Anjos Augusto, Cledinado Aparecido Dias, Fábio da Silva Gonçalves, Marcelo Oliveira · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (São Paulo)

This study in Montes Claros, MG, Brazil, investigated the reality of urban farmers commercializing vegetable production to propose multidisciplinary extension and research actions. It identified agricultural production regions, the main functions of urban agriculture from the farmers' perspective, and the difficulties faced by these producers. The analysis highlighted the need for multidisciplinary approaches due to the identified demands, implying challenges in economic viability.

Estevan Leopoldo de Freitas Coca, Ricardo Barbosa · Ateliê Geográfico · Canada (Vancouver)

This paper qualitatively analyzed the implementation of school gardens in Vancouver, Canada, as part of the "second generation" of food sovereignty. It highlighted that while these initiatives are implemented in public schools, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are primarily responsible for developing projects that promote local agriculture and food literacy.

Adrienn Reisinger, Katalin Bándy · Managing Global Transitions · Hungary

This paper illustrated how active citizens in Hungary manage environmental issues through participation in local or national programs, using three case studies: a school garden program, the banning of a planned incinerator by local civic organizations in Szentgotthárd, and the citizen-managed litter collection campaign TeSzedd. The results showed that citizens can actively shape environmental issues, but the most important factor is their personal concern about these issues.

David Broyles · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech) · United States (Virginia)

On November 17, 2018, the Carroll News reported on the 4-H Gardening Club in Carroll County, Virginia, which planted peanuts as an experimental crop in their school garden. The report covered their harvesting methods and the success of growing peanuts in Southwest Virginia.

김정식, 한미영 · Global Creative Leader Education & Learning · South Korea

This study aims to examine whether the current urban agriculture expert training curriculum, implemented nationwide in South Korea, is appropriate for training actual urban agriculture experts in light of urban agriculture development directions. The South Korean government has established an urban agriculture manager qualification system to provide explanations, education, guidance, and technology dissemination related to urban agriculture to enhance urban citizens' understanding.

Jose Martinez Carbonell · Cultura Educación y Sociedad · Colombia

A qualitative study involving twelve tenth-grade students and their parents at Jose Dadul Agroecological Technique IED in Colombia implemented a school garden as a research tool. The study found limitations during activity implementation, including lack of interest from parents acting as companions, insufficient space and time, and cessation of academic activities. Despite these constraints, it was possible to increase motivation for both parents and students through research and contemporary strategies.

Jong-woo Kim · · South Korea

This study analyzed domestic and international trends in agriculture and dietary education through a literature review. The findings suggest a need for programs that cultivate awareness of agriculture's link to food, integrate school gardens with dietary habits due to their proven effectiveness in improving eating habits, and develop diverse, locally appropriate agricultural and dietary education programs.

Vilma Beatriz Tanillama Jiménez · Cultura Educación y Sociedad · Colombia

This article presents results from using a school garden as a pedagogical strategy to improve students' investigative processes at IED Celinda Mejía López in Barroblanco - Magdalena, Colombia. Surveys revealed that a significant percentage of students lacked knowledge of basic school garden elements and research-related aspects.

Sarah M. Cross, Sami Kahn · Journal of Agricultural Education · United States

This collective case study investigated how two Ohio school-based agricultural educators use school gardens to teach science, including socioscientific issues (SSI). Qualitative data from semistructured interviews revealed that both teachers utilized applied science teaching methods and expressed frustrations regarding the difficulty of meeting mandated science learning standards. Although controversial topics were often integrated, fidelity to the SSI framework did not appear to be utilized.