Community Gardening in the Inner City for Peace
Alicia Davis (she/her)
Educator, M. ed Curriculum and Instruction Portland State University, 2017
Fostering Relationship in the Inner City:
Relationship Development and Community Growth Through Gardening
Alicia Davis
Rana Houshmand, Ed. D.
Portland State University
February 2017
Abstract
Gardening projects are being researched as ways to increase cognitive development, academic learning, and social emotional development. I asked the question, How does co-creating a garden impact community and social relationships? After reading literature on research done both in the US and internationally, I initiated a study which focuses on the inner city of Portland, Oregon, and the exponential and myriad beneficial results of our research is delineated in the report. When students, children, and adults form gardening groups and work together planting, nurturing, and growing food, they are developing skills of democratic thinking and interpersonal communication; they are developing and maintaining their bodies as they work outside in fresh air, furthering cognitive and social emotional development. As our research shows through observation, documentation, photographic evidence, and survey and questionnaire results, gardening as a community in the inner city provides a venue for closeness and sharing of cultural funds of knowledge. Two adults and two children co-created a community garden in May, 2017. The results showed increase in diverse cognitive domains of the participants. The participants exhibited care and support for other members of the group and discovered their own voices while respecting the voices of others. Deep analysis of the data collected from the three methods utilized provides qualitative and quantitative evidence for teachers and others to reference when considering community gardening in the inner city as a means for community development.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Problem Overview ……………………………………………………..….....4-8
Chapter Two: Literature Review ……………………………….……………………...... ..9-17
Chapter Three: Methodology …………………………………………………….…...18-28
Chapter Four: Data Analysis, Results, Triangulation .......................................................29-45
Chapter Five: Limitations, Conclusion, Implications ........................................................46-47
References …………………………………………........…………….………….........…48-49
Appendices
A. Survey ……………….…………………………………………………...……....50
B. Questionnaire ………………………………………………………………….....51
C. Consent form ……………………………………………………………… ....52-53
D. Materials ………………………………………………………………….….......54
Chapter 1: Problem Statement
As I watch my son navigate his new home and new life, I realize that deepening the tenuous existing relationships in an apartment building in the inner city is a difficult task. People come and people go. Not many children live in our trendy, upscale, commuter's paradise neighborhood in Northwest Portland, Oregon. The small and hilly side streets are juxtaposed by the main artery, Burnside Street, notoriously infamous as one of the last vestiges of Old Portland, and the marginalized population includes unhoused and often inebriated tenants of the road.
Goose Hollow is an area with a higher standard of living and more gentrified populous than the Eastside; wherever one lives in Portland, Oregon, the problems of a school age child in an inner-city apartment home are based mainly upon the lack of either infrastructure or social support. In less affluent areas, there is a problem of food deserts. In our case, although the neighborhood is affluent, not everyone who lives here has enough resources to meet their needs. The residents battle rent increases, lack of proper heating and cooling, and a lack of gardening space in which to work the soil for food. In my research, I hope to find solutions to the problem of minimal modes for relationship development afforded by temporary housing in the inner city.
As a disabled veteran and full time MS ed. Curriculum and Instruction student at Portland State University, I see in my own life what I have noticed in my travels around the world, which is that apartment complexes are both temporary and permanent homes for many citizens, and do not often afford adequate activities, places, or times to further relationships in the community. I witness the daily interactions with the neighbors in our new apartment building. I pass them in the halls, we smile or nod, and that is the extent of a lot of our relationship. It was an exciting and productive time when the Management held a Holiday party! With my 5 year, old son, Hunter, and our dog Jade, our 1-bedroom life is co-mingled with lives of people from varying cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
Hunter often asks to visit the neighbors, and has done so with continuing frequency since moving in. He is asking verbally and non-verbally for relationships with our neighbors. He finds ways to go to their homes, to invite them to ours, and to make appointments to meet in the lobby, on the roof, or for a walk to the market. Melissa has walked with up to the food bank, and Bertie has read to Hunter on many occasions. Hunter always goes to Melissa with "the science questions", and Bertie often helps me make dinner by playing with Hunter. I am prepared to answer Hunter's call for help in reaching out, and the observation and documentation I have done over the last few months has shown me that our next step in the garden.
For many years, I have led a gardening project with the children in my care. At my in-home school for young children, Las Mariposas Child Development Center, Wilsonville, I led four children under four years of age through all aspects of preparing, planting, and harvesting our organic, non-GMO garden. Each year we created and developed new relationships, some which have continued until today. Many problems that I had in writing an infant, toddler, and pre-school curriculum were solved by this work: the children learned to care for the environment, they had diverse and engaging child-appropriate activities to perform in the garden, and they could develop relationships with the children and adults in our group, and with other members of our community garden. It is constructivist, humanist, and emergent in methodology; it is qualitative, foundational, and important research with wide-spanning applications across culture, gender, ability, cultural influence, and language orientation.
In trying to think of ways to afford the children on our current group the ways and means to engage in deep and meaningful relationships in our direct neighborhood, I immediately remembered the outcomes of our previous work growing food as a community. It is my expectation that this research will prove that gardening together will deepen and improve community relationships among many generations and people of many cultures, languages, and socio economic status. By achieving this goal, and documenting the process, it is hopeful that many apartment buildings worldwide will see that the ease and affordability of a community garden will pay off in greater personal and communal responsibility, tenant relations, and social, physical, and emotional health of the community.
At Christmas time, we were invited to a holiday party in the lobby of our 12-story building. We had just moved in and we didn't know anyone. By the end of the party, I was kissing our new friend Aunt Bertie on the cheek, and had met our new neighbor, Melissa. It turns out that Melissa and Bertie (Aunt Bertie) share the same floor as we do. Our dog often walks down the hall to check on Bertie. I think she can tell that Aunt Bertie may be lonely, and getting to a certain age. Melissa is a professional woman, in her 30s, who also lives alone. Sometimes, when Hunter and our friend Frank (age 3, whom I often watch in our home) and I want to invite Bertie and Melissa to play, we all run the halls together.
The snow and ice of January 2017 brought down the handful of ancient magnolia trees in our back common area of the complex. It seems that they were too old, too tired, and they were ready to come down. There is a large space of yet unclaimed earth, just begging for planting. The roof top of our building is another possible gardening site.
I wonder, How does co-creating a garden impact community and social relationships? In that vein, I plan to build the project from scratch, evaluating the effect on relationships from the viewpoint of students (Frank and Hunter) and adults (Melissa and Bertie). Seeing that we have an environment in which we have rotating cast members in our life play of apartment living, it is apparent to me that we do not have the close relationships that we need to foster health, safety, and to maximize learning by having a multi-generational activity which can deepen and broaden human connections throughout our complex and our neighborhood. It is interesting to wonder how far the ripples will travel. The purpose of the study is to observe how relationships are fostered by co-creating a community garden. By studying the participants, I can answer the question of how to get people together in transient communities, to build a tighter network of support, and I can begin to disseminate research supporting the idea of installing community gardens in apartment buildings across the USA and worldwide.
