Source: RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY submitted to
CULTURE AND CONTEXT OF COMMUNITY GARDENING AND URBAN AGRICULTURE IN NEW JERSEY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0227432
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
NJ84105
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Nov 1, 2011
Project End Date
Oct 31, 2014
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Lawson, L.
Recipient Organization
RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
3 RUTGERS PLZA
NEW BRUNSWICK,NJ 08901-8559
Performing Department
Landscape Architecture
Non Technical Summary
This research project has three goals: 1) to document the extent and practices of community gardens and urban agricultural efforts in New Jersey, 2) to express the reasons people become engaged in these efforts, and 3) to develop a public forum to share ideas and information on community gardens and urban agriculture in New Jersey. This research will contextualize the gardens/farms in terms of site considerations and programming; physical, social, and economic context; and policies and services in place to support/detract from gardening efforts. Through interviews, surveys, and GIS mapping, this research will provide a state-wide analysis of what is going on in community gardening and urban agriculture. A more indepth perspective emerges through case studies that focus on varied types of gardeners and what gardeners themselves experiwnce. Interviews with gardeners, observation and behavior mapping at the case study sites reveals the personal side of gardening, , video, and photography will be used to tell the story of the case study gardens and the gardeners. The ongoing work and results will be made publically accessible on a web-based format that will include video, sound, and photography. The website and related scholarly work also document sites, analyse socio-demographic context, and tease out factors to consider in garden sustainability.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
6080530311160%
6086099311110%
7040530311120%
7046099311110%
Knowledge Area
704 - Nutrition and Hunger in the Population; 608 - Community Resource Planning and Development;

Subject Of Investigation
0530 - Parks and urban green space; 6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3111 - Landscape architecture;
Goals / Objectives
Goal 1: Document the extent and practices of community gardens and urban agricultural efforts in New Jersey. Objectives associated with Goal 1: a.Document history of community gardening and urban agriculture practices in New Jersey; b.Survey community gardening underway in New Jersey; c.Survey urban agriculture, as defined appropriate to New Jersey context; d.Study diversity of gardens/farms in New Jersey. Goal 2: Articulate the reasons that people become engaged in community gardening and urban agriculture in New Jersey. Objectives associated with Goal 2: a.Investigate motivations and practices with participants; b.Document garden and farm activities during growing season; c.Gather stories from gardeners / farmers that evoke reasons for people to participate in gardens. Goal 3: Share ideas and information on community gardens and urban agriculture in New Jersey. Objectives associated with Goal 3: a.Create public forum to share findings and foster discussion; b.Present work at scholarly and popular conferences; c.Publish scholarly work related to research; d.Publish findings in popular media venues to reach gardeners and policy makers
Project Methods
Methods: this research is primarily qualitative and bolstered by quantitative findings in survey and mapping analysis (GIS). Based in participatory action research, the intent is to work with participants (policy makers, service providers, gardeners)to identify key issues, discuss interpretations, and yield useful outcomes. The work is iterative and will evolve based on new knowledge. Specific project tasks include: a. Literature review on community gardening and urban agriculture in New Jersey and region; b. Historical research on gardening and urban agriculture from 1890 to present, using archives from state agencies, libraries, gardening clubs, universities; c. Survey - mailed or web-based - to collect information on where gardens are located and who is running them; d. Interview key informants regarding policies and services; e. Analysis maps showing gardens in the context of socio-demographic factors and political boundaries, using GIS; f. Case studies of 6-10 sites, to include: urban community gardens of varying scales, tenure, duration; small-scale urban farm on infill site; suburban community garden; school gardens. Case studies will include the following assessments: site documentation, observation mapping, behavior mapping, context mapping (to include land use, socio-economic indicators, demographics), interviews with leaders, organizers, and technical assistance providers. g. In-depth interviews participating gardeners/farmers to focus on why individuals choose to participate, their experiences in the garden, and their personal assessment of what it means to be involved. Outputs will include: a. interactive website, to include map of New Jersey showing community gardens, urban farms, school gardens, analysis maps showing demographic and political context, maps and site plans for case study gardens/farms, video from interviews and site visits/observations, and photographs; b. Presentation of findings at scholarly conferences and conferences directed at general pbulic; c. Scholarly publication of New Jersey data and case studies; d. Publication in popular media and special interest publications that focus on gardening and food systems. Evaluation: a. Data collected from surveys, interviews, and case studies will be presented back to participants to confirm truth; b. Findings will be presented to scholars and practitioners who will evaluate results based on particular foci. Work will be presented at American Community Gardening Association Annual Conference in a forum that enables comparative analysis with experiences in other locations. Findings will also be published in peer-reviewed journals.

