Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
628 results(9 / 26)
Nina B. Hollis Research Impact Award Project: Garden-Based Learning
2020Sarah E. Cramer, Mercedes Tichenor · · United States
The Garden-Based Learning Project, a collaboration between Stetson University and a local elementary school, was developed to address the gap in teachers' comfort and skills with integrating garden-based learning into their pedagogy. This article describes the first year of the project, which aims to leverage the known benefits of school gardens, such as increased physical activity and improved student attitudes, while highlighting its accomplishments and future sustainability plans.
Food educationHealthCommunityNebraska School Gardens and the Potential for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Learning
2020Erin Ingram, Jenny Keshwani · Journal of Extension · United States (Nebraska)
A survey of Nebraska schools characterized existing school-based growing spaces and identified challenges limiting garden-based STEM learning. The study confirmed the use of these spaces for K-12 STEM instruction, particularly in sciences. However, opportunities for technology and engineering experiences were found to be limited, indicating a need for additional professional development support to expand garden-based STEM learning.
Limited or null effectFood educationCommunityEducators' Guide to Managing Red Imported Fire Ants in School or Community Vegetable Gardens
2020Megan Shearer, Amy Dabbs, Zack Snipes, Vicky Bertagnolli, Joshua Weaver · TigerPrints (Clemson University) · United States (South Carolina)
The South Carolina Statewide School Gardening program has established over 150 school gardens, but teachers report that fire ants are overrunning the gardens and negatively impacting student experience. This FAQ addresses how to safely manage fire ants in school gardens.
Food educationCommunityA Espiral de Ervas como dispositivo estético-educacional, inspirando o cultivo urbano e a consciência ambiental
2020Fernando Marcelo Cardozo, Ramiro Bastos · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
An experiment conducted in Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil, between 2016 and 2019, involved over 40 events focused on constructing spiral herb beds in various city neighborhoods. These events, structured as permacultural workshops, aimed to transmit knowledge and stimulate knowledge exchange among participants. Lectures covered topics such as agroecology, urban agriculture, ancestral peoples, and community gardens, using technical, popular, and artistic languages to engage diverse audiences.
Food educationCommunityDIYA CRIAÇÃO DE UMA HORTA ESCOLAR COMO FERRAMENTA AO ENSINO DE EDUCAÇÃO AMBIENTAL/THE CREATION OF A SCHOOL GARDEN AS A TOOL FOR TEACHING ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
2020Ananias Lima dos Santos, Ruandra Kaienne da Silva Laranjeira, Rodrigo Pereira, Maria Raquel de Carvalho Cota, Lionete Viana da Silva, Everton Ramos de Souza · Brazilian Journal of Development · Brazil
This study aimed to demonstrate that non-formal school spaces can serve as an alternative teaching-learning method for environmental education. The project, conducted with 5th-grade students at Escola Estadual Thomé de Medeiros Raposo, showed significant results from proposed activities and comparative questionnaire data. Students gained practical experience in conscious citizenship and adopted new behaviors through creating a school garden using recycled materials.
Food educationCommunityClimate changeNutrition Policies, Practices, and Environments in Low‐Income Georgia Elementary Schools, United States, 2015‐2017
2020Dana Guglielmo, Sicha Chantaprasopsuk, Christi Kay, Eric T. Hyde, Chris Stewart, Julie A. Gazmararian · Journal of School Health · United States (Georgia)
This cross-sectional online survey assessed nutrition policies, practices, and environments in 113 Georgia SNAP-Ed elementary schools from 2015-2017. While most schools had wellness policies and provided nutrition education, fewer had policies limiting sugar-sweetened foods in classrooms or established school gardens. Minimal significant differences were found across school-level demographics.