By utilizing qualitative and quantitative research methods, I will present a complete picture of the group before and after the work. My interviews, photo documentation, surveys, and scheduled time in the garden to observe and document will afford a deep analysis of growing relationship between tenants. Specifically, I will give a pre-project survey and a post-project survey to all members of the gardening group. Casual and formal interviews will complete the research.
Seeing my young child thirst for friendships in our new surroundings, I am challenged to find healthy and important ways for us to co-create community. Instead of having him sit on Aunt Bertie's couch watching cartoons, I believe that Hunter, Aunt Bertie, Frank, Melissa, and the other tenants in our building could use fresh air and dirt under their nails, not to mention some healthy food. With the onset of dementia, diabetes, and other health problems, many of our older community members are in dire need of exercise, sunshine, and fresh food.
The harvesting of our food will be another joyful outcome, and we will be able to incorporate our organic fruits and vegetables into a couple of garden parties on the roof. I am imagining that Bertie will feel better as time goes on, knowing that she has friends on her floor to help her if she has need. I am hoping that Melissa continues to reach out and feel more at home in her new building. My hopes for Hunter and Frank are that they will feel the unconditional love of neighbors and friends, and find joy and health in a community garden. I will collect data that will show more healthful food choices while the garden is producing food for our participants.
Since Hunter attends school only for 3 hours a day, we have free time to work on our projects. This will be a major portion on our work in the next few months, and I look forward to that, as does Hunter. At Las Mariposas CDC, Wilsonville, OR, we planted an organic garden each year from 2011-2014. It is time to get our garden going again, at our new home (and unschooling classroom), which we call Las Mariposas, Goose Hollow. My research findings will demonstrate to teachers, parents, administrators, and facilitators worldwide that working together in a constructivist way is the crux of emergent learning, a holistic environment, and project-based work, and can be utilized in homeschooling or unschooling just as easily as into a mainstream curriculum.
By means of varied data collection modalities, entry and exit surveys, questionnaires, interviews, observation records, and thorough and ongoing documentation (text/photography), I know that our research will provide a strong template from which other students, teachers, parents, and communities can draw vital information. I feel passionate about the wide reaching social benefits of gardening and growing healthy food with friends and neighbors, and I am hoping to model that excitement for the group.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
In my analysis of 8 research articles relating to community gardening and relationships, I had to include diverse sources from different areas of the world, including studies from the US, Australia, and the UK. The sources that I have brought into my research were found by searching 4 different online databases and finally synthesizing the 8 that I though best reflected what I am trying to achieve in my research. In my investigation, my intentions have been underscored by the overwhelming need for community gardening in our world today. It has been shown that actively participating in a community, home, or school garden can contribute to health, confidence, deep learning, and community development. I am excited and interested to show how researchers around the world have involved their communities in the working with the land, and how that work has increased health and learning, as well as bringing people together while farming healthy food.
In Troy Glover's work regarding democracy in gardening (2005), he refers to Putnam's comment that "the intensity of membership in voluntary associations is important to the development of democratic citizens" (2000). We look at democratic values in gardening as a way to inculcate these tenants of respect and teamwork throughout all levels of humanity. On a micro scale, we look at the individuals in the study of community gardening in the inner city. On a macro level, we are evaluating systems of social interaction in an attempt to create deeper connections among humans, plants, animals, and our environment. On a personal level, we are interested in people's physical and emotional health; on a larger scale, I am interested in planning and developing global micro communities based around organic gardening/farming and remembering social constructs of interdependence and inter-generational co-habitation.
Gardening communally has shown to be an effective way to inject true health and vitality into the community. What Glover references in Putnam's work is key. He questions whether the skills of gardening leaders can affect the outcomes of community gardening. "To what extent, if any, do members of a community garden subscribe to civic attitudes? Do leaders have stronger democratic values than do non-leaders? Is the intensity of their involvement in the community garden associated with their democratic values?" (Putnam, 2000)
Glover's analysis of possible deterrents to full participation in gardening work reflected on the onus of the leader in the group to address and mitigate possible barriers to the project. Following the completion of the survey, the participants had no responsibility to mail-back their responses. Second, because we aimed to collect data from participants who spanned the socio-economic spectrum, we wanted to proactively address any reading problems that might otherwise be encountered with a self-administered survey. The telephone survey required no reading on the part of the participants. Finally, a telephone survey was expected to generate a larger response rate, given the relatively short time commitment expected of participants, the convenience associated with the technique, and the passion participants were assumed to have for community gardening. (2005)
Glover introduces to this research the broad and reaching questions of involvement and responsibility. By encouraging us to teach democratically by encouraging the people around us to take responsibility and utilize knowledge in a compassionate way, we are empowering generations of people in becoming community leaders. This instrumental article reminds me that we are all leaders, and that our job is to reinforce this mindset and model democratic principles. This research has been instrumental my understanding of the need to encourage leadership roles in all members of our research group.
Carrie Ann Draper and Darcy Freedman (2010) state that community gardens have been a vital construct in U.S. American society since the late 1800's, creating avenues for "organizing, development, and change". This article hold similar concepts in development of social roles in community gardens. Whereas Glover, Shinew, and Parry (2005) evaluated the leadership roles in gardening and democratic values, Draper and Freedman show the breadth of social issues that community gardening can address. They suggest that "community-based practitioners may use this as a tool to fulfill multiple goals within a given community (e.g., economic development, food security, leisure and recreation)" (p. 4). It seems that gardening is the perfect curriculum, holistic, sensory, emergent, and socially constructed.
What is invaluable to our research is the inclusiveness of this study, that the work spans many ages and abilities, "community gardens can be formed and easily manipulated based on the needs, abilities, and interests of a specific population. They may, for instance, be developed to express and preserve the cultural heritage of a population. In my research, we have participants of wide varying ages, abilities, and experience in the garden. We have people of culture and language, and variables in our group in relationship to socio economic status and food security.
This study underscores, as does the Glover, Shinew, & Parry research (2005), that any attempt to include qualitative research would be a welcome addition to the current work which is available. I am thrilled by the possibility that research around community gardening could possibly show a correlation with reduced crime rate, and I can see that as a possible factor in subsequent and continued longitudinal work in our gardening research. As I continue to monitor the subjects over time, I believe that our study will qualitatively show a decrease in detrimental community behavior in response to a lifetime of organizing and implementing community gardens.
