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Garden-Based Learning Program - Department of Horticulture, Cornell University

Research that Supports our Work

I. Benefits of Garden-Based Learning Programs

II. Keys to Successful Garden-Based Learning Programs:

Links to other resources that can help you write proposals, plan projects, etc:

One of the realities of working within the world of garden-based learning is that inevitably, you may need to write a proposal to support a program or help you initiate a new project. Fortunately, there is research that you can draw on to bolster up and advocate for your efforts. The following is a summary of research findings that you can cite in proposals, share with your board of directors, and use in countless other ways to support the important work that you are carrying out. Know of a great article that's missing? Please send it along to us!

I. Benefits of Garden-Based Learning Programs

Increased Nutrition Awareness

  • This study reports that the adolescents who participated in the garden-based nutrition intervention increased their servings of fruits and vegetables more than students in the two other groups. Although further research is needed, the results of this study seem to indicate the efficacy of using garden-based nutrition education to increase adolescents’ consumption of fruits and vegetables. (McAleese, J. D. & L. L. Ranklin. (2007). Garden-based nutrition education affects fruit and vegetable consumption in sixth-grade adolescents. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 107:662-665.)

  • This study assessed school teachers’ perceived attitudes and barriers associated with school gardens, as well as the purpose and use of gardens in schools, specifically in relation to the link between gardens and nutrition. Results indicate that the teachers perceived the garden to be somewhat to very effective at enhancing academic performance, physical activity, language arts, and healthful eating habits. This research provides evidence for needed standards-based curricula materials and teacher training in relation to gardening and nutrition. (Graham, H. & S. Zidenberg-Cherr. (2005). California teachers perceive school gardens as an effective nutritional tool to promote healthful eating habits. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105:1797-1800.)

  • This study measured food security and hunger of households in a rural Appalachian county and assessed factors that could affect food security and hunger. Hunger was related to a variety of household characteristics including participation in food banks, dependence on family members and friends outside of the household for food, lacking reliable transportation, and not having a garden. (Holben, D.H., McClincy, M.C., Holcomb, J.P., Dean, K.L., Walker, C.E. (2004). Food Security Status of Households in Appalachian Ohio with Children in Head Start. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 104: 238-241.)

  • This study examined the life-course experiences and events associated with current fruit and vegetable consumption in 3 ethnic groups. Results showed that black, Hispanic and white respondents differed fruit and vegetable consumption. Among white respondents, having a garden as an adult was positively associated with fruit and vegetable consumption. An understanding of the determinants of food choice in different subcultural groups can be used to design nutrition interventions. Experiences such as eating fresh-picked fruits and vegetables while growing up or vegetable gardening as an adult may enhance the fruit and vegetable consumption among members of some ethnic groups. (Devine, C. M. , Wolfe, W. S., Frongillo, E. A., Bisogni, C. A. (1999). Life-course events and experiences: Association with fruit and vegetable consumption in 3 ethnic groups. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 99: 309-314)

  • This study highlights the advantages of solar cookers and gardens to nutrition, health, and the environment. Study results indicate that growing their own vegetables encouraged adults and children to try new foods, which in turn improved their eating habits. Free seeds were distributed for container gardens, which motivated new and experienced gardeners to make gardens. Both rural and urban participants gained enthusiasm for the fresh, flavorful, nutritious, and economical vegetables they grew, and for the varied foods they cooked in solar cookers. They realized that gardening helped to improve heir nutrition, health, family, economics, and the environment. (Dow, R. M. & C.R. Dow. (1999). Using solar cookers and gardens to improve health in urban and rural areas. Alfalit International, Inc. 99: 9).

  • A study on a youth gardening program in Detroit reports that after gardening, kids have an increased interest in eating fruit and vegetables, possess an appreciation for working with neighborhood adults, and have an increased interested for improvement of neighborhood appearance. In addition, they made new friends, and showed increased knowledge about nutrition, plant ecology, and gardening. (Pothukuchi, K. (2004). Hortiliza: A Youth "Nutrition Garden" in Southwest Detroit. Children, Youth and Environments. 14(2): 124-155.)