Progress 11/01/11 to 10/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences include: 1. New Jersey residents interested or involved in community gardening and urban agriculture. This audience was reached through presentations, website, and interviews. 2. Rutgers students who learned about New Jersey community gardens and urban agriculture in lectures. 3. Non-profit organization staff and municipal staff interested in learning more about community gardens and urban agriculture 4. national and international scholars and activists. Changes/Problems: The goal to identify and map all community gardens has been a moving target. Each year, new projects emerge that need to be added to the map. This has led to the proposed next project to focus on publicly accessible and interactive mapping of sites and networks. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been distributed to academic, professional, and popular audiences through presentations, articles, and website. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: The proejct allowed documentation of the historic trends in community gardening in New Jersey. Through interviews with Extension Agents, muncipal planning staff, community activists, and others, I was able to collect signficant information on current activities throughout the state. This work was collected and provided on maps. It was also documented through case studies. Goal 2: To understand motivations and reasons people become involved in community gardening, I sought to document existing programs. Interviews provided qualitative and quantitative information about participants, garden sites, and context. Additional GIS mapping provided information on land use, demographics, etc. This material was developed into case studies. It was also developed as a presentation that was given to state conferences (NJNOFA, NJ Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, master gardener conferences, Community Gardeing conference atFrelinghuysen Arboretum, Rutgers) and national conferences (Amercan Community Gardening Association, Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, etc.). Goal 3: To share ideas, this project developed into scholarly work, presentations at popular and academic conferences, and, most importantly, a website that enabled access to case studies, photographs, maps, and other materials.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: "Gardener, Gardening, Garden: Considerations of Participation and Program in the Sustained Community Garden." Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, April 9, 2014.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: "Community Gardens." University of Oregon Department of Landscape Architecture Winter Lecture Series, Eugene, OR, January 19, 2014.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: "The Community Garden and the Landscape Architect." New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects Annual Meeting and Expo, Atlantic City, NJ, January 29-31, 2012.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: "Growing Community Gardens." Department of Landscape Architecture Lecture Series, University of Massachusetts, October 27, 2011.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: "Urban Gardening." Bountiful Yards: Innovation for Small-Plot Food Production, CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities, Hunter College, NY, May 17, 2011.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: "Community Gardens." 2011 Community Garden Conference, Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morris County Park Commission, March 3, 2011.


Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Target audience included: 1. New Jersey community garden organizers and gardeners 2. New Brunswick Community Garden Coalition 3. National community gardening community, as represented by the American Community Gardening Association. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The PI and RA have presented work to academic and general audiences, published book chapters and articles, and updated website. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: The PI and research associate continued to document community gardening efforts in New Jersey. With most of the historical material collected previously, work during this period focused on developing deeper connections with key organizations. The team began working more closely with Isles, a community gardening organization in Trenton, NJ, and also with Ag in the City, a fledgling non-profit organization seeking to support urban agriculture throughout the state.The PI and RA worked with Ag in the City to strategize an on-line mapping system; however the volunteer-runnon-profit did not have the capacityto complete the process. The PI and RA worked with Isles on a proposal to study vacant land and survey community gardeners about interest in food production. Goal 2: The work with Isles provided another venue to explore the reasons people become engaged with community gardening. The PI and research associate held a series of focus groups with educators and residents of Trenton to discuss vacant land and interest in developing community gardens. They also conducted a questionnaire that included representation from multiple community garden sites in Trenton. The objective of the survey was to get a better sense of why uses Isles' community gardens and why. Goal 3: The PI and RA began working with Ag in the City to strategize a web-based mapping program to document urban agriculture efforts in the state. the intention was to develop this map so that it was a public resource to convey the diversity and breadth of urban agriculture projects in the state. Initially, the intention was to post this material on the Ag in the City website, however the organization could not support it. This work will continue as a future project of the PI. ThePI and RA have shared information on this research to academic and public audiences. The PI presented about New Jersey community gardenings at the 2014 American Community Gardening Association. PI and RA are completing and/or revising manuscripts for scholary articles and chpaters on the work. The PI supports a website, "Gardening the Garden State," (www.http://communitygarden.rutgers.edu/), as an outlet for sharing information on this project.

Publications

  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Lawson, Laura, Luke Drake, and Nurgul Fitzgerald. "Foregrounding Community-building in Community Food Security: A Case Study of the New Brunswick Community Farmers Market and Esperanza Garden." City of Farmers. Edited by Julie Dawson and Alfronso Morales. University of Iowa Press. In contract, July 2014.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Drake, Luke and Laura Lawson. "Results of a U.S. and Canada Community Garden Survey: Shared Challenges in Garden Management Amid Diverse Geographical and Organizational Contexts." Agriculture and Human Values.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: "Layers of Purpose / Layers of Support: Results from the