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mall gardens - big effects: Educational measures to promote ecological awareness of urban gardeners with the aim of greening urban areas and increasing the consumption of organic foods
Project
Project code: 2811OE140
Contract period: 01.12.2012
- 31.03.2020
Budget: 334,211 Euro
Purpose of research: Basic research
Keywords: socio-economics, education, sustainability, horticulture, organic farming, urban agriculture, local supply, biological plant protection
Allotment gardens are a traditional and popular form of urban gardening that enables urban residents to experience nature, gain social contact, and produce vegetables. In recent years, the allotment garden concept has been extended to new forms of urban gardening such as green roofs, intercultural gardens and community gardens. Participation in either traditional allotment gardens or in newer forms of urban gardening has the potential to impact the local environment and the health and food buying habits of the gardener, depending on the production philosophy and practice. The fundamental hypothesis is that urban gardeners who are knowledgeable about organic gardening will apply organic gardening practices and be sensitive to the production methods of the food that they buy. This project seeks to understand the drivers for particular philosophical positions with regard to urban gardening and the motivations for, and barriers to, adopting particular gardening practices: especially organic gardening. An explanatory theory to explain the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and behaviours will be developed using a combination of existing scientific literature and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders in three German cities: Berlin, Frankfurt and Freiburg. The developed theory will then be empirically tested in a representative survey of traditional and modern gardeners in the target cities. In collaboration with stakeholders responsible for education and training, the insights gained in the study will be integrated into the existing education and training that is available to urban gardeners. In a final step, the derived education and training methods will be confirmed during workshops with participating urban gardeners. The expected impact of the study is that targeted education and training will encourage organic practice in urban gardens, which will impact on the quality of food produced and on the purchasing choices of the gardeners. Examining similarities and differences between the traditional and new forms of urban gardening will enable mutual learning for both groups and the development of best practices.
Section overview
Subjects
- Crop Protection
- Horticulture
- Vegetable Gardening
- Agricultural Sociology
- Organic Farming
Framework programme
Federal Organic Farming Scheme and other forms of sustainable agriculture (BÖLN)
