Research & reports

Haeseon Chu, Eujean Jang, Chun‐Ho Pak · Journal of people, plants, and environment · South Korea

This research investigated the effects of an urban agriculture experience program on family unity, intimacy, and recognition of urban agriculture. The participated group showed a significant increase in family cohesion, unlike the control group, indicating agricultural experiences affected family cohesion. Participants also showed significantly increased recognition of urban agriculture and reported decreased stress, increased family unity, intimacy, and dialogue after the program.

Andrew Koval · Educational Media Reviews Online · United States (New York City)

The 27-minute documentary film "Brooklyn Farmer" (2014) covers organic urban rooftop farming as a business. The film offers perspectives on the cost of farm labor's exposure to pesticides versus the increased cost of organic vegetables, citing aesthetics, supply chain reduction, and human health as benefits of urban farming. While noted for its informative text and enhanced production value, a stated limitation is that it should have featured farmers in a more traditional vegetable production capacity to provide a diversity of opinion concerning the market.

LI Min-q · Zhongnan Linye Keji Daxue xuebao · China

This study explored the interactive relationship between tourists' experience, resource base, and market demand in allotment gardens in China, proposing the Resource-Market-Experience (RME) model for experiential tourism product development. Using Beijing Little Donkey Farm as a case study, the RME model was applied to develop experiential tourism products, offering proposals such as integrating superior resources and focusing on tourist needs.

Nurul Ain, Mohamad Ariff Fahmi Ahmad Zawawi · · Malaysia

A quantitative study conducted with 100 respondents in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia, aimed to identify the main influence on lower-income communities' participation in urban agriculture. The results showed that knowledge was the most influential factor, followed by perception, and then acceptance.

Amy Wagenfeld, Erica Whitfield · Children Youth and Environments · United States (Florida)

In January 2010, the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida, received a grant to install school/community gardens to reduce obesity and increase access to fresh produce among minority communities, primarily Hispanic children and families. A 42-item survey measured the gardens' usability, curricular integration, movement/exercise capacities, and health benefits. Findings indicated that participating in garden programs positively influenced students' and teachers' lives.

Nida Bayındır · Route Educational and Social Science Journal · Global

This research investigated primary school teachers' pedagogical expectations regarding school gardens. The study found that 60.7% of primary school teachers considered their school gardens pedagogically insufficient. Teachers primarily identified a need for more pedagogical equipment in school gardens, and desired features like Atatürk busts, flags, mini activity corners, floor games, and functional sports fields.

Bhavna Shamasunder, R Mason, Luke Ippoliti, Laura Robledo · Environmental Justice · United States (Los Angeles)

A community-based research project in Pacoima, Los Angeles, examined 36 families who received home gardens, training, and support in 2013. Following families through one planting cycle, data showed the potential for home gardens to contribute to household food budgets, increase home pride, motivate community involvement, and provide green spaces. This project aims to address the research gap on home gardens' benefits and challenges.

Hugo Puerto · Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research · United States (Florida)

This ethnographic study in Indian River County, Florida, investigated challenges in engaging Mexican im/migrant farmworkers in community-based health solutions, specifically community gardens. Despite efforts by farmworker leaders and the health department to promote community gardens for health and economic benefits, little engagement was observed within the farmworker community. The research, based on participant observation, surveys, and interviews, analyzed barriers to healthy eating and the limited role of grassroots initiatives in improving health outcomes.

Patekur Patekur · · Indonesia

A qualitative classroom action research study was conducted with class X-5 at SMA Negeri 1 Paciran, Indonesia, over two cycles. The research aimed to assess the impact of school garden observations on student achievement in Biology. The study found that the average student achievement score increased from 67.58 in the first cycle to 83.58 in the second cycle, with student mastery rising from 32.26% to 90.32%. These results indicate that school garden observations can improve students' understanding of concepts and learning outcomes in Biology.