In the article, Impact of a Community Gardening Project on Vegetable Intake, Food Security, and Family Relationships: A Community-based Participatory Research Study, Carney et al (2012) included 41 families in a project designed to bring healthy food to migrant families. When the families had planted and grown their organic gardens, it was discovered that there was a drastic increase in self-reported intake of vegetables for both children and adults. In regards to relationship building, which is one of the key aspects of my research, Carney et al state that "physical and mental health benefits were reported as well as economic and family health benefits from the gardening study, primarily because the families often worked in their gardens together" (Carney et al, 2012). Reducing food insecurity, community bonding, and increasing intake of healthier foods are a part of this study, and are an expected outcome of our research in developing community via gardening.
Inclusion
In relation to the element of inclusion, the introduction of a Spanish term "familismo" (Carney et al, 2012) is helpful as I design our research to incorporate people of culture and language. Ideas around food, gardens, and families are different from person to person and from culture to culture. It is a good reminder to me that assessing the whole person is crucial, and the background and history of each member is valid; as our fertile ground is with rich variety in compounds, our groups will be rich with the vast funds of knowledge of many culture and language groups. In our research, we will show that cultural lines become blurred in gardening activities; gardening is an inclusive activity by nature.
In 2007, Sue Waite designed research on learning outside of the classroom. In the UK, Waite researched children's outdoor learning practices in 334 settings. She uses these words to describe her finding in the garden:, "freedom and fun; ownership and autonomy; authenticity; love of rich sensory environment and physicality for pedagogical practice" (p. 1), and mentions that although these are obvious outcomes of an outdoor learning experience, that adults involved in the drive for outdoor learning spaces are feeling conflicted about the learning potential of this constructivist view of learning. White states that she "critically evaluates the pedagogical value of enjoyment, a form of 'desire', which implies positive affective and motivational qualities" (2008); she also reports that the culture in which the studies are conducted are often guided by a structured, lecture-driven, prescribed curriculum.
Waite address the socio-constructivist methodology of learning which comes with emergent and project-led curriculum. She addressed co-construction of knowledge and compares this to a US study by Duffy and Jonassen (1991) which further delineates the differences between "scripted teaching" and this idea of manifesting our learning experiences. Waite references Lev Vygotsky (1962) who claims that language, and learning, is a socially constructed experience. He further states that by creating their own learning via co-creating curriculum in a constructivist environment, aided by modeling and scaffolding, children learn better. A previous article by Waite and Rea, which she refers to in this study, also shows that by designing outdoor learning spaces, children can have a renaissance of excitement and wonder in their learning (Waite & Rea, 2007). Vygotsky suggests that the affective filter would be lowered, allowing for deeper and more complex learning (1962).
An interesting thought is brought to light in this research is that the outdoor activities are more effective and promote deeper learning when the work is child-led (Waite, 2007). Understanding this concept is critical to the gardening work that we are going to encounter this Spring. As I plan and design the research, cross-referencing the articles in various databases has provided innumerable new thoughts and important possibilities that I hadn't considered. What remains in my mind as I finish analysis of this research is that although the research is mine, the gardening belongs to the participants in the work.
As Waite delves into the "love of a rich sensory environment", we come to the central idea of why the garden holds such power. We know that research in Early Childhood Education has shown that children need to have access to sensory work to fully develop cognitive faculties. The sensory play, utilizing our senses of touch, taste, sight, hearing, and smell, has a positive influence on our learning and development. By introducing children back into nature (in our case, the garden) we amplify the opportunity to experience the sensory play that is inherent to our world: The Earth provides the kinetic sand, water table, and mud invitation that we are so used to re-creating inside our classrooms.
In Australia, Cutter-Mackenzie (2009) shows us "disadvantaged (low-income) schools that used food gardening as a focus for implementing a culturally-focused environmental education program" (p.2). In this article, she explains that food that was group in the children's gardens, and the subsequent food they prepared, was the curriculum project for bringing to light the cultural funds of knowledge of each student. In this way, the work highlighted the aspects of language, culture, and home environment. From this work, as I am francophone, I was able to cross reference articles written in French (Cutter-Mackenzie's research has been done in both English and French). Although there are rich sources, I have not included them in this research as my target audience is not French speaking.
Working with refugees and migrant families is highlighted in the Australian study (p. 122), and reading Cutter-Mackenzie's work in regards to these culture groups is fascinating. When implementing project work, it is imperative to understand the students and participants in the work. When students have a background such as that of a migrant working family's child would have, or those experiences that come with being a refugee, we must take this into account. Working in a garden, for a migrant child, may have different meaning to that child. A refugee child may see the work as a non-democratic process, and may have to learn to take a leadership role.
The sensitivity necessary in leading groups of people denotes that we take the time to develop relationships with each individual member in the group. When we care for our students deeply, when we show genuine interest and respect and love them, inviting them to share their stories and expertise, we are setting the groundwork for co-research and co-creation of curriculum.
This work can be based on trust with mutual respect, so that all parties are heard, valued, and represented. Cutter-Mackenzie's work states, "It was also noted that the focus on the children’s culture, in the context of learning English and gardening, appeared to enhance teachers’ cultural awareness and appreciation." (p. 129). I appreciate Cutter-Mackenzie’s objectives, namely, “celebrating cultural diversity and demonstrating the benefits of multiculturalism", however, I would like to see more research around the implementation of those cultural funds of knowledge, and how to best co-create curriculum with that knowledge. It is interesting to celebrate something. It is crucial in our world that we implement and reconstruct our curricula with the foundation being the knowledge that our diverse students bring to the table. This, in the end, will create systems of learning that will reflect and represent these students, with the result being a higher graduation rate among students of culture and language.
In a 2016 edition of Journal of Applied Gerontology, Anderson, Nicklett, and Ye question the outcomes of gardening activities in older adults. Many interesting findings have propelled my research forward, including the proposal that, in the cross-referenced studies, "potential barriers to gardening were not addressed" (p.688). Another conclusion made, of the research done on studies in the US, China, and Korea, is this statement:
gardening is an active focus of investigation and there are known important social, psychological, and personal enrichment benefits. However, there is a need for more rigorous studies on the physical benefits of gardening. As part of future work, there is a need to align the gardening activities, including the intensity and duration, with specific physical health aspects of interest (p.688).
The study careful suggests the incorporation of older people into the planning phases of the garden. I look forward to working with our older participants in our own study. Not only will we see outcomes in regards to relationship development in the community, but, as this literature review has exposed, the myriad and multi-faceted health, social, and cultural benefits which have been proven to occur with home, school, and community gardens worldwide.
Reviewing the literature, and cross referencing various modes and methodologies that have been conducted worldwide, I have seen a great span of research being conducted in gardens. Whether at school at home, in the community, with children, or adults, the research shows great increase of vegetable intake, relationship development, increased health, and decrease in hunger.