  • In a project that involved integrating nutrition and gardening among children in grades one through four, the outcomes have gone well beyond an understanding of good nutrition and the origin of fresh food, to include enhancing the quality and meaningfulness of learning. (Canaris, Irene. (1995). Growing Foods for Growing Minds: Integrating Gardening and Nutrition Education into the Total Curriculum. Children's Environments, 12(2): 264-270.)

  • A study in Tucson, AZ showed that children who participated in the garden learned to like healthy foods. The vegetables that the children grew had a high intrinsic value. (Cavaliere, D. (1987). How Zucchini Won Fifth-Grade Hearts. Children Today, 16(3), 18-21.)

  • After gardening, children have shown more positive attitudes toward fruit and vegetable snacks and an improvement in vegetable preference scores. (Lineberger, S. (1999). The Effect of School Gardens on Children's Attitudes and Related Behaviors Regarding Fruits and Vegetables. Thesis, Texas A&M University.)

  • Hiemendinger and Van Duyn report that consumption of fruits and vegetables, as a habit in childhood, is an important predictor of higher fruit and vegetable consumption as adults and can help to prevent or delay chronic disease conditions. (Heimendinger, J. & M. Van Duyn. (1995). Dietary behavior change: the challenge of recasting the role of fruit and vegetables in the American diet. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 61:1397S-1401S. and Crockett, S.J., & L. Sims. (1995). Environmental Influences on Children's Eating. Journal of Nutrition Education. 27: 235-249.)

  • "Use of school gardens in academic instruction" found that school gardens can positively impact children's food choices by improving their preferences for vegetables and increasing their nutrition knowledge. (Survey of 4194 Cal. school principals. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Volume 37 Number 3, May-June 2005)

  • The title says it all: Frequency of Eating Homegrown Produce Is Associated with Higher Intake among Parents and Their Preschool-Aged Children. (Rural Missouri. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 107, Issue 4, April 2007, Pages 577-584 Marilyn S. Nanney, Sheldon Johnson, Michael Elliott and Debra Haire-Joshu.)

  • Two programs, a standard nutrition program titled Professor Popcorn (PP) and a gardening and nutrition program using lessons from the Junior Master Gardener: Health and Nutrition from the Garden were compared to investigate their influence on nutrition knowledge improving fruit and vegetable preference, and improving self-efficacy in gardening and eating fruit and vegetables in an out-of-school setting. There was a change in gardening self-efficacy for the summer JMG group compared with that of the fall JMG group. Gardening self-efficacy of the summer JMP group increased whereas that of the fall JMG group decreased. (Poston, Suzanne A., Shoemaker, Candice A., and Dzewaltowski, David A. (2005). A Comparison of a Gardening and Nutrition Program with a Standard Nutrition Program in an Out-of-school Setting. HortTechnology. 15(3), pages 463-467.)

  • An eight-lesson gardening and nutrition curriculum with a hands-on gardening emphasis was taught as an after-school program to determine the effect it had on increasing children’s nutrition knowledge, fruit and vegetable preference, and improving children’s self-efficacy and outcome expectations for gardening and for consuming fruit and vegetables. Seventeen fourth grade students participated in the experimental group as part of an after-school gardening club, and 21 fourth grade students served as the control group. At baseline, measurements of gardening self-efficacy and outcome expectations were significantly different between the groups. The experimental group was able to maintain high self-efficacy and outcome expectations scores during the program, but the control group’s scores increased significantly for gardening self-efficacy and outcome expectations at the end-program assessment. Further research to clarify aspects of gardening that have the greatest impact on influencing preference, self-efficacy and outcome expectations is needed. (O’Brien, Suzanne A., and Shoemaker, Candice A. (2006). An After-school Gardening Club to Promote Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Fourth Grade Students: The Assessment of Social Cognitive Theory Constructs. HortTechnology. 16(1), pages 24-29.)

