Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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724 results(8 / 29)
Transdisciplinary teaching and learning in a master’s program in urban agriculture
2024Sigrid Gjøtterud, Rasa Holen, Trine Hvoslef-Eide · International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education · Global
This action research study explored transdisciplinary teaching and learning in an urban agriculture master's program using qualitative methods. Students demonstrated high inter- and intrapersonal competencies and cross-disciplinary idea development. However, a critical finding was that the potential for collaboration with external partners (case owners) was not fully exploited and requires further development.
Limited or null effectFood educationCommunityAgricultura urbana agroecológica: producción y aportes alimentarios de tres huertas comunitarias
2024Alan Bentancor Cabrera, Inés Gazzano, Beatriz Bellenda Carneiro · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Uruguay (Montevideo)
This study investigated food production, nutritional contributions, necessary labor time, and satisfaction levels in three agroecological urban community gardens (HUAC) in Montevideo, Uruguay. It integrated secondary information, interviews with qualified informants, and analysis of field records. Results indicated that these HUACs produce significant volumes of quality food capable of covering individuals' nutritional requirements, potentially satisfying between 34% and 74% of recommended intake, and gardeners perceive HUACs as contributing around 42% of the food they consume.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceFood educationHealthCooking as Somaesthetic and Political Education
2024Nicola Perullo · · Global
This chapter proposes understanding cooking as participatory education from a relational philosophy perspective, cultivating an integral and ecological sensibility. It explores the socio-political implications of cooking, drawing on John Dewey's pioneering vision of cooking and taste as aesthetic activities, linking it to somaesthetics and Dōgen's Sōtō Buddhist school. Contemporary examples, including edible school gardens, support the notion that education with and through food develops a somaesthetic sensibility to oppose and redress fragmented social systems.
Food educationCommunityMotivations, Supporting Factors and Challenges for Urban Agriculture in Public Space: Experiences from Oslo
2024Katinka H. Evensen, Vebjørn Egner Stafseng · The Geojournal library · Norway (Oslo)
This study explored ways of integrating urban agriculture in public spaces through case studies of eight urban agriculture projects in Oslo from 2018 to 2020. Interviews with project initiators and managers highlighted motivations emphasizing the creation of social meeting places and learning arenas for cultivation and ecological knowledge. Urban agriculture was also used as a tool in local urban space development to improve well-being by activating unused spaces and integrating cultivation into green space management, suggesting that deliberate design could increase the perceived publicness of spaces.
CommunityFood educationHealthPolicyGuerrilla Gardening in a Time of Ecological and Social Crisis: An Exploratory Endeavor to Feel Connected with a Lost Piece of Forest
2024Margaretha Häggström, Mårten Häggström · The Trumpeter · Sweden
This four-year exploratory study in a clearcut in western Sweden investigated the feasibility of cultivating crops in a nutrient-poor, shadowless environment to support biodiversity. The study found that while it was possible to grow potatoes, peas, and some summer flowers without special efforts, it was difficult to grow other vegetables and root vegetables. The project suggests that planting activities in clearcuts may impact people's sense of human-nature identity and respect for the natural environment.
Limited or null effectDIYBiodiversityFood educationCommunityFrom Prescription to Adaptation in the Future Productive City: Classroom-Inspired Principles for Design and Planning of Urban Agriculture
2024Deni Ruggeri · The Geojournal library · Global
This chapter reflects on educational experiences connected to the “Cultivating Public Space” project. Students conceptualized urban agriculture not merely as a collection of physical objects, but as holistic, multifunctional landscapes designed to cultivate biophilia, food justice, public health, and community identity. This approach aimed to celebrate the uniqueness of each locale and co-create new visions of adaptation and transformation.
Food educationCommunityPolicyHealthThe Impact and Future of Edible Landscape on Sustainable Development of Universities: A Systematic Literature Review
2024Yu Hang · International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences · Global
This study provides a systematic literature review using PRISMA to analyze the ecological, social, and educational benefits of edible landscapes in universities. Research has shown that introducing edible landscapes can improve campus sustainability, educational content, and community engagement. This helps to improve ecological diversity and environmental quality on campuses, enhances awareness and participation of teachers and students in sustainable development, and promotes community identity and social cohesion.
Food educationCommunityClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceMAPEAMENTO E SELEÇÃO DE INDICADORES DE AVALIAÇÃO DA SUSTENTABILIDADE NO CONTEXTO SOCIODEMOGRÁFICO DA AMAZÔNIA
2024Maria Fernanda Coghi, Duarcides Ferreira Mariosa, Orandi Mina Falsarella · · Portugal
This project aimed to develop and install an optimized aquaponics system at the School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto (ISEP). The three-floor vertical garden includes two tanks with approximately 2,000 liters of water for fish, three flower boxes, and over 120 positions for growing vegetables. Pedagogical activities involving students from various ISEP courses were also developed in conjunction with this project.