What I hope to add to the work is a picture of a cross section of life as people of varied backgrounds come together to plan, plant, and grow a food garden. I expect, as this literature review has shown, that multiple positive effects will come from this endeavor. My hope it to extend this research in the inner neighborhoods of Portland, continuing the study longitudinally to grow the positive spiritual, mental, and physical benefits to a community when a garden is born and nurtured by people with diverse funds of knowledge.
Chapter Three: Methodology and Limitations
By triangulating research methods, I will show, as was shown in the research and results from the articles explored in the literature review, that although limitations exist in the study there are many findings that will show how community gardening will increase the depth and quality of relationships in the inner city, creating democratic partnerships in cross cultural communities and neighborhoods that house people of diverse socio economic status.
We may not see the wealth of information at a child’s fingertips until that student can express it in her own way, in her own time. To be comfortable being authentic and sharing cultural funds of knowledge, we must inculcate curriculum with avenues of expression which appeal to varied members of our society. Gardening is a great way to encourage all members of a group to engage. As discussed in the literature review, leadership is encouraged in each member of the group, providing a foundation for democratic participation. As I observe and document the work, research will show (via questionnaire, photographic evidence, and written observational notes and documentation of work), the accumulated data gained will help answer the research question, How does co-creating a garden impact community and social relationships?
Site and Context
At a high-rise apartment building in Portland, Oregon, the group will plant and grow an organic food garden. Four participants in the study will self-select and lead themselves through the exercise of creating a working garden. In the inner city, there is a shortage of fresh produce and there is the problem of pesticides, GMOs, and toxic methods of growing food. The group’s results will show that via project-based, emergent work, a group of diverse students can co-create meaningful relationships which will flourish as the garden bears fruit.
The scaffolded, supported way in which organic education is structured allows for us to plan this activity into our weekly routine. Each week, starting the first week of April, 2017, the group will meet for 1 hour in the garden. The group will fill out a pre-project questionnaire. I will observe, document, and take pictures. After our sessions, I will issue a post-project questionnaire and transfer the observation and documentation qualitative data into a more legible format.
As shown in our literature review, the focus in the garden will be on allowing each member to be a leader, to model compassionate teamwork, and to elicit the funds of knowledge of each member of the group.
Participants
In our school, Las Mariposas Child Development Center, Goose Hollow, we are a play-based, project-based, constructivist class. We have few students and we are focused on emergent learning. There is no formal academic instruction and the work we do is highly documented, photographed, and recorded in a timeline and in personal portfolios.
Hunter, age 5, is the only full time student in our school. He is articulate and has worked in a community garden each year since his birth; at first, he sat on a blanket and watched. By year 2, he was watering, planting, digging, and weeding. He is a great benefit to the project and has already shown proficiency in choosing seeds and sprouting them.
Frank, age 3, is a drop-in student who used to be a full-time student at Las Mariposas CDC. Traditionally, Frank has been a vital member of planning and working the garden. Last season was the only year Frank had not done the garden with us, and we are looking forward to documenting results which have been shown and recorded in the past, showing deepening respect, co-leadership, and communication between gardening group members. Frank is verbally advanced for his age, and I would say developmentally advanced in most areas. Initially, I had wondered about his ability to verbalize his experiences, but I am positive that he is up to the task.
Bertie is an older member of our inner-city apartment community. She is retired from PSU and lives alone. She mostly watches TV and shops at the dollar store. Her food items usually are pre-frozen and microwaved, or preservative enhanced snack foods. I hope to show that her intake of fresh food will increase, as well as her mental and physical health being out in the garden with the children. There are not many limitations for Bertie, but at her age, we will speak more to this aspect of our study in the section to follow regarding study limitations.
Melissa is another neighbor who lives alone. A professional woman in her 30s, Melissa flies to Israel often for work, and her partner flies from New York to visit her, also. It seems that she is from the opposite end of the socio-economic spectrum from Bertie and Hunter. Frank is like Melissa in this way. He comes from a family with many more resources available to them. Melissa has experience in gardening, is multi lingual and has diverse cultural influences. Like me, she has lived in Africa. Like me and our students, she expresses interest in building community.
There is diverse linguistic and cultural expression in our group, and the ages span from 3 to geriatric. Hunter’s biological father, with whom he lived until the age of 3, is a Muslim from West Africa. He speaks and understands French. He also speaks a bit of, and understands some of, the Puerto Rican language, which we picked up while travelling for an extended time in Puerto Rico. Melissa speaks French, Hebrew, and English. The group’s primary working language will be English, and I wonder whether some members of the group who share a second language will work in that language, as well, as has been shown to happen before with Melissa and Hunter.
In the ethnographic research which I have been conducting thus far, it has been noted that Bertie may have some hearing or cognitive barriers, as well as possibly some arthritic limitations which we will want to consider in the garden.
Methods of Data Collection
Qualitative research will prove that, over time, gardening will augment relationships among people in the inner city. Archived material gathered from May, 2014, through the present (March, 2017) will show a timeline of self-directed learning, in which the students had activities structured for their developmental levels, which were fun, accessible, and emergent in nature. Similarly, I will observe, document, and synthesis the notes, structured conversations, and interactions within the group during our gardening. The data retrieve from this study will prove that the project-based interactions with plants, soil, sun, rain, and one another, will have multiple, lasting, and long-reaching results including: enhanced critical thinking, advancement of communication with others, and increased desire for time with others and time in the garden, working in the dirt.
Unit Description- Timeline-Calendar
In an emergent classroom, the students dictate the speed and direction of the work. Young children will respond easily to created curriculum, worksheets, and memorization. At Las Mariposas, I do not formally introduce serious introduce academic work (writing practice, mathematics on paper) until after the age of 4. Throughout the child’s infancy, foundational principles of reading and math are encouraged, but only in a play-based, project -based, constructivist, emergent setting in which the work is self-directed and scaffolded by facilitators.
The main research happens the four weeks of April. The first week is the week I distribute and collect consent forms. I will hand out the surveys that I have created and walk the participants through the process of filling them out. They will be collected and filed securely. Week 2 is when I gather data via personal interviews of participants. This will happen in the garden as we work. The entire 4-week research period will be heavily observed and documented by myself via written notes and photography. I will write down what I hear to pair the reported speech with the photographs and description of action. Week 4 is the week I will hand out and collect the exit survey and conduct the second interview.
Our gardening work happens in a holistic way, in the season which is appropriate to the work. In the winter, we begin to formulate the idea. After four successful years of interacting in the community garden, Hunter knows the routine; this winter we have already selected our group and sprouted seeds. We await the work.
Ethnographic research is continued throughout the year. In this way, by sourcing funds of knowledge of each participant, I can know the needs, limitations, and special considerations of each member of our work group. As I research the files, I find pictures and journal notes from Frank and Hunter’s infancies, seeing their first attempt at using the shovel, and watching them water the garden in diapers. I am injected with energy and we are chomping at the bit to get into the crux of the endeavor.
