Research & reports

M. Booij-Vonk · · Netherlands

In Amsterdam, pupils experience the circle of life through year-round programs offered in 13 school gardens. This study investigated how primary school teachers in Amsterdam perceive the quality of school garden education. To account for the influence of teacher background on quality perception, the study categorized teachers based on their educational philosophies: Montessori, Jena plan, Waldorf, Dalton, and schools without specific educational philosophies.

Özge Volkan Aksu, Öner Demirel · DergiPark (Istanbul University) · Europe (Turkey)

A study of 35 primary school yards in the city center of Trabzon, Turkey, conducted to determine their existing physical condition. It examined outdoor space qualities including use of the surrounding school area, adequacy of open and green space, appropriateness of land use for functional and aesthetic purposes, and outdoor furnishing elements, through observation. The study is framed against a broader pattern in Turkey of school outdoor spaces planned with inadequate green area and hard concrete surfaces that fall short of children's developmental needs, but the abstract does not report specific numeric findings from the 35-school survey itself.

Christina Purcell · Arrow - TU Dublin (Technological University Dublin) · United Kingdom

Background material from a paper on urban community gardens in Dublin, Ireland (2011, UK-based repository) describes Dublin's community gardens as ranging in scale from small disused residential plots (Cabra Park) to a four-acre site in Santry, taking forms from individually worked plots to communal gardens, with some space allocated to charities such as soup kitchens or to college plots. Citing prior literature, it notes an estimated 18,000 community gardens in the United States and Canada and reports that such gardens have been associated with improved nutrition, increased physical activity, greater social engagement, and better mental health, but this excerpt itself presents no original data or results measuring fruit and vegetable intake in Dublin.

Ebenezer Howard · Cambridge University Press eBooks · United Kingdom (London)

This paper presents two quotes: one from G. J. Shaw-Lefevre (1891) criticizing London's chaotic, unplanned urban growth and lack of unified design, and another from The Echo (1890) advocating for attaching half-an-acre of land to public elementary schools for school gardens to teach horticulture and food physiology. Shaw-Lefevre noted that the city developed without considering convenience or aesthetics.

Amanda Claremont, Andrew Church, Mark Bhatti, Paul Stenner · Cultural Geographies · United Kingdom

This 2010 account documented a practice-based approach to British gardens, involving public engagement through a seminar, writing workshop, and an exhibition of amateur photographs. The exhibition explored the production and limits of lay and expert knowledge, noting that many displayed photos did not meet public exhibition standards. The study highlighted challenges encountered and the value of public engagement for understanding everyday spaces and academic practice.

Sibel Mansuroğlu, Ali Sabancı · Journal of Food Agriculture & Environment · Turkey

In primary schools of the Konyaalti district, Antalya, Turkey, the study examined the physical school-garden landscape against landscape-architecture principles and educational outcomes, assessing existing conditions, planning and design problems, the qualitative state of outdoor space, and principals' awareness of using well-designed gardens to enhance educational opportunity. School gardens showed problems of poor or insufficient planning and design, inadequate land allocation, and unqualified management regarding gardens' educational importance, and an extremely high student-to-teacher ratio left teachers without the time or energy for personal garden projects, though the researchers saw potential for principals, teachers and parents to build ties with civic and public organizations.

Lindsey Cox · SecEd · United Kingdom

This article by Lindsey Cox examines how school gardens can contribute to pupils' engagement with healthy eating. It suggests that learning about the origin of food through school gardens is important for fostering healthy eating habits among students.

Nadine Holdsworth · Research in Drama Education The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance · United Kingdom

This article examines Joan Littlewood's cultural innovations beyond traditional theatre, focusing on her local projects in the 1960s that promoted cultural democracy and active citizenship. During redevelopment around Theatre Royal, Stratford East, Littlewood transformed discarded spaces into temporary structures, playgrounds, mini inner-city farms, and planting schemes. These activities emphasized children's access to cultural activity, social encounter, and creative play, and explored their interaction in the public realm and responsibility for animating spaces.

A.J. Visser, J.E. Jansma, A.J.G. Dekking, M.J.M. Klieverik · Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling · Europe (Netherlands)

A guide compiling the experiences, learning moments, and tips of those involved in urban agriculture initiatives in the Netherlands, along with an indication of what is needed to further develop urban agriculture in the country.

A Swedish, Case Study, Petter Åkerblom · · Europe

Experiences from Swedish research on school gardening and greening school grounds were reflected upon. A process-orientated case study in two Swedish cities discussed future workshops as a platform for situated capacity building in interaction between in-school and external stakeholders (e.g., school ground planners, administrators). The case study indicates that using future workshops as a research method involves stakeholders as subjects in the collaborative production of new knowledge.

Candan Kuş · · Turkey (Ankara)

A study in Yenimahalle District, Ankara, evaluating multiple schools including 80 primary schools, assessed the importance of school gardens and their place within the urban open-green space system. The findings revealed that many school gardens were unsuitable for use by teachers and students, being narrow, containing only ceremonial areas and a few plants, and lacking sufficient furnishing elements. It was also observed that additional buildings further narrowed school gardens, and insufficient attention was given to recreation areas, sports areas, and green spaces.

Joyce Anstey · Environmental Conservation · United Kingdom (London)

An abstract is not available for this content.

Harry Wals · Aménagement et Nature · Netherlands (The Hague)

This article describes mesologic education as a link between specialized environmental courses in schools. It details how The Hague's Local Office for School Gardens supports teachers in environmental education by offering practical assistance, living animals, maintenance examples, and facilities to their pupils.