10 pages, Ongoing climate change and associated food security concerns are pressing issues globally, and are of particular concern in the far north where warming is accelerated and markets are remote. The objective of this research was to model current and projected climate conditions pertinent to gardeners and farmers in Alaska. Research commenced with information-sharing between local agriculturalists and climate modelers to determine primary questions, available data, and effective strategies. Four variables were selected: summer season length, growing degree days, temperature of the coldest winter day, and plant hardiness zone. In addition, peonies were selected as a case study. Each variable was modeled using regional projected climate data downscaled using the delta method, followed by extraction of key variables (e.g., mean coldest winter day for a given decade). An online interface was developed to allow diverse users to access, manipulate, view, download, and understand the data. Interpretive text and a summary of the case study explained all of the methods and outcomes. The results showed marked projected increases in summer season length and growing degree days coupled with seasonal shifts and warmer winter temperatures, suggesting that agriculture in Alaska is undergoing and will continue to undergo profound change. This presents opportunities and challenges for farmers and gardeners.
Via online access. 7 pages., Comments on an article in the fashion and style section of the New York Times about urban residents creating small-space farms near urban areas where people are "hungry for quality produce and willing to pay a premium."
12 pages, via online journal, This study aimed to investigate elementary school students’ needs and preferences regarding urban agriculture. In total, 1268 students in grades 4 to 6 at four elementary schools in Seoul, South Korea, participated in the study. A 21-item questionnaire was developed and distributed in each school by trained researchers for 3 weeks in Oct. 2017. More than 73.7% of the students reported having an awareness of and need for urban agriculture, and 86.8% (N = 1048) indicated their participation intention. Students noted needing urban agriculture for scientific inquiry and recommended including a learning activity in urban agriculture (35.4%, N = 400) for psychological stability and stress reduction (20.9%, N = 236), and for leisure and hobby purposes (16.2%, N = 183). Students reported participating in urban agriculture activities in indoor and outdoor spaces (33.8%, N = 423) for more than 30 minutes and less than 60 minutes (42.0%, N = 525) twice per week (40.2%, N = 501) with friends (72.9%, N = 818). Preferred urban agriculture indoor activities were planting plants (21.8%, N = 822), arranging flowers (20.9%, N = 788), and making craftwork using plants (18.9%, N = 714). Harvesting (20.8%, N = 790), watering (15.1%, N = 570), and planting transplants (13.1%, N = 493) were preferred outdoor activities. Other preferred activities included playing with livestock (22.4%, N = 884), cooking with the harvested crops (21.3%, N = 805), and feeding livestock (17.2%, N = 650). The female students demonstrated greater perception, experience, awareness of the necessity, and willingness to participate in urban agriculture compared with male students (P = 0.01). The lower the grade, the more students perceived the necessity of urban agriculture (P < 0.001). The results of this study can provide basic data for the practical development of urban agriculture programs for elementary school students.
10 pages, BACKGROUND
Our objective was to evaluate the effect of garden-based learning on outlook and behaviors toward vegetables among primarily Latinx students. An educational strategy, garden-based learning is a teaching tool that complements other disciplines.
METHODS
Third- and fourth-grade students at 4 elementary schools with different garden programs completed a bingo survey and participated in class discussions to measure outlook and behaviors toward vegetables.
RESULTS
Students in schools with more garden exposure were more likely to answer “Yes” to survey questions reflecting a positive attitude and behaviors toward vegetables. In class discussions, students most often mentioned vegetables grown in the school garden as their favorite vegetables.
CONCLUSION
For third- and fourth-grade students, the length of exposure to a school garden appears to have a positive impact on both perceptions of and desire to consume vegetables. Other studies have shown that positive outlook and behaviors toward vegetables can change vegetable consumption habits in children. Integrating garden-based learning into the school curriculum may positively influence eating behaviors over the long-term future.
Chang, Yuan-Yu (author), Su, Wei-Chia (author), Tang, I-Chun (author), Chang, Chun-Yen (author), and National Taiwan University
Chang Jung Christian University
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2016-12
Published:
Taiwan: American Society for Horticultural Science
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 16 Document Number: D10451
10 pages., Via online journal., There is a growing body of literature that explores the benefits of school gardening for children, but few studies have been conducted in Taiwan. Even fewer studies have examined which factors influence the benefits that children derive from these activities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the benefits of school gardening for children in Taiwan and also identify the factors influencing these benefits. This study used qualitative research methods, which consisted of interviewing 43 elementary school students who had extensive experience with gardening, and used a general inductive approach to analyze the data. The study also used a quantitative approach to statistically compare gender differences, which found that there were some differences in preference for gardening between boys and girls in Taiwan. The results also identify seven benefits children can derive from school gardening, including increasing life skills, producing pleasant feelings, improving relationships and having plants as companions, acquiring new knowledge, experiencing the aroma and flavor of fruits and vegetables, improving health, and increasing connection to nature. Some of these benefits of school gardening have not been mentioned in previous studies and can be considered to be new, such as having plants as companions. Additionally, this study found 20 factors that influence the benefits of school gardening. Of these, eight were about plants, seven about activities, two about outdoor environments, and three about other participants. Most of the factors provide more than one benefit. The factors with the greatest impact have the most number of benefits that influence children and include “appearance, odor and texture,” “hands-on,” and “outdoor natural elements.” These factors help us to realize the unique characteristics of gardening, highlight the distinctiveness, and increase the indispensability of gardening activities.
Grichting, Anna (author), Awwaad, Reem (author), Ball, Luzita (author), and Tantillo, Paige (author)
Format:
Proceedings
Publication Date:
2016
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08816
Notes:
Pages 85-109 in Rob Roggema (ed.), Agriculture in an urbanizing society volume one: proceedings of the sixth AESOP conference on sustainable food planning. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 549 pages.
17pgs, There is a lack of data on resources used and food produced at urban farms. This hampers attempts to quantify the environmental impacts of urban agriculture or craft policies for sustainable food production in cities. To address this gap, we used a citizen science approach to collect data from 72 urban agriculture sites, representing three types of spaces (urban farms, collective gardens, individual gardens), in five countries (France, Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, and United States). We answered three key questions about urban agriculture with this unprecedented dataset: (1) What are its land, water, nutrient, and energy demands? (2) How productive is it relative to conventional agriculture and across types of farms? and (3) What are its contributions to local biodiversity? We found that participant farms used dozens of inputs, most of which were organic (e.g., manure for fertilizers). Farms required on average 71.6 L of irrigation water, 5.5 L of compost, and 0.53 m2 of land per kilogram of harvested food. Irrigation was lower in individual gardens and higher in sites using drip irrigation. While extremely variable, yields at well-managed urban farms can exceed those of conventional counterparts. Although farm type did not predict yield, our cluster analysis demonstrated that individually managed leisure gardens had lower yields than other farms and gardens. Farms in our sample contributed significantly to local biodiversity, with an average of 20 different crops per farm not including ornamental plants. Aside from clarifying important trends in resource use at urban farms using a robust and open dataset, this study also raises numerous questions about how crop selection and growing practices influence the environmental impacts of growing food in cities. We conclude with a research agenda to tackle these and other pressing questions on resource use at urban farms.