From April until May I will coordinate the group and do our work. I have carved out time on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 10 to 11 to work in our garden. The group will be provided with tools and buckets for water. I will have my observation and documentation tools at the ready, including my camera. There will be time thrice weekly to come together and work, and this time will be set aside as time for me to not participate, but to watch and note take about what is occurring in the group.
In May, the data results will be collected and presented. At this point, the results of our data will show the great advances in the mental, physical, and communal health of the group (and our environment). The constructivist nature of our work dictates that the individuals in the study will design their own methods for working together in the garden. They will decide which tools they use and what jobs they do. This will be done with support from me, but minimal intervention in their developing democratic communication.
Research Method 1 -Structured Interviews
Interviews of group members will occur in a multi-faceted approach, differentiated to the age, experience, and developmental level of participants. Initial interviews will occur one on one with myself, as the first week unfolds in the garden. Notes will be taken with pencil on paper, on the computer, and via voice recording. Throughout the weeks, I will observe the work and document the verbal interactions I have with the group members. At the end of the 4 weeks, I will transcribe the notes into a typed format, which will be presented at the conclusion of the research.
Interview questions will include questions regarding cognitive states, affective filters, personal feelings about the work, personal reflections on group work, and participant verbal response to specific questions about the cohesiveness of the group.
Research Method 2 -Field Observation Data Collection (Photographic Evidence)
The second research methods is the most vivid of the three, the photographic evidence. Archived artifacts have shown via records, pictures, video, audio, and student-generated documents that pictures truly do give a great picture of many aspects of constructivist gardening work. The pictures will be included with descriptions/transcriptions of the moment shared in the garden.
The raw interview data will be collected, organized, and presented to show the variation of feeling regarding community before and after the project.
It will be demonstrated, via these pictures along with the descriptions of the pictures and what is taking place, the depth and breadth of relationship development over time as we do our work in the garden. By seeing the physical proximity and the facial expressions of the participants, paired with the detailed notes that were taken as the work continues, we will be looking at the way that people show closeness and trust over time. I will show that much of our communication is done with our body language. Many ripple effects of our work are seen, and extensions into the community might be a surprise.
Research Method 3 -Paper Survey
A survey will be adapted for each student according to age and ability, then completed two times, at the beginning and at the end of the work. The survey (Appendix A) will allow students and the researcher to reflect upon changes in attitudes and thoughts about their community from the inception until the end of the designated project. The intake survey will address the feelings, perceptions, and expectations about gardening together. The outgoing survey will address any changes in those feelings, perception, or expectations. Specifically, the participants will be asked to reflect upon each person in the group as an individual, reflecting on each personal relationship, as well as looking at and either verbalizing or writing down their feelings about the group development.
The raw data will be interpreted by me and synthesized to show the difference between feelings about the community before and after the research. I will see the patterns that develop over time and observe how they correlate and differentiate, and I will build theories and hypotheses. They will be analyzed and summarized and presented to show support.
Procedures and Timeline
Appendix B is the proposed tentative timeline for our study. The calendar shows the days of the week and times that we will be working in the garden. The first week of the garden research begins with setting up the area. As we get ready, the children will draw pictures of their expectations for the garden, and of the community members in the garden. We will take the formal documentation of adults and children in the group, photographing and writing down their exact words as they work together.
We load in the soil, which is physical work that has many ways to differentiate the learning. The smaller children will want to pull the wagon with the dirt, scooping to fill and scooping to empty, repeating this work is interesting and build cognitive, physical, and social faculties. The other participants in the study are adults and I imagine they will naturally fall into a more organizational and possibly directorial mindset. I will continue to model respect for all participants by adding to the conversation questions referring to the thoughts and input of all group members, and reminding all that everyone has equal input and a voice to be heard.
Week two will allow us to fortify the soil and plant the seeds. Again, it is from our historical records that we see that adults will typically choose which seeds and where to plant them, which the children will do the watering and general work of digging and carrying. It is my hope to encourage all participants to try all aspects of gardening. We will plant seeds and water during week two.
Week three will be our time for weeding and watering, for fortifying any areas of the garden that need fortification (stakes, fences to protect the sprouts from animals, and natural barriers and natural pest controls, id est: planting geraniums, releasing ladybugs, handpicking weeds, hand wiping foliage). The goal is to slow everything down and go very small. With an older person and two young children, this garden is on the micro scale. We will measure our plants growth and discuss whether we need to add any special nutrients to our soil.
Week four will yield certain first fruits of the season, e.g. Oregon Sugar Peas, and the group will enjoy harvesting and consuming their organic food that they planted and grew themselves. We will have a rooftop picnic and invite others from the community. We will leave a basket of our sugar peas down at the coffee station for the community to enjoy. We will draw pictures of our garden and the people in our group. The group will reflect on the growth of the garden and of the relationships with each other and the garden itself.
Limitations
The limitations of this study relate to the proximity with the subjects, the smallness of the group, and the homogenous nature of the participants. The researcher had not done formal research until this study and there we find a professional limitation. Structurally, there are limitations in the amount of space that we are provided and the time that we have available to us.
Typically, a research proposal will include many people in order to show as much possible outcome from the research as possible, and to be able to normalize the findings in a more accurate way. 4 participants are participating in the study, over 1 month of time, 3 times a week for 1 hour per meeting.
Also limiting is the homogeneity of the group. The language and culture groups would typically be more diverse, and it is hoped that future research will include non dominant majority representatives, as we have done here, and even more funds of culture and language. Hunter is a blood descendant of the West African tribe called Malinke, or Mandinka. The first 3 years of his life he heard French every day, from his biological father. He moved to Puerto Rico with me when he was 3 for 3 months, and has a working knowledge of Spanish. His cultural ties are to more indigenous and earth-based cultures. As his mother, which is another limitation to this study, I can attest to his multi-cultural mindset and linguistic abilities. Frank, our 3 year old in the study, comes from European -descended North Americans, transplants from the Mid-West. They are a family who works professional jobs, the mother has her MS in Civil Engineering. They are of above average income.
Bertie and Melissa are the adults in the study, both of North American backgrounds. Melissa has close ties with her Jewish heritage and speaks French and some Hebrew. Melissa seems to have come from a wealthy family; Bertie is retired and seems to barely make ends meet, alone, in her studio apartment. She watches TV all day and drinks what she calls "pop".
Safeguards
I have created a consent form called Privacy Agreement (Appendix C) which will give the adults and the caregivers in our research group the reassurance that all personal information will be kept out of the research entirely. Names, addresses, phones numbers, and other private information will be kept in a locked desk drawer. These forms are passed out and collected again before the research begins. The names in the research have been changed and are not the real names of research participants.