  • After participating in the nutritional program, children’s knowledge about the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables significantly improved, but there were no significant differences found in participants’ attitude scores toward fruit and vegetables. However, the participants did report eating healthier snacks after participation in the nutritional program. (Koch, S., Waliczek, T.M., and Zajicek, J.M. (2006). The Effect of a Summer Garden Program on the Nutritional Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors of Children. HortTechnology. 16(4), pages 620-624.)

Increased Environmental Awareness

  • Elementary school and junior high school students gained more positive attitudes about environmental issues after participating in a school garden program (Waliczek, T.M., Zajicek, J.M. (1999). School Gardening: Improving Environmental Attitudes of Children Through Hands-On Learning. Journal of Environ. Hort. 17(4): 180-184.)

  • "Gardens are often the most accessible places for children to learn about nature's beauty, interconnections, power, fragility, and solace." (Heffernan, M. (1994). The Children's Garden Project at River Farm. Children's Environments. 11(3): 221-231.)

  • Both passive and active interactions with plants during childhood are associated with positive adult values about trees. However the strongest influence came from active gardening, such as picking flowers or planting trees as a child. (Lohr, V.I. & Pearson-Mims, C.H. (2005). Children's Active and Passive Interactions with Plants Influence Their Attitudes and Actions toward Trees and Gardening as Adults. HortTechnology. 15(3): 472-476.)

  • Gardening has been shown to increase scores on environmental attitude surveys of elementary school children. (Skelly, S. & J. Zajicek. (1998). The Effect of an Interdisciplinary Garden Program on the Environmental Attitudes of Elementary School Students. Hort Technology, 8(4): 579-583.)

Higher Learning Achievements

  • Third, fourth, and fifth grade students that participated in school gardening activities scored significantly higher on science achievement tests compared to students that did not experience any garden-based learning activities. (Klemmer, C.D., Waliczek, T.M. & Zajicek, J.M. (2005). Growing Minds: The Effect of a School Gardening Program on the Science Achievement of Elementary Students. HortTechnology. 15(3): 448-452.)

  • Several variables may have affected the outcome of the study, but the results show once weekly use of gardening activities and hands-on classroom activities help improve science achievement test scores. (Smith, Leanna L., and Motsenbocker, Carl E. (2005). Impact of Hands-on Science through School Gardening in Louisiana Public Elementary Schools. HortTechnology. 15(3), pages 439-443)

  • The purpose of this study was to develop three cognitive test instruments for assessing science achievement gain of third, fourth, and fifth grad students using a garden curriculum. The development of the test instruments occurred in three phases: 1) an initial set of test instruments which served as a prototype for length, scope, and format; 2) an adapted set of test instruments which were piloted; and 3) a final set of test instruments which were used for the assessment of the school gardening curriculum. (Klemmer, C.D., Waliczek, T.M., and Zajicek, J.M. (2005). Development of a Science Achievement Evaluation Instrument for a School Garden. HortTechnology. 15(3), pages 433-438.)


Increased Life Skills

  • Students in a one-year school gardening program increased their overall life skills by 1.5 points compared to a group of students that did not participate in the school gardening program. The gardening program positively influenced two constructs: "working with groups" and "self-understanding." (Robinson, C.W. & Zajicek, J.M. (2005). HortTechnology. 15(3): 453-457.)

  • As early as 1909, Montessori had identified several benefits to children's gardens: enhances moral education, increases appreciation for nature, increases responsibility, develops patience, and increases in relationship skills. (Montessori, M. (1964). The Montessori Method. Schocken.)

  • Studies in Bexar County, Texas showed that school gardening increased self-esteem, helped students develop a sense of ownership and responsibility, helped foster relationships with family members, and increased parental involvement. (Alexander, J. & D. Hendren, (1998). Bexar County Master Gardener Classroom Garden Research Project: Final Report. San Antonio, Texas.)

  • Participation with nature enhances mental health, reduces stress, and can produce physiological benefits such as lower blood pressure and reduced muscle tension. (Relf, D. (1988). People-Plant Relationship. In: S.P. Simson, M. C. Straus (eds.). Horticulture as Therapy. The Food Products Press, New York. Pp. 21-42.)

