Research & reports

Contingent Horizons · Contingent Horizons The York University Student Journal of Anthropology · Canada (Winnipeg)

This paper uses the Rainbow Community Garden in Winnipeg as a case study to discuss the benefits and challenges of community gardening for new immigrant and refugee families. Through a literature review and interviews with gardeners, the study emphasizes the role of food and community gardens in facilitating cross-cultural interactions, providing culturally appropriate food, and expressing cultural identity. The main conclusion is that for new immigrant and refugee participation, a garden is not only physical soil but also an important place for practicing culture and engaging in meaningful cross-cultural interaction beneficial for adjusting to a new life in Canada.

Marília Alves dos Santos, W. D. B. S. Bonaci, L. S. FOGANHOLO · Fractal Revista de Psicologia · Brazil (São Paulo)

This report describes a supervised internship experience in Social and Community Psychology conducted in 2017 with an intergenerational community garden group at a social assistance institution in rural São Paulo state. Key observed results of this intervention among group members included the learning of various cultivation techniques, the strengthening of interpersonal relationships, the development of group autonomy and self-organization, and the group's formation as an important support network.

Aria Razfar, Beverly Troiano · · United States (New York City)

This chapter presents action research conducted by an elementary teacher in a second-grade classroom in New York City, United States, where a gardening unit was implemented. The gardening unit was part of a thematic unit on "community," a theme that emerged from surveys of student interests, experiences, and problems. The origins of critical urban gardening trace back to 1970s New York, when communities reappropriated green space.

Carine Borchert Rosa, Daniela Mueller de Lara, Erli Schneider Costa · Revista Eletrônica Científica da UERGS · Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)

This study at Escola Estadual de Educação Básica Santa Rita in Nova Santa Rita, Brazil, applied a research-oriented teaching proposal to students, focusing on inorganic functions through organic fertilizer production using school waste. Students built a garden, collected waste, produced organic fertilizer, and validated results. The study observed mutual aid among students, developed their intervention capacity, and noted a positive change in their approach to discarded waste like potato peels, banana peels, eggshells, and mate.

André Ferreira, Wanderley José Deina · Revista NEP - Núcleo de Estudos Paranaenses da UFPR · Brazil

This study examines the activities of MOB-PR (Movimento de Organização de Base do Paraná, founded in 2014), a grassroots organizing movement in Comunidade Portelinha, an urban occupation in Curitiba, Brazil formed 13 years earlier. It focuses on two of the movement's working groups: "Ciranda," popular education activities for children and adolescents, and the "Horta Comunitária Eduardo Felipe" community garden. Fieldwork combined audio-recorded interviews, field diaries, children's drawings and photographs. The article concludes that grassroots work is itself applied popular education, which should not be reduced to simple didactics but should remain in constant relation with other political work. Since its founding, the occupation has demanded basic public services such as water and electricity and land tenure regularization.

Adam D. Kay, Eric J. Chapman, Jelagat D. Cheruiyot, Sue Lowery, Susan R. Singer, Gaston E. Small, Anne M. Stone, Ray Warthen, Wendy Westbroek · Ecology and Evolution · United States

Reviewing major U.S. undergraduate biology programs, reports on campus garden use, and case studies from five higher-education institutions, this paper assessed how much urban agriculture is incorporated into undergraduate biology education. It found that while field experiences are fairly common in biology programs, community engagement opportunities are rare and urban agriculture is almost absent from course descriptions, and that although many U.S. institutions have campus gardens, evidence indicates they are rarely used in biology courses.

Madeline McIntosh, Victoria Chillscyzn · Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement · United States

As part of Purdue University's Environmental and Ecological Engineering course EEE 49500 (Urban Water Projects), student-led service-learning aimed to improve water quality and quantity in the Wabash River watershed; two students, Victoria Chillscyzn and Madeline McIntosh, worked with the local nonprofit Home with Hope to ensure previously implemented installations would succeed long-term. Through interviews, a survey, and site visits, the team identified action items to improve the form and function of the installations, and a grant from the Purdue Student Service-Learning Grant Program was submitted and accepted to fund an additional rain barrel and an edible garden at the nonprofit, along with educational materials and a maintenance schedule.