Sonya J. Jones, Casey Childers, Amy T. Weaver, Jacquelyn Ball · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · United States (South Carolina)

In South Carolina, United States, a piloted farm-to-school program with four components, including local producer partnership, SC-grown foods in the cafeteria, promotion, and a school garden, was evaluated. A quasi-experimental design compared fruit and vegetable consumption in children from participating schools to matched comparison schools. Results showed that children in farm-to-school schools consumed more vegetables but fewer fruits than those in comparison schools.

Lynne Eggert, Jane Blood‐Siegfried, Mary T. Champagne, Maha Al-Jumaily, Donna J. Biederman · Journal of Community Health Nursing · Global

This study reports on a pilot project that formed a coalition, guided by the Community Coalition Action Theory, to implement a community garden for apartment-dwelling refugees. Outcomes included successful coalition formation, the establishment of a community garden, reported satisfaction from all gardeners with increased vegetable intake, access to culturally meaningful foods, and evidence of increased community engagement. The project demonstrated the opportunity for community health nurses to convene a coalition to positively impact refugee health.

C.O. Edeoghon, DU Okoedo-Okojie · Journal of applied science and environmental management · Nigeria (Lagos State)

This study assessed the information needs of 140 youths involved in urban agriculture in Epe LGA, Lagos State, Nigeria, using structured questionnaires. Most respondents (71.4% unemployed) needed information on crop production (54.3%) and perceived urban agriculture as a solace for unemployment. Major agricultural tasks included vegetable, maize, cassava, and fish production. Unemployment was attributed to laziness, lack of knowledge, and god-fatherism, and perceived information needs were significantly associated with education level and primary occupation.

Óscar Moreno Flogia, Andrea Navarrete, Fernando Rodríguez Cortés · · Colombia

This article presents research results on how to approach the concept of "sustainable development" by teaching organic agriculture principles in a school garden at Liceo Campestre Bosque Andino in Sibate, Cundinamarca, Colombia. Constructivism and meaningful learning served as the pedagogical framework, with concept maps and the Likert scale used as assessment tools.

Neda Jafari, Mohd Yazid Mohd Yunos, Md Azree Othuman Mydin, Osman Mohd Tahir · Applied Mechanics and Materials · Malaysia

This quantitative survey research examined residents' awareness and preferences regarding urban agriculture at rooftop gardens in The Heritage condominium in Selangor and Sri Putramas 2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The survey results indicated that residents who participated agreed with the awareness of urban agriculture at rooftop gardens. The study aims to promote sustainable building and the use of urban agriculture in residential rooftop gardening.

Virajita Singh, Alexander Thill, Daniel Handeen · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · United States (Minneapolis)

Project Sweetie Pie (PSP) is a non-profit organization in North Minneapolis, United States, that addresses food insecurity by establishing community gardens. To date, PSP has started over 25 gardens, providing fresh produce to citizens. The Camden Greenhouse planning project engaged the community to understand needs and generate ideas for creating a food hub in Camden and North Minneapolis.

Walter Belik · Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional · Brazil

This article discusses the use of the Food and Nutritional Security concept in Brazil's Fome Zero Project and its implementation through various programs initiated in the past decade. It concludes by calling attention to the need to improve programs related to supply, food and nutritional education, and urban agriculture to enable the functioning of an integrated Food and Nutritional Security system.

Carlos Antônio Gonçalves da Costa, José Thyago Aires Souza, Daniel Duarte Pereira · polemica · Brazil (Gurjão)

This study portrayed and analyzed the inclusion of an environmental education project using a school garden as a tool in Gurjão municipality, Brazil. The research demonstrated that the school garden facilitated learning based on various areas of knowledge and fostered conscious and critical citizens regarding environmental issues. It highlighted that the school garden can serve as an open-air laboratory to be utilized across all disciplines.