  • Children with learning disabilities had enhanced nonverbal communication skills, developed awareness of the advantages of order, learned how to participate in a cooperative effort, and formed relationships with adults. (Sarver, M. (1985).Agritherapy: Plants as Learning Partners. Academic Therapy, 20(4). 389-396.)

  • Studies have shown that fifth, sixth, and seventh grade students developed better interpersonal relationship skills after participating in a garden program. (Waliczek, T. & J. Zajicek. (1998). The Effect of a School Garden Program on Self-Esteem and Interpersonal Relationships of Children and Adolescents. Hort Technology (submitted).

  • Since 2002, a variety of methods has been employed to train teachers and administrators in using gardens, and this has resulted in establishment of successful gardening programs. Southern Nevada has experienced a 400% population increase in 25 years. Results of surveys of area stakeholders between 2000 and 2002, Clark County elementary school staff in 2001, and Clark County school principals in 2004, indicate a desire to incorporate gardens in schools, but concerns about establishing and maintaining them persist. When offered training in use of gardens, however, a majority of principals surveyed responded positively. They also expressed interest in tracking the educational and social impacts of gardens on students and faculty. (O’Callaghan, Angela M. (2005). Creating a School Gardens Program in the Challenging Environment of Las Vegas, Nevada. HortTechnology. 15(3), pages 429-433.)

II. Keys to Successful Garden-Based Learning Programs:
Youth Development and Leadership
  • Children's garden consultants is a new model designed to give teen-aged youth the opportunity to actively research children's garden design and educational programming, then present recommendations to an adult audience. Surveys, observations, and discussions with youth, adults in attendance, and program organizers indicated the approach was highly valuable and worth repeating. It provided a new learning opportunity for youth, and it also gave adults new perspectives on gardens. (Lekies, Kristi S., Marcia Eames-Sheavly, Kimberly J. Wong, and Anne Ceccarini. 2006. Children’s Garden Consultants: A New Model of Engaging Youth to Inform Garden Design and Programming. HortTechnology 16(1): 139-142)

  • Most successful school garden programs aim to involve children in the entire process of gardening (planning, design, implementation, and evaluation). (Lucas, B. (1995). Learning through Landscapes: An Organization's Attempt to Move School Grounds to the Top of the Educational Agenda. Children's Environments. 12(2): 233-244.)
  • Children use their own experiences, literary sources, music, and television as source of information in identifying characteristics of a garden. (Whiren, Alice Phipps.. (1995). Planning a Garden from a Child's Perspective. Children's Environments, 12(2): 250-255.)

  • Adults make assumptions about children, and because of that, planning and landscaping of children's environments can run counter to children's needs. (Olwig, Kenneth R. 1990. Designs upon children's special places? Children's Environments, 7(4): 47-53.)

  • Horticulture is a profession deeply rooted in community involvement and activity-based learning, both of which are key elements to the development of children. McCormick reports that students tend to learn more and better when they are actively involved in the learning process. (McCormick, F., D. Cox, and G. Miller. (1989). Experiential Needs of Students in Agriculture Programs. The Agriculture Education Magazine. 62(4): 11-12,23.)

  • This article discusses Greener Voices, a 3-year extension-research integration project intended to enhance the participation of children and youth in school- and community-based gardening settings and presents findings from a study of adult leaders’ perceptions about the participation of children and youth at their sites. Interviews with adult leaders indicated moderate to high levels of participation at most sites, variation by age and stage of project; the usefulness of a ladder of children’s participation in raising awareness, barriers to participations, attitudinal and behavior changes, and positive impacts on youth. (Eames-Sheavly, Marcia, Lekies, Kristi S., MacDonald, Leigh, and Wong, Kimberly J. (2007). Greener Voices: An Exploration of Adult Perceptions of Participation of Children and Youth in Gardening Planning, Design, and Implementation. HortTechnology. 17(2), pages 247-253)

  • Junior Master Gardener (JMG) was chosen to be evaluated in 14 Indiana third grade classrooms as little formal classroom usage data exists for the program. Student pre- and posttest results indicated overall significant gains in knowledge and attitudes. Qualitative data also indicated that the students enjoyed the program, shared what they learned with others, and wanted to participate in more JMG and gardening type activities. Teachers indicated that they were satisfied with the program in their classrooms and planned to reuse their JMG materials for future classes. (Dirks, Amy E., and Orvis, Kathryn. (2005). An Evaluation of the Junior Master Gardener Program in Third Grade Classrooms. HortTechnology. 15(3), pages 443-447.)