Cristiane Veeck, Renata Menasche, Carolina Borges · AntHropológicas Visual · Brazil

A photo essay documents the relationship between hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa) and humans at the Horta Comunitaria da Lomba do Pinheiro, a collective agroecological urban agriculture project in the eastern zone of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, begun by community initiative in 2011. Following a growing cycle that begins with sowing around August and ends with harvest between February and May, the plants trace back roughly eight years to seeds obtained from an agroecological farmer nearby; the harvest season ends with jam-making workshops, and the informal sale of dried hibiscus provides funds for maintaining the garden.

F. Becot, K.L. Hanson, R.A. Seguin, A.S. Ammerman, J. Kolodinsky, J.T. McGuirt, S.B. Jilcott Pitts, M. Demarco · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · United States

A modified exploratory choice experiment, embedded within in-depth interviews, examined willingness to participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program under varying price, frequency, food quantity, and accessibility conditions among 42 low-income adults with at least one child in the household in North Carolina, New York, Vermont, and Washington. Comparing summed willingness across conditions, the analysis suggests the ideal CSA would be a full-sized share of eight to nine mixed items, distributed every other week, priced under US$15, no more than 10 minutes farther than the supermarket from home, and preferably cheaper than but no more than 20% pricier than supermarket prices.

Julian Hasford, Sheldon Caruana · Canadian Journal of Children s Rights / Revue canadienne des droits des enfants · Canada

A reflective piece on the experience of mobilizing Black youth in food sovereignty activism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authors who were part of the project's leadership team present personal narratives describing the process of establishing a Black youth-led farm project in southern Ontario, Canada, and reflect on lessons learned, including challenges of engaging in youth-led projects within the constraints of virtual spaces.

Judy Orton · Digital Archive @ GSU · United States

Two studies examined ecology-centered experiences — experiences with living things — among children and adolescents in the United States. Study 1 was a yearlong ethnographic study at an urban community garden in a large city in the southeastern United States, finding through participant observation and informal interviews with staff and participants that children had opportunities to learn about ecology through such experiences. Study 2 found that ecological thought — a pattern of thinking that privileges relationships between living things — did not predict environmental attitudes and behaviors, and that while ecology-centered experiences alone did predict environmental attitudes and behaviors, this predictive relationship disappeared once environmental responsibility support was taken into account.

Brandy Phipps, Brian Kowalkowski, Jeremy Wescott, McFadden Brandon, Craig Schluttenhofer, K. V. Nedunuri · Current Developments in Nutrition · United States

A study protocol for measuring the impact of a "farm-to-fork" program on food security and nutrition among the Menominee Nation, located on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin, United States. A 2015 Community Food Assessment found 73% of respondents cited hunger as a concern, and the county ranks last in the state for both food security and health outcomes, while 65% of respondents expressed interest in growing their own food if assistance were available. The protocol plans four years of interventions including a new aquaponics facility and education programming at farmers' markets, using pre- and post-surveys plus county health data to measure production, self-efficacy and nutrient intake; it hypothesizes increases in production, self-efficacy and consumption of nutrient-dense foods, but results are not yet reported.

Amrik Singh Khalsa, Jonathan Burton, Michael T. Bailey, Jiangjiang Zhu, Kelly J. Kelleher, Ross Maltz, Brett R. Loman, Colleen Spees · BMC Nutrition · United States

Non-invasive human biospecimens including stool, urine, and hair are important for understanding the relationship between diet and changes in human physiologic processes affecting chronic disease outcomes, but collection can be difficult for studies conducted away from a centralized location. This paper describes the protocol and feasibility of collecting stool, urine, and hair biospecimens from parents and children at a remote location, as part of the Summer Harvest Adventure (SHA) study, a randomized controlled, community garden-based intervention targeting children aged 8-11 and their parents from low-resource neighborhoods in the United States. Biospecimens were collected at baseline and post-intervention from willing children and parents in both intervention and control groups, for microbiome, metabolomics, and hair analyses, at a location distant from the academic laboratories conducting the analysis. Of 146 SHA participants (73 parent-child dyads) eligible to provide a biospecimen, 126 consented to hair, 115 to stool, and 127 to urine collection. Among those who consented, 44 children (69.8%) and 38 parents (60.3%) provided at least one hair sample; 27 children (48.2%) and 37 parents (62.7%) provided at least one stool sample; and 36 children (57.1%) and 42 parents (65.6%) provided at least one urine sample. Sample collection, transport, and handling at the academic center were successful, and all biospecimens collected were deemed adequate for analysis. DNA and metabolomics yield on a subset of stool samples showed an abundance of species and metabolites as predicted. Urine and hair analyses were described as still underway, with the study characterized as among the first to describe the feasibility of collecting these biospecimens from both parents and children in this remote setting.