Conclusion
The hypothesis going forward is that by democratically developing a community garden, the participants will feel and demonstrate increased sense of community, of importance in that community, and an increase in general emotional and physical health. Socially constructed learning, the availability of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, and a more cohesive and functional community are possible outcomes of the research. The fact that I have implemented and facilitated a community garden for the last 3 consecutive years will supplement this research by utilizing this background knowledge that I accumulated in order to free up time for observation and documentation. My hope is that the project will be participant-driven, and that the outcomes will show deepened relationships over time via community gardening.
Chapter Four: Data Analysis, Results, Triangulation
Data Analysis One- Interview
An informal interview was given to the members of the group. Transcriptions of the answers to the interview questions are kept on file for two years. The questions were simple and I asked the responders to be as brief as possible. I coded this information in a recognizable way, using the first letter of names and the letter A for myself. I then went and added a plus or minus sign next to ideas that were either positive in nature (in my subjective analysis) or negative in perspective. The themes that emerged early on were hypothesized in the initial questionings as the research began.
One of the adults in the project, Bertie, answered questions this way:
A. What do you know about the group?
B. The boys are sweet. I don't know Melissa. +
A. What have you enjoyed doing with them so far?
B. Reading and playing and singing songs together. +
A. What about Melissa?
B. We met at the Christmas party and I think she's a lovely girl. +
A. What are you excited about doing together in our gardening project?
B. It will be fun for the kids and we will get some nice veggies I guess! +
A. How do you feel about the group?
B. I am happy to do this project with the kids and Melissa. It's going to be a blast! +
Table 1, Bertie answers to interview questions, April, 2017
Hunter answered the "before" set of questions this way:
A (Alicia) What do you know about our neighbors?
H (Hunter) Roberta watches TV and Melissa works.
A. What things do you like to do with them?
H. Watch TV at Bertie's.
A. and with Melissa?
M. I like to read books. +
A. What are you excited about doing with them when we start our gardening project?
M. Gardening and playing in the dirt and planting seeds. +
A. How do you feel about our neighbors?
M. Good.
Nota bene; It seems that Hunter might want to be getting the correct answers, or pleasing me. It seems that he may have shortened his answers in hoping that he would not make a mistake. He hesitated and resisted doing the interview at first and it may have been compromised that he is my child.
Table 2, Hunter's answers to interview questions, April, 2017
Other responses to questions looked like this:
Initial Interview
Hunter
Frank
Melissa
Bertie
Question One
+
+
+
Question Two
+
+
+
Question Three
+
+
+
Question Four
+
+
+
Question Five
+
+
+
Table 3, Positive responses to questions about community and connection, April, 2017
The raw data contained new information I hadn't considered when formulating the interview. For example, it was hard for the young children to predict future feeling and activities, and it was difficult for them to participate in an interview as it was a new concept for them. In the initial interview, before the gardening work physically began, I asked about their feelings and act ivies with the other members of the group. I read the responses and looked for similar concepts, themes, and emerging theories. I dropped one of the initial questions after the responses were unclear.
Chart 1, Positive Relational Feelings Before Gardening, April, 2017
Participant 1 H CH is Hunter (first initial of first name, CH for child), participant 2 is Frank (F for first initial and CH for child), followed by the AD set (adults), using their first initials also. Coding was kept simple and convenient, using their first initials and these corresponding numbers throughout the research.
Data Analysis Two - Interview
The same interview questions were asked after the gardening research had been completed. The results showed a closeness and connection (expressed with positive words) in relation to the group as individuals and as a whole. The experience seems to have drawn them together and created caring, warm feelings. What seems to have happened is that the adults in the group understood that children are not just cute creatures to be automatically loved, but that through hard work and time together, respect and deep community can be formed. The children were able to look back on an experience with adults from outside their families and created meaningful and positive work. There became a balance in the group, which I would attribute to a democratic community, an equal distribution of good feelings that matches the feelings of others in the group.
Chart 2, Equal distribution of Positive Relational Feelings After Gardening, April, 2017
Data Analysis Three- Documentation/Observation
In the conception period of this research proposal I had assumed that I would be the one taking the pictures and annotating most of the research and behavior as the study continued. When the camera came out, so did the photographers. Many of the participants held the camera and not only took valuable and measurable data for the project but made important written and artistic documentation, as well.
When the participants used the camera to document their gardening work, they took picture of a few things, mainly the garden, each other, and things they liked in the environment. I noticed this as I went through the pictures that we had taken. I also noted that there were many pictures of the children in the group helping one another and negotiating meaning around the use of material objects.
This was a wonderful discovery as it was a genuine behavior that is measurable, valuable, and necessary in the development of social emotional cognition and self regulation. Interpersonal relationships were enhanced and it was tracked via photographic evidence and the written word.
For example, this is a set of data from photographic evidence collected as we gathered materials and planted our garden. As you will see, the gardening project broke out of the apartment complex's interior walls and found a home on a lonely street corner on West Burnside Street. This older part of Portland is famous for the unhoused population that lives on its marrow shoulders, and the gentrification that seems to be creeping in. There is a mix here of men sleeping in urine on the corner of a busy street, tourists from Seattle and San Francisco, and 9 to 5 workers frenetically gassing and braking up and down the busy street filled with illegally crossing pedestrians. It's a busy place rich with life and history.
We were walking and talking about our gardening, and this is at the end of our work on our wall garden, and we passed the little plot of garden space we pass each day. And each day I say, "Wow. That garden sure could use some work."
Last week I said nothing and Hunter said, "Hey! That garden sure could use some work!" And Frank piped up and said, "OK! Where are our gloves?" And there it was. And that is how we came to have two community gardens. The most important conclusion of this work is that the garden has an exponential quality to it. There is a ripple effect with community gardening. At the outset I really focused on community gardening with the idea that the word community was who was doing the action.
After the work, looking back, I see that the gardening is now changing and morphing the community in to something much bigger than the four participants plus myself who were originally involved. It is as if the energy created by the garden became a living thing itself and began to self- sustain.
fig 1. Frank (left) and Hunter (right, out of frame). April, 2017, Portland, Oregon
In this photo we see Frank holding the spray bottle and Hunter turning away, getting frustrated because he can't use it while Frank is using it.
This is a classic example of what we like to introduce in Early Childhood Education - throwing in that monkey wrench. This is when children are in such harmony and balance that they almost never have conflict, and when they do it is easily managed. When we insert a new toy or new concept, a project, perhaps, into the curriculum, the students are excited and try to control the evolution.
It is here when growth is happening as negotiation is met with language use and interpersonal communication. Vygotsky tells us that language development happens via socially constructed knowledge (1962). This heavy interpersonal communication leads to advancement of development of social emotional skills, the creation of neurological stockpiles of language and meaning, with the emotional catalyst which drives deep learning. The scaffolding and social aspects of project based learning lead us to a great foundation for many forms of cognitive function leading to advanced neurological and social development. Community gardening, it seems, makes us smarter.