Food sovereignty & justiceFood educationDigital agricultureCommunityImpact of school gardens on secondary schools' agricultural science education in east Berbice Corentyne, Guyana
2024Tinesha Onika Carmichael, Wazim Rafeek Sharif, Lydia Narain · Magna Scientia Advanced Research and Reviews · Guyana
This study investigated 30 Agricultural Science teachers across 17 secondary schools in East Berbice Corentyne, Guyana, regarding their perceptions of school gardens. Findings showed that students in school gardening activities were more inclined towards agricultural careers and had an enhanced understanding of practical agriculture. School gardens also facilitated interdisciplinary learning, connecting agricultural science with other subjects.
Food educationCommunityEconomics‘I learned this in the gardening group’: the impact of a community garden on children and their families’ eating habits
2024V. Nigel Kelly, Emma Brännlund · Irish Educational Studies · Ireland
This small-scale pilot study investigated the impact of children's involvement in a rural community garden in Ireland on their and their families' eating habits. Using a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews gathered parents' perspectives on their children's eating habits before and after participation. The study indicated that children's involvement in a community garden positively impacted their social development, confidence, and food awareness, alongside a noticeable influence on the family's general healthy food consumption. Further research with more participants is needed for more accurate data.
CommunityFood educationHealthEvaluation of the nature based community recovery project - Extended 2023
2024Joanne E. Porter, Megan Simic, Elizabeth Miller, Daria Soldatenko, Luis Hualda · · Australia
This project, commissioned by the Collaborative Evaluation and Research Centre (CERC), explored how nature improved the recovery of remote and rural communities affected by bushfires in East Gippsland, Australia. Data were collected from June to September 2023 through a nature-based community recovery project survey and community interviews. Phase 1 evaluated grant-funded projects, while Phase 2 investigated how broader communities interacted with nature for healing after the 2019-2020 bushfires.
CommunityWelfareFood educationSustainable Parental Resources of Organic Urban Teaching (SPROUT): An Innovation to Upgrade 4Ps Parents’ Livelihood Sustainability
2024Lynch Jun H. Dondriano, Cathy Jane A. Susuban, Michelle C. Estreller, Saddamiya A. Mingkat · International journal of research and scientific innovation · Philippines
This action research study introduces the Sustainable Parental Resources of Organic Urban Teaching (SPROUT) innovation, aimed at upgrading the livelihood sustainability of parents participating in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in the Philippines. SPROUT supports parents in growing organic produce for personal consumption and potential income generation through sustainable agriculture practices and urban gardening techniques. This approach has the potential to enhance families' nutritional status, promote environmental stewardship, and encourage a shift towards healthier, sustainable lifestyles.
WelfareFood educationDIYEconomicsImportance of school gardens. As a strategy for the consumption of healthy food in an early childhood home in Bogota-Colombia
2024Claudia Jiménez, Patricia Yazmín Figueroa-Chávez · Journal of the Selva Andina Research Society · Colombia (Bogotá)
This study addresses the importance of school gardens as a strategy for the consumption of healthy food in an early childhood home in Bogota, Colombia.
Food educationHealthAgricultural Activities Implemented in Secondary Schools Relative to Food Security: A Systematic Literature Review
2024Cherry Love B. Montales · International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews · Global
This systematic review analyzed 25 peer-reviewed studies published between 2014 and 2020 to explore how agricultural programs are implemented in secondary schools. Using clear inclusion/exclusion criteria and thematic analysis, the review showed that school gardens, often combined with other activities, were the most common initiatives. These programs involved students, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders, with key themes identified as health and nutrition, food security, teaching, environmental sustainability, learning, and the use of information and communication technology.
Food educationCommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceUnderstanding environmental generational amnesia through urban school garden learning experiences in Gimuy/Cairns, Australia
2024Rachael Walshe, Lisa Law, Neus Evans · Local Environment · Australia (Cairns)
This paper explores the potential of urban school garden learning experiences in Gimuy/Cairns, Australia, to remediate Environmental Generational Amnesia (EGA). Drawing on interviews with various staff at a Far North Queensland primary school, the study found that school garden experiences foster interaction patterns that combat EGA's symptoms, offering new possibilities for reassembling students into local ecologies and remediating EGA manifestations.
Food educationCommunityBiodiversityScreech owls, Super Soakers, and school gardens
2024Miranda S. Fitzgerald, Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar · Phi Delta Kappan · Global
Project-based learning (PBL) is argued to provide a rich context for fostering students' literacy motivation and engagement. Characteristic features of PBL align with research-supported instructional practices, such as peer collaboration and communicating with real audiences. Educators can use the SMILE concept (sharing, me, importance, liking, engagement) to design and implement PBL in K-12 classrooms.
Food educationHuerto escolar orgánico: una experiencia desde la educación ambiental en escolares de primaria
2024José Angel Vences-Martínez, Alejo Javier Lungo Rodríguez, Grecia Hernández Zamacona, Juan Ernesto Mendoza-Ramos, José Pepe Vargas Soberanis, José Domingo Cipriano Espino · REVISTA DE EDUCACIÓN AMBIENTAL Y SOSTENIBILIDAD · Global
An organic School Garden (HE) was designed through Environmental Education (EA) workshops for 13 sixth-grade primary school children. The project aimed to develop students' attitudes and skills regarding global environmental problems and their environment. Three EA workshops were designed: "Knowing my Garden," "Locating my garden," and "Composting," followed by two workshops for preparing and sowing the garden.