조성, 최정민 · 한국주거학회 학술발표대회 논문집 · South Korea (Seoul)

This study surveyed 102 low-income respondents in Seoul's Shin-nae 10th apartment complex from July 1st to August 15th to inform the development of a new Welfare Community Garden model. Findings indicated that most low-income families preferred such a garden, desired nearby facilities with educational programs, and were willing to pay using a munhwa nuri card.

Jenny Morales Sánchez, Paola Aguilera Rocha · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Colombia (Bogotá)

In Usme locality, Bogotá, Colombia, the Ambiká-Pijao indigenous community, displaced from Tolima, undertook an initiative through the "Ambiká Seeds House of Thought" to recognize ancestral agricultural traditions. This non-conventional education facility hosts children aged 2 months to 5 years to maintain and strengthen their customs and ancestral knowledge. Maize, a native and sacred plant, was planted in soda bottles as an urban agriculture strategy for limited spaces, allowing children to connect with their customs and understand planting as a sacred act in their worldview.

Kimberley Reis, Jo-Anne S. Ferreira · ePublications@SCU (Southern Cross University) · Australia

This study examines how community and school gardens can teach individual and community resilience to potential food shortages, emergencies, food insecurity, and climate change challenges. It focuses on the role of gardens in providing food access and building resilience among school-aged children and young adults. Insights from a larger Australian PhD thesis are analyzed to assist educators, particularly in policy, who engage with young learners in these gardens, with findings argued to have international relevance.

Elena Broaddus, Liana S. Przygocki, Peter J. Winch · Children Youth and Environments · United States (Baltimore)

A year-long case study examined six eleventh- and twelfth-grade students participating in a farm-based youth internship program in Baltimore, Maryland. Using Self-Determination Theory as an analytical framework, program components that promoted participants' engagement by meeting their needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness were identified. The findings indicate specific strategies that urban agriculture programs can use to more effectively engage youth.

Maria José Pereira Tavares, Ana Paula Maia Espíndola Rodrigues, Reginaldo Ferreira de Lima Júnior, Pedro José Santos Carneiro Cruz · Encontro Regional Nordeste I 2015 · Brazil (João Pessoa)

The "Praticas Integrais da Promocao da Saude e Nutricao na Atencao Basica – PINAB" University Extension Program, active since 2007 in João Pessoa, Brazil, uses popular education methodology to promote health and food security. The "Horta Popular Boa Esperanca" community garden, a key initiative, provides weekly educational activities like cultivation and harvesting, fostering collective work and social mobilization. The program's actions create a collective space for learning and integration between the community, health services, and university, contributing to health promotion and environmental care.

Widya Dwi Kharismawati · SKRIPSI Mahasiswa UM · Indonesia

This study aimed to develop an agricultural education-based learning design on the theme of urban farming to enhance 21st-century skills (creativity, digital literacy, collaboration, work ethic, and leadership) in biology students at UM Laboratory High School in Indonesia. Using the Dick, Carey, and Carey (2009) development model, learning designs and materials such as syllabi, lesson plans (RPP), supplementary textbooks, and written tests were developed. Expert and practitioner evaluations indicated high validity for the developed materials, and implementation results were also rated as high.

Federico Davila, Robert Dyball · Australian Journal of Environmental Education · Australia

This article examines the potential of food sovereignty, as defined by La Via Campesina, to reframe food as a human right within the Australian food discourse. It argues that urban food production in Australia offers educative value by transforming individuals' social and environmental concerns about food systems. Community participation in urban food production can foster political understanding and support for alternative food systems, developing elements of food sovereignty in an Australian urban context.

Wang Jing-pen · · China

This study examines a new "agriculture-education-economy" cycle model, using the Liuyiyuan Urban Agriculture Demonstration Garden in Wenzhou as an example, to promote practical education amidst agricultural upgrading and restructuring. Based on regional cultural characteristics and client psychological needs, a planning concept was proposed to integrate tourism, agricultural production, demonstrations, entertainment, science education, and leisure activities within the natural environment. The aim is to unify human activity and the natural environment.