I analyzed the pictures that I took as I categorized them, looking for actions of compassion, frustration, communication, or negotiation. I also looked at whether these interactions had positive or negative results, or no result. Then I looked at whether these actions were improved upon in a positive way on a trajectory over the month long period or not. It would have been helpful to do this in a longitudinal study over a more prolonged period of time.
Coding this data is simple, (B-efore, date, D-uring, date, and A-fter, date) and here is a sample:
B (4/2017)
D (5/2017)
A (5/15/2017)
Improvement? Which areas?
H: Took water bottle away.
H: Allowed me to model asking and putting out hand for item
H: Asked for water bottle on own, put out hand.
Much improvement and far reaching results as this interplay we reenacted in other play environments.
F: Allowed H to take the objects from his hand, without response
F: Repeated after me, "May I have that back, please?" and learned to put out his hand.
F: Initiated the request without my help, asking for the tool and putting out his hand.
Much improvement, I would even say Mastery. Social emotional and cognitive development goals met at the 3-4 year old age mark. Verbal skills greatly enhanced. Self esteem noticeable improved.
Table 4, Data set analysis of social emotional interactions, May, 2017
In looking at many different photos over a period of one month's time, I found that the increase in higher level cognitive thinking among the youngest participants of the group grew exponentially.
fig 2, picture 1(April, 2017) Frank using the sprayer to water plants.
Picture one is one that either I took or Hunter took of Frank while he is asking for assistance with the water bottle. They worked together so well and so often that they got into a routine. "You wanna get the top ones high on top, Hunter?" asks Frank. "Yep!" says Hunter as Frank hands him the sprayer.
figure 3, picture 2 (April, 2017) Wall hanging planter. Portland
Figure 3 is a picture that I tool of Hunter getting the plants that are out of Frank's reach. This is an example of scaffolding and social emotional development. The language development alone is able to build cognitive function, and the emotionality is helping create meaningful learning.
figure 4, picture 3 (April, 2017) In researcher's apartment.
Figure 4 shows Frank putting his fingers in his mouth like Hunter does, mimicking a private behavior which would normally appall Hunter; in this case, Hunter revels in the attention and smiles and giggles.
figure 5, picture 4 (April, 2017) Interior gardening area.
Figure 5 shows the fourth picture in this data set, showing the extended activities which came with the gardening. The alternate activities show the multilayered changes the gardening had created and continues to create in the relationships of the participants.
figure 6, picture 5 (April, 2017) Interior gardening area. Portland.
Bike riding was something that the students chose to work on while taking short breaks from gardening, and when they had finished with gardening work for the day. What happened in this picture was a profound moment as Hunter took it upon himself to offer a ride on his own bike, pushing Frank and steering for him, even asking me to lower the seat for him. It was a wonderful moment of bonding that came about due to the participants' proximity with the gardeing project. Trust, compassion, and teamwork are evident here.
figure 7, picture 6 (April, 2017) Unhoused person's tent and graffiti. Portland, OR
This is a picture taken by one of the participants in the study, probably Frank or Hunter; it is a homeless camp near to where our community garden is. The participants in our research project decided that they wanted the unhoused population to benefit from the community garden, and were pleased to see the proximity of the tent to the garden. This was asynchronous with expected outcomes, as I had suspected that the participants would be deterred or have a negative attitude about the unhoused population. Instead, they wanted to share food with them. There is an older woman whom we have fed and whom we have seen using the bathroom in the coffee shop that was mentioned.
Hunter stated, "Now they won't be hungry because they can get some food from the garden. Everyone is allowed and we won't charge them money and they can come at night, everyone can come, without asking." (May, 2017)
figure 8, picture 7 (April, 2017) Interior Garden, SW Burnside, Portland, Oregon
Figure 8, picture 7 in this data set series, is of our interior community garden. The participants harvested ferns and replanted some dying succulents. They planted seeds for herbs and nurtured some bulbs that had been dormant too long. They wanted more, and decided to scrape a roll of moss off of the wall in front of the old mansion next door. The participants sprayed and watered the plants and moss, delighting when the little calendula sprouts shot up.
Chart 4, Extensions of learning (exponential cognitive development and curricular development)
Data Analysis Four- Documentation/Observation
figure 8, picture A, outdoor community garden location, W. Burnside St., Portland, May, 2017
figure 9, picture B, community interaction at the out site. From L to R, Hunter, unknown city pedestrians, Frank. May, 2017
Work progressed outside and the participants were more likely, it seemed to speak to passersby than they had been before. I decided to pull a set of data and take a closer look. In photos above, you can see the students involved in the research engaging with the people that live in the neighborhood, and the city dwellers who are passing through.
Data Analysis Five- Survey
A very simple survey was given to the participants in week 1 and week 4 of the community gardening experience.
Survey about Current relationships in Your Community
(given in week 1 and week 4)
Name ___________________
Date ____________________
How well do you know your neighbors?
1 2 3 4 5
How often do you interact with your neighbors?
1 2 3 4 5
How close to you feel with your neighbors?
1 2 3 4 5
Do you feel like you have a supportive community where you live?
1 2 3 4 5
Table 5, Survey
There are four questions and four participants. I coded the results of the two surveys and made a table of responses. The codes are simple and follow the earlier coding process, including first initials for names of participants and questions were abbreviated Q and the question number. This Likert scale was easily utilized by all members of the group, with various levels of support.
Chart 5, AFTER the work evaluation, Likert scale, May, 2017
It appears that question 4, regarding support, or supportiveness, may have been a confusing way to ask this question. Question 1 shows how each member of the team feels like the truly grew to know the other members of the group. This shows an answer to the question, does community gardening foster deepened relationships? The answer, in this study and according to these participants, is 'yes'!
Survey results from before the gardening work were skewed due to difficulty in understating what the survey was and how to complete it. For the youngest member of the group, it became an exercise in counting. These results were limiting and I had to carefully choose which data to analyze as a result.
Data Analysis Six- Survey
The first survey given was a bit more difficult as the participants had no idea what to expect. The questions were a bit subjective and possibly confusing, which adds to the limitations of the research. The most salient point of the survey was the fact that as the participants filled out the final surveys, they began to help one another. Hunter explained to Frank how the survey was to be filled out, and they began to have discussion regarding the survey question and their now common answers. This information has led to my understanding of how community gardening creates deep relationships between members of communities in inner cities.
Triangulation
When designing my research, I carefully included three modes of research in order to get a large set of data. Three methods of research provided three diverse data sets within the whole. From these three research methods, the interviews, the surveys, and the photographic, physical, and artistic documentation, enough individual datum were accumulated. Common themes, feelings, and possibilities emerged from the research and were supported by the three different methods which were employed.
The analysis of the data in the interview answers correlated with the data retrieved from the research done with the photographs. We see, in both research results, themes of emergent feelings of equanimity, shared roles in leadership, and the development of a democratic classroom. We see in both research methods, the outcomes of increased empathy and deepened relationships.