Food educationHealthPolicyCommunityA Práxis da Agricultura Sustentável Urbana: possível caminho por percorrer na horta comunitária do IFG
2020GONZALO MARÍN OVIEDO, OLIVEIRA, ALESSANDRO SILVA DE · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Brazil (Anápolis)
The Federal Institute of Goiás, Anápolis campus, aims to contribute to overcoming socio-environmental problems affecting vulnerable communities in the region through sustainable agriculture in a community garden. This initiative proposes developing critical environmental education, discussing theoretical and practical aspects of the critical approach and its relationship with praxis. Historical-Dialectical Materialism guides the theoretical-methodological aspects, and Action Research is used for practical aspects.
CommunityFood educationWelfareHarvest of the Month for Early Childhood Education: Parent Perspectives
2020Christine Lux, Brianna Routh, Lacy Stephens · Journal of Human Sciences and Extension · United States
This exploratory study surveyed 21 parents from a campus-based preschool in the northwest United States during the 2017-2018 school year to understand the impact of the "Harvest of the Month" program on children's nutrition behavior at home. Findings indicated that a variety of program foods were served and consumed at home, but parents prioritized knowing food origins over serving local foods. Parents' knowledge of farm to ECE, reported farmer's market purchases, and CSA participation were limited, suggesting a need for targeted parent education.
Limited or null effectFood educationHealthCSA & TeikeiFood miles & supply chainGrowing Together: Participatory Approaches in Urban Agriculture Extension
2020Lucy Diekmann, Marcia Ostrom · · United States
This chapter reviews participatory extension approaches and demonstrates their application to urban agriculture through five US Extension case studies. The selection of these case studies was informed by a 2015 nationwide survey of Extension personnel working on local, community, and regional food systems. These examples illustrate how urban agroecological knowledge and networks are being developed and applied, and suggest directions for future Extension work.
CommunityFood educationPolicyWelfareUso de materiais recicláveis na implantação de hortas escolares
2020Marisa Menezes Leal, Bianca Motta Dolianitis, Jaqueline Rambo Anschau, Janessa Aline Zappe, Rosana Santos de Moraes, Marcelito Cavalheiro, Jean Carlos Robattini, Bruno Luan da Rosa Machado, Kelen Dal-Souto Frescura, Viviane Da-Souto Frescura · Ciência e Natura · Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)
This study aimed to implement school gardens using recyclable materials in several schools in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Pet bottles, tires, pallets, and shingles were used to prepare beds and support plants. The activities were carried out by members of the "Living Garden Extension Project at School" in collaboration with students and teachers, and the garden space was utilized as an environment for teaching various subjects.
Food educationDIYOrganic cycleThe multiple logics of school gardening: a ‘return to nature’ or ‘love of labour’?
2020Elsie Rockwell · History of Education · United States
This article explores the history of school gardens in early twentieth-century US educational projects, finding that gardening activities were primarily for urban children lacking farming experience. It compares gardening's role in northern experimental schools with proposals for rural and segregated southern schools. The analysis identifies various logics, including arguments for promoting or dismissing school gardening and rationales for educating or retaining specific labor forces, highlighting a paradox between "return to nature" and "love of labor" in the discourse.
Food educationCommunityUrban–rural linkagePolicyAgricultura urbana e divulgação científica: quando a extensão tem em seu horizonte a mobilização social, a reflexão política e o enfrentamento de problemas sociais
2020Cristiana Guimarães Alves, Bráulio Silva Chaves, Lucas Araújo Dutra Rodrigues · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
In August 2017, the CEFET-MG Project "Cabana do Pai Tomas. to the Aglomerado da Serra: links between science, technology and education" in Brazil conducted activities to connect science, technology, and education. As part of this project, a ten-module Agroecology Course was offered, providing training to residents of Casa da Cabana, CEFET-MG students, and the general public on knowledge related to urban agriculture, food security, agroecology, the creation and maintenance of urban gardens, and social technologies.
CommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceA dimensão socioambiental do ensino de ciências na horta escolar
2020José Silveira Filho, Marcelo Rodrigues Tenório · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil
This qualitative research, based on Paulo Freire's dialogical pedagogy, aimed to develop environmental education awareness in elementary school students through organic agriculture and sustainable cultivation techniques in a school garden. Semi-structured interviews with students revealed that activities in the school garden contributed to modifying their habits and attitudes towards nature. The study found that the school garden fostered a sense of solidarity, group work, and the development of citizens capable of addressing social and environmental problems.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleClimate changeThe state of the art of school gardens as a pedagogical tool for the new environmental rationale paradigm in Butanta, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2020Beatriz Sinelli Laham, Francisco Melo Aires, Gabriel Akira Teshima Soto, Gustavo Lopumo Arruda · Brazilian Journal of Development · Brazil (São Paulo)
A mixed-methods approach was used to identify knowledge constructed during the implementation, maintenance, and didactic usage of school gardens in 15 municipal schools in Butantã, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Main difficulties identified were human resources, school staff integration, and financial resources, with a demand for specific training, especially for didactic usage. Access to quality soil posed the primary obstacle for garden maintenance, yet a general perception of positive effects on students' behavioral and pedagogical aspects was observed.
Food educationCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceMore Than Food: The Social Benefits of Localized Urban Food Systems
2020Lucy Diekmann, Leslie Gray, Chan L. Thai · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States (California)
This study measured the social, educational, civic, and nutritional impacts of four types of urban food system activities: home gardens, community gardens, farmers' markets, and CSAs, through a survey of 424 gardeners and 450 direct market shoppers in California's San Francisco Bay Area. While nutritional impacts were consistently high, significant differences were observed in social interaction and civic engagement between activity types. Gardens generally fostered greater learning, connection, and civic participation than direct marketing.
CommunityHealthFood educationCSA & TeikeiPERCEPÇÃO DE UNIVERSITÁRIOS PARTICIPANTES DO PET-SAÚDE INTERPROFISSIONALIDADE SOBRE O PLANEJAMENTO ESTRATÉGICO SITUACIONAL
2020Paloma Silva Oliveira, Alaine Azevedo Barbosa, Alícia Cynthia Bispo dos Anjos, Aldaisa Oliveira da Silva, Ana Paula de Souza Cunha, Carlos Henrique Silva, Iasmin Adami Almeida Rolim, Vinícius Santos Barros, Charles Souza Santos, Gisele da Silveira Lemos · Saberes Plurais Educação na Saúde · Brazil
This descriptive study, conducted from July 2019 to February 2020, described the experience of eight PET-Saúde Interprofissionalidade students implementing Situational Strategic Planning (PES) at a Psychosocial Care Center for alcohol and drugs (CAPS ad) in Brazil. Students identified problems like physical structure issues, team disharmony, and lack of collaborative therapeutic projects. The PES process, which included a community garden, qualified user assistance and provided a more effective work basis for the health team.
CommunityHealthFood educationUrban agriculture in the making or gardening as epistemology
2020Michael Granzow, Kevin Jones · Local Environment · Canada (Edmonton)
This paper explores the production of Prairie Urban Farm, an urban agricultural initiative in Edmonton, Canada. Drawing on interviews with regular volunteers and personal reflections, the analysis emphasizes everyday urban agriculture practices, understandings, and motivations, rather than limiting the understanding to official representations. The study pursues tensions between Prairie Urban Farm as a sustainability and food security initiative and more ambivalent understandings.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceFood educationPolicyCampus community gardens and student health: A case study of a campus garden and student well-being
2020Joshua W. R. Baur · Journal of American College Health · United States (San Francisco Bay area)
A web-based survey of 76 undergraduate student volunteers at an urban university in the San Francisco Bay area explored the relationship between working at a campus community garden and student well-being. Bootstrap regression indicated that connectedness to nature and general health significantly predicted general well-being. The study suggests that campus natural spaces may contribute to student success and offer urban college students opportunities to engage with nature.