Community Development and Involvement
  • Parent involvement of almost any kind can improve student achievement. (Henderson, A.T., C. Marburger, & T. Ooms. (1986). Beyond the Bake Sale -An Educator's Guide To Working With Parents. National Committee for Citizens in Education, Columbia, Maryland.)

  • Parents who are highly involved at school are more likely to be involved in educational activities with their children at home. (National Center for Educational Statistics, (1997). Father's Involvement in Their Children's Schools. Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C.)

  • By linking storytelling with children's garden programs, public gardens may serve to educate children about the processes that underlie and interweave diverse cultures' seasonal traditions. (Bowles, Beatrice. 1995. Celebrating Common Ground: Storytelling in Children's Gardens. Children's Environments, 12(2): 271-274.)

  • Gardening can be an ideal vehicle for introducing elements of multicultural education. (Eames-Sheavly, M. 1994. Exploring horticulture in human culture: An interdisciplinary approach to youth education. HortTechnology 4(1).)

Using the Internet as a Resource for your Program

  • Observational data indicated that students subjected to the Internet-based pre-visit activity exhibited fewer off-task behaviors. Internet-based pre-visit activities increased cognitive scores in students compared to the traditional pre-visit activities for two of seven questions. (Haynes, Cynthia, Pieper, Jon C., and Trexler, Cary. (2005). A Comparison of Previsits for Youth Field Trips to Public Gardens. HortTechnology. 15(3), pages 458-462.)

Evaluation

  • Suggestions for obtaining stronger results include: allowing plenty of time for planning, establishing good communication with collaborators, choosing topics relevant to funding agencies and policy makers, and creating interdisciplinary studies that are longitudinal or large-scale collaborative efforts. (Phibbs, Elizabeth J., and Relf, Diane. (2005). Improving Research on Youth Gardening. HortTechnology. 15(3), pages 425-428.)

Links to other resources that can help you write proposals, plan projects, etc:

  • Fostering Children's Interests in Gardening [abstract only, fee for full article] - This study by Kristi S. Lekies and Marcia Eames Sheavly examined the ways in which gender, length of time working with the garden project, different types of gardening activities, and garden skills learned influenced interests in gardening. Regression analysis indicated that gardening skills had the strongest effect on gardening interest, followed by participation in planning and management activities, gender, and length of time. Part of a special issue of Applied Environmental Education & Communication (Volume 6 Issue 1 2007) devoted to children's gardening.

  • School Gardens Measure Up - The National Gardening Association scoured the country in search of results of school gardening research studies that might help fuel your arguments and proposals about the benefits students reap from living garden laboratories.

  • From the National Science Foundation, a User-Friendly Handbook for Mixed Method Evaluations, a helpful paper on using quantitative and qualitative research methods.

  • Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder - Richard Louv points out in his 2005 book that today's kids are increasingly disconnected from the natural world. Thoughtful exposure of youngsters to nature can, he believes be a powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit disorder and other maladies. Read reviews at amazon.com.

  • The National Gardening Association has launched a new web-based professional development course for K-8 educators who already incorporate botany and gardening into their curriculum and for those who would like to do so. Funded by Oracle Foundation, From Seed to Seed--Plant Science for K-8 Educators includes standards-based activities and experiments, illustrations, photographs, and inspirational stories that can help students think and act like scientists. The course also makes connections to math, geography, health, history, and language arts standards. Visit http://www.kidsgardening.com to learn more.
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