Brandy‐Joe Milliron, Dane C. Ward, Janeway Granche, Janell L. Mensinger, Dahlia Stott, Claire Chenault, Franco Montalto, Eugenia Ellis · American Journal of Health Promotion · United States

A cross-sectional online survey of 317 adults aged 18 and older residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, measured nature relatedness (NR) using a 21-item scale with self, experience and perspective subscales, dietary diversity using the FAO's standardized tool (scored 0-9), and fruit and vegetable intake using the NCI's 2-item CUP screener. Multivariable regression models adjusted for age, race, gender and income found that higher NR Total, NR Self, NR Perspective and NR Experience scores were associated with greater dietary diversity, and that higher NR Total, NR Self and NR Experience scores were associated with greater fruit and vegetable intake; these associations remained significant after adjusting for the covariates. NR was associated with better dietary intake even after accounting for sociodemographic factors.

Celeste M. Schultz, Alexander Rosen · The Journal of School Nursing · United States

A garden-based education program implemented in elementary, middle and high schools on Chicago's South and West Sides was examined for its effects on students. Implementing gardens was found to have a positive impact on the availability, access and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as on students' social-emotional well-being. More rigorous studies controlling for socioeconomic status were identified as needed to establish the long-term effects on obesity prevention, mental health outcomes and economic benefits.

Michelle Tokunbo ‘Tok’ Oluwaseyi Oyewole · Capitalism Nature Socialism · United States (New York City)

Based on the perspectives of gardeners in public schools in Brooklyn, New York, a four-part framework of liberatory practices and potentials via school gardening is outlined, examining what liberatory practices occur in Brooklyn school gardens and their potential for building on them in relation to rectifying injustices faced by racially minoritized communities. Gardens were found to support personal achievement, health benefits, adult mentorship, peer bonding, identity affirmation, community transformation, and positive relationships with the natural world. Some programming addressed social and environmental injustices explicitly, but students and staff identified potential to expand this work, particularly through clearer curricular prioritization and social and material support.

Abby M. Lohr, Melanie L. Bell, Kiera Coulter, Sallie A. Marston, Moses Thompson, Scott C. Carvajal, Ada M. Wilkinson‐Lee, Lynn B. Gerald, Josephine D. Korchmaros · Health Education & Behavior · United States (New York City)

This cross-sectional secondary analysis used evaluation data from a university-supported Community School Garden Program (CSGP) to examine, mostly among Latino/a (Hispanic) elementary students at Title I schools in New York City, United States, whether duration of school garden exposure (≤1 year versus >1 year) was associated with self-reported learning and school connectedness, using social cognitive theory as the analytic frame. Duration of school garden exposure showed no statistically significant association with self-reported learning or feelings of school connectedness. Regardless of past exposure, fifth-grade students, females, and those identifying as Latino/a (Hispanic) felt the garden program improved their learning; qualitative results indicated most students enjoyed time in the garden and felt the program helped them learn new things and feel connected to school.

W. Wang, J.A. Garner, G.A. Marshall, M. Sitaker, E.H. Belarmino, A.S. Ammerman, S.B. Jilcott Pitts, R.A. Seguin-Fowler, J. Kolodinsky, K.L. Hanson · UNC Libraries · United States

The Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK) randomized controlled trial, conducted in New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington from 2016 to 2018, assigned 305 caregiver-child dyads to a cost-offset (half-price) community supported agriculture (CSA) share plus tailored nutrition education, or to a delayed-intervention control group. After one growing season, no significant net effects were observed on children's dietary intake, BMI, or physical activity. Caregivers, however, showed statistically significant net improvements in cooking attitudes, skills, and self-efficacy, fruit and vegetable intake and skin carotenoid levels, and household food security. Improvements in attitudes and self-efficacy persisted at one-year follow-up, but improvements in caregiver diet and household food security did not. The number of weeks a household picked up its CSA share — not the number of education sessions attended — was associated with improvements in caregiver fruit and vegetable intake and household food security. The study concludes that cost-offset CSA plus nutrition education improved caregiver and household outcomes within one season but had no effect on children, and some improvements were not maintained after the CSA season ended.

Landry M., van den Berg A., Hoelscher D., Davis J. · Nutrients, 13(9):3081 (MDPI) · United States

A randomized controlled trial across 16 mostly Hispanic, low-income elementary schools in Texas evaluating the TX Sprouts intervention, which embedded gardening, cooking and nutrition lessons. Children in intervention schools significantly increased vegetable intake, showing that garden-centered food education can improve children's dietary quality.

Davis J. N., Pérez A., Asigbee F. M., Landry M. J., Vandyousefi S., Ghaddar R., Hoover A., Jeans M., Nikah K., Fischer B., Pont S. J., Richards D., Hoelscher D. M., Van Den Berg A. E. · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 18:18 · United States

Cluster RCT in 16 elementary schools. A one-year gardening, cooking and nutrition program significantly increased children's vegetable intake but did not reduce BMI or other obesity outcomes.

Carola Grebitus · PLOS ONE · United States (Detroit)

Using an online survey of 420 residents in Detroit, Michigan, this study analyzed behavioral and socio-demographic drivers of growing produce at home and in community gardens. It found that trust, attitude, and knowledge affect home growing, while involvement and personality drive community gardening; household size affects home growing, and gender, age, and income affect community gardening. The findings offer implications for fostering small-scale urban agriculture through city planning and nutrition education.

· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · USA

A scoping review of how urban agriculture education programs foster youth civic engagement, leadership, and understanding of social justice in the United States.

Jackie Hendrickson · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States (Utah)

Utah State University's Food $ense and Master Gardener programs partnered to create the "Create Farm Fresh Gardens" community gardening program, targeting low-income families in Cache Valley, Utah. Piloted during the 2018 growing season, the program aimed to improve food security by increasing access to fresh vegetables and enhancing participants' self-efficacy in gardening and nutrition. Participants provided supportive feedback, and the program was slated for statewide implementation in Utah during the 2019 growing season.

Tatiane Sueli Coutinho, Adrian José Ramos, Eric Schwamberger, Kassia Kathellyn Barboza, Eduarda Nunes, Roberta Hoepers Mascarenhas, Vinícius Verwiebe, Gabriela Santos Patriarca, Rossie Katherine dos Santos, Alicia Weber, Giovana Schwamberger, Jamily Assini, Samuel Carvalho de Matos-Filho, Isadora Bombassaro, Vitor Gomes Pinheiro · Extensão em Foco · Brazil

The Ervaterapia extension program, established in 2018 in Brusque, Brazil, aimed to create medicinal herb gardens and integrate students with the community. Activities included distributing approximately 300 seedlings, lectures, workshops, and creating school gardens, alongside a "Super Ervas" comic book. The project observed increased community awareness of medicinal herbs, leading to greater demand for natural products to alleviate symptoms and reduced consumption of allopathic medicines, as well as children's understanding of plant care.

Diana Gabriela Figueroa-Piña, Jorge Luis Chávez‐Servín, Karina de la Torre‐Carbot, María del Carmen Caamaño, Gabriela Lucas-Deecke, Patricia Roitman Genoud, Laura Regina Ojeda-Navarro · Nutrition Research and Practice · Mexico (Queretaro)

A 3-arm controlled comparative impact study was conducted with 126 teenagers aged 12-18 at a private middle/high school in Queretaro, Mexico, to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention with a school garden (FE+SG) versus food education only (FE) and a control group (CG) on vegetable and fruit consumption. Both the FE+SG and FE groups significantly increased the frequency and daily intake of vegetables and fruits compared to the CG. The FE+SG group showed greater understanding, reflection, analysis of information, and willingness to include these in their daily diet. It was concluded that FE accompanied by a school garden is more effective than education alone or control in promoting vegetable and fruit consumption in middle-upper income teenagers.