CommunityHealthFood educationAccess to Healthy Food and Promoting Healthy Lives
2020Donald A. Rakow, Meghan Z. Gough, Sharon A. Lee · Cornell University Press eBooks · United States
This chapter discusses community gardens that serve as sites for both food production and community education, through case studies in the United States. Initiatives such as the Bronx Green-up by the New York Botanical Garden, the Green Corps by the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Growing to Green program by the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and the Sankofa Farm at Batram's Garden are highlighted. These initiatives improve access to fresh produce for those living in food deserts, enable low-income residents to feel in control of their diet by growing their own food, and lead to ripple effects like reduced vandalism and petty crime in communities.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfareLaboratorios para la Vida
2020Bruce G. Ferguson, Helda Morales · · Mexico (Chiapas)
The Laboratorios para la Vida action research team in Chiapas, Mexico, trains educators to use school gardens and local food systems as venues for experiential learning. However, teachers face a host of hurdles to successful garden programs, including high teacher turnover, lack of space, and the difficulty of matching garden growth with the national curriculum calendar.
Governance failureFood educationCommunityOrganic cycleSowing Connections in a Community Garden
2020Renate M. Winkels, Rick Artrip, Maegan Tupinio, Daniel R. George · · United States (Hershey)
At Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA, a program was developed within a hospital-based community garden that paired Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer survivors with older experienced gardeners. The program aimed to improve diet and physical activity among AYA cancer survivors. Qualitative analysis of interviews with participants identified that the transfer of gardening knowledge was jointly valued as a positive experience, and AYA cancer survivors built confidence and positive attitudes towards their ability to garden.
CommunityHealthFood educationElderlyBIODIVERSIDADE DE PLANTAS ALIMENTÍCIAS NÃO CONVENCIONAIS EM UMA HORTA COMUNITÁRIA COM FINS EDUCATIVOS
2020Michelle Medeiros Jacob · DEMETRA Alimentação Nutrição & Saúde · Brazil
A project at a federal university in Northeast Brazil studied eight unconventional food plants (PANC) in a community garden during 2018, using the Garden-Based Learning (GBL) method. Data on botanical family, names, origin, biome, uses, and nutritional indicators were collected by nutrition students. The GBL method mediated the educational process, and the studied plants showed potential for food and nutritional security due to their suitability to the Caatinga biome and nutrient variety.
CommunityFood educationBiodiversityHealthBecoming Posthuman
2020Saskia Van Viegen · · Canada
This chapter describes a collaborative action research project involving newcomer and Canadian-born multilingual elementary students in Canada. The project aimed to promote equity and inclusion for children from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, incorporating community and family knowledge to create a school garden and document the process with a short film. From a new materialist perspective, it explains how educators can assemble new materialist and relational pedagogies in and out of school to connect language and literacy teaching with transformations brought about by environmental change and human migration.
Food educationCommunityWelfareBuilding Sustainable Local Food Solutions
2020Jennifer Sumner, Derya Tarhan, John Justin McMurtry · Working paper/Working paper CIRIEC ... · Canada
This paper explores how Indigenous communities in Canada address chronic food insecurity through the social and solidarity economy. Using a case study of the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture and Community Collaborative, it illustrates how local initiatives such as community gardens, greenhouses, and co-operatives contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals, particularly zero hunger. The paper emphasizes community ownership, control, and benefits as key aspects of these models.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareFood educationHorticultura ecológica e educação socioambiental: Ações do NEPEA no Colégio Estadual da Policia Militar de Goiás “Dr Tharsis Campos” – CEPMG em Catalão (Go)
2020Leonoura Katarina Santos, Cláudio José Bertazzo · · Brazil (Catalão)
This paper describes the Ecological Horticulture Program implemented by NEPEA at the Goias State Military Police College in Catalão, Brazil, aiming to promote socio-environmental education among elementary school students. The program used theoretical-practical classes and workshops to raise awareness about environmental sustainability, waste management, and organic production. Outcomes included composting processes, a school garden with 12 beds for various crops (e.g., lettuce, carrots), a nursery, and the creation of selective collection containers and awareness posters.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleClimate change