An Interpretive Framework for Assessing and Monitoring the Sustainability of School Gardens

Francesco Sottile,Cristiana Peano,Vincenzo Girgenti,Daniela Fiorito,Nadia Tecco

doi:10.3390/su8080801

Francesco Sottile, Cristiana Peano + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su8080801

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Aug 15, 2016
Citations: 11	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Palermo, University of Turin

Abstract

School gardens are, increasingly, an integral part of projects aiming to promote nutritional education and environmental sustainability in many countries throughout the world. In the late 1950s, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) had already developed projects to improve the dietary intake and behavior through school and community gardens. However, notwithstanding decades of experience, real proof of how these programs contribute to improving sustainability has not been well-documented, and reported findings have mostly been anecdotal. Therefore, it is important to begin a process of collecting and monitoring data to quantify the results and possibly improve their efficiency. This study’s primary goal is to propose an interpretive structure—the “Sustainable Agri-Food Evaluation Methodology-Garden” (SAEMETH-G), that is able to quantifiably guide the sustainability evaluation of various school garden organizational forms. As a case study, the methodology was applied to 15 school gardens located in three regions of Kenya, Africa. This application of SAEMETH-G as an assessment tool based on user-friendly indicators demonstrates that it is possible to carry out sustainability evaluations of school gardens through a participatory and interdisciplinary approach. Thus, the hypothesis that the original SAEMETH operative framework could be tested in gardens has also been confirmed. SAEMETH-G is a promising tool that has the potential to help us understand school gardens’ sustainability better and to use that knowledge in their further development all over the world.

Highlights

School gardens are increasingly part of projects related to the promotion of environmental and nutritional education in many countries throughout the world
Among the different instruments that can favor an interdisciplinary and every-day approach to sustainability, caring for a school garden has revealed itself to be effective across different nations and cultures
It should be recognized that the school garden experience is not always as easy to implement as it seems because it requires adequate space and tools, and teachers with appropriate skills

Summary

Introduction

School gardens are increasingly part of projects related to the promotion of environmental and nutritional education in many countries throughout the world. Fruits and vegetables are grown in areas around or near the school, sometimes providing a small-scale staple food source, as well as other complementary activities. This is not a new approach; already in the 1950s, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) had begun the “Applied Nutrition Projects” meant to improve nutrition through school and community gardens. In what are commonly considered the developed countries, a “garden-based learning” (GBL) approach has prevailed, where gardens are laboratories for learning science, environmental studies, as well as topics such as art and literature. At the beginning of the 20th century, the great American horticulturalist, Liberty Hyde Bailey wrote:

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