Food educationCommunityCompostTeaching through community artistic practices in informal urban agriculture laboratory
2024Isabel Cristina Carvalho, Raquel Luz Sousa · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) · Global
This chapter advocates for teaching contexts that integrate community art practices, using an informal urban agriculture laboratory as a basis. It proposes pedagogical approaches for Architecture and Urbanism education that leverage action and experimental research to structure living spaces, focusing on proximity, solidarity, intergenerationality, multifunctionality, and sustainability. The aim is to foster social, biophysical, and ecological integration, promote diversity and gender equality, and raise awareness of active citizenship through collaborative co-planning and co-management of plural green urban spaces.
CommunityFood educationPolicyBiodiversitySchool gardening through the perspective of the Whole School Approach
2024Maria Neocleous Maliotou, Γεωργία Λιαράκου · Education 3-13 · Global
This research employed the Whole School Approach framework to address obstacles in setting up and operating a school-integrated, long-sustained school garden. A school case study involving in-depth interviews with school stakeholders was utilized. Findings suggest that a long-sustained school garden requires collective vision and strategic planning, a holistic curriculum connection, continuous staff capacity building, and school community involvement.
Food educationCommunityPolicyOrganic compost belowground and floral diversity aboveground interactively shape beneficial insects in urban gardens
2024Carmen K. Blubaugh, R. Chesnut, Katherine Hagan · Journal of Applied Ecology · Global
This study investigated how organic composts mediate the effects of plant diversity across trophic levels over two field seasons, conducting 18 experiments in school gardens. Vermicompost strengthened a positive relationship between flower richness and foliar-feeding omnivores, but predators increased with flower richness and were not affected by vermicompost. The net outcomes of vermicompost and plant diversity were neutral for herbivores.
CompostBiodiversityPollinatorsOrganic cycleFood educationThe Level of Knowledge of Year 6 Students Regarding Urban Farming Through a Hydroponics Questionnaire
2024Nurul Ain Zafirah Nor Aizi, Kamisah Osman · International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development · Malaysia
This study evaluated the hydroponics knowledge of 200 Year 6 primary school students in Malaysia, with 100 from an urban school in Kuala Lumpur and 100 from a rural school in Negeri Sembilan. Using a 10-item Likert-scale questionnaire, urban students scored slightly higher (min = 2.97) than rural students (min = 2.70), indicating a comparable knowledge level. No significant correlation was found between hydroponic knowledge and parents' socioeconomic status.
Food educationUrban–rural linkageآليات مقترحة للتغلب علي معوقات الدور التربوي لمدارس التعليم المجتمعي في ضوء بعض الاتجاهات المعاصرة " دراسة تحليلية "
2024كريمة على حسن محمد, سوزان يوسف أبو الفضل, عزه أحمد صادق على · Journal of Educational Sciences - Qena Faculty of Education · Global
A study using a descriptive approach identified obstacles to the educational role of community education schools. Findings revealed obstacles across educational (e.g., low student achievement), social (e.g., low encouragement of community initiatives), cultural (e.g., low cultural level of staff), technological (e.g., lack of computer teachers), economic (e.g., weak family economic level), health (e.g., weak attention to a healthy school environment), and recreational roles (e.g., lack of school gardens).
Governance failureFood educationCommunityHealthIdentifying Key Benefits and Characteristics of Community Gardening for Vulnerable Populations: A Systematic Review
2023Tracey D., Gray T., Sweeting J., Kingsley J., Bailey A., Pettitt P. · Health & Social Care in the Community (Wiley/Hindawi), 2023:5570089 · Global
The first systematic review to summarize the benefits of community gardening for vulnerable populations such as low-socioeconomic-status and culturally diverse groups. Analyzing 33 studies, it finds social connection, health, education, and nutrition to be the most frequently reported benefits, supporting social inclusion and welfare.
WelfareCommunityHealthFood educationThe bright and the dark side of commercial urban agriculture labeling
2023Chicoine M., Rodier F., Durif F. · Agriculture and Human Values 40(3):1153-1170 · Global
Analyzes how companies use commercial urban agriculture labeling in product marketing, examining the consumer-perceived benefits and risks of leveraging urban farming as a brand and value proposition.
EconomicsFood educationCo-creative research for transitioning toward a fair and sustainable agri-food system in Brussels, Belgium
2023Hermesse J., Vankeerberghen A., Lohest F., Truyffaut A. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Belgium (Brussels)
Examines six co-creative, transdisciplinary research projects in Brussels that engaged diverse stakeholders to co-produce knowledge on urban food production, distribution, and equitable food access, highlighting recommendations for institutional and legislative reform to support food system transitions.
CommunityFood educationPolicy