In the survey portion of the research, we showed clear results of participants helping one another to understand the survey questionnaire itself, employing, again, empathy, modeling, scaffolding, and respect. This activity created avenues toward age appropriate social emotional development (cognitive development). Photographs of the children, and their artistic representation of the work within the medium of photography, illuminated theories around ownership, initiation, motivation, and community development. Health and wellbeing were underlined as the activities correlated with more outdoor time and more gross motor skill development (physical development).
Chapter Five: Implications, Conclusion, Discussion
Implications
In the light of this research it is apparent that all classroom learning experiences should have a time of the year when community gardening is a part of the curriculum. Eventually, after seasons or years of gardening, the culture of the classroom or school will include the inculcation of the values and ideals that come with the experience of co-creating a community garden, i.e.: respect, self-direction, democratic process (supporting research in Putnam, 2000) and a healthy and positive outward looking awareness.
Implications of the gardening work are many and wide reaching. Each person who works in, passes by, or eats from the garden will transfer the excitement and energy from the project on to the next space to where they travel. Who knows how many gardeners will be created from four? When the children grow and have their own families, or other people they influence, hopeful their memories and continued experiences in the garden will perpetuate the learning and transfer of knowledge to the future generations. The positive feeling and experiences the participants have experienced in their community will no doubt reinforce possible future gardening endeavors.
Conclusion
The results of our data support initial literature reviews and research, and continue to develop themes of community development, social-emotional development, and increase of democratic values and processes in the classroom and outside of the classroom. When analyzing the results of the three methods of research, survey, photographic documentation, and interview, I came to some similar concussions as the research which I had read indicated; community and social relationships are greatly impacted and improved when co-creating a community garden.
In conclusion, the research question, "How does co-creating a garden impact community and social relationships?" is completely answered in the research and subsequent analysis of data collected therein. Co-creating a community garden positively and exponentially improved community and social relationships. Community development in the inner city can be proactively nurtured in the garden. Groups of people who were previously strangers came together to have a common experience rooted in health and sustainability, which had exponential implications in the community (correlates with Glover's research, 2005).
Limitations
Many of the research methods came with their own set of difficulties. We experienced less participation by adults who created their own schedules versus between the young children who were brought to the garden by the researcher. The survey turned out to be difficult to moderate and the interview questions were skewed in that one participant is the child of the researcher. Limitations on the form of duration (too short amount of a timeframe to get longitudinal results) and homogeneity (see Cutter-McKenzie, 2009; it would be useful to have people of diverse funds of knowledge, even more so than were utilized in this research). Language, recall, and cognitive development all were a part of the limiting portions of this research.
References
Anderson, L. A., Nicklett, E., & Ye, I. H., (2016). Gardening activities and physical health among older adults: A review of the evidence. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 35(6) 678–690.
Carney, P.A., Hamada, J. L., Rdesinski, R., Sprager, L., Nichols, K. R., Liu, B. Y....Shannon, J. (2012). Impact of a community gardening project on vegetable intake, food security and family relationships: a community-based participatory research study. J Community Health, 37(4), 874-871.
Cutter-Mackenzie, A. (2009). Multicultural school gardens: Creating engaging garden spaces in learning about language, culture, and environment. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 14(2).
Draper, C. & Freedman, D. (2010). Review and analysis of the benefits, purposes, and motivations associated with community gardening in the United States. Journal of Community, 18(4).
Duffy, T. M. & Jonassen, D. H. (1991). Constructivism: New implications for instructional technology? Educational Technology, 31(5), 7–11.
Glover, T., Shinew, K., & Parry, D. C. (2005). Association, Sociability, and Civic Culture: The Democratic Effect of Community Gardening. Leisure Sciences, 27(1).
Gray, L., Guzman, P., Glowa, K. M., & Drevno, A.G. (2014). Can home gardens scale up into movements for social change? The role of home gardens in providing food security and community change in San Jose, California. Local Environment, 19(2).
Mills, G. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and Language. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Waite, S., (2011). Teaching and learning outside the classroom: personal values, alternative pedagogies and standards. JOURNAL TITLE 39(1).
Waite, S. & Rea, T. (2007). The joy of teaching and learning outside the classroom. In D. Hayes, (Ed.), Joyful Teaching and Learning in the Primary School. (pp. 52-62). Exeter, UK: Learning Matters.
Appendix A-Survey
Survey about Current relationships in Your Community
(to be given in week 1 and week 4)
Name ___________________
Date ____________________
How well do you know your neighbors?
1 2 3 4 5
How often do you interact with your neighbors?
1 2 3 4 5
How close to you feel with your neighbors?
1 2 3 4 5
Do you feel like you have a supportive community where you live?
1 2 3 4 5
Appendix B -Timeline of Events (Calendar)
Week 1
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Notes:
Week 2
10-11 in garden
Reflection on community work
10-11 in garden
OMSI
10-11 in garden
Playdate PDX
Week 3
10-11 garden
Children’s Museum
10-11 garden
Air and Space Museum
10-11 garden
Week 4
10-11 garden
Waterfront walk
10-11 garden
swimming
10-11 garden
Appendix C-Privacy Agreement
Privacy Agreement
The information you provide will be strictly confidential. A file number will be assigned to all the information you provide in this study so that your rights to privacy and confidentiality are protected. All surveys will be kept in a locked filing cabinet that only the researchers will be able to access, along with all private information such as name, age, address, and phone number.
Voluntary Participation
You are free to decide to participate in this study and free to withdraw at any time.
Please ask for an explanation of any aspect of this consent form that you do not understand.
Authorization: PLEASE SIGN HERE (adult sign for minor under 18) ___________________
Do you agree to participate in this study (please circle one)? Yes No
I, _______________________________, have read this form and decided that I will participate in the project described above. Its general purposes, the nature of my involvement, and possible hazards and inconveniences have been explained to my satisfaction. My signature also indicates that I am 18 years of age or older and that I received a copy of this consent form.
(parent/guardian if under 18 years of age)________________________________
Signature____________________________
Date ______________
Signature of Principal Researcher (Alicia Davis) ___________________________
Date ________________
Thank you.
Alicia Davis (Portland State University, Graduate School of Education, 2017)
503.484.6573
Appendix D
Materials List
Shovels (4)
Hand trowels (4)
Hand shovels (4)
Gloves (2 pair adult 2 pair children)
Observation materials (camera, paper, pencil)
· Soil
· Seeds
· Watering buckets
· Stakes
· Rope
· Rocks and shells for decoration
· Pencils, pens, coloring materials on site for those who want to draw during our activity
· Tablet for researching types of seeds, sun needs, watering needs, planting requirements (depth, width, spacing, soil type) and zone information
· Library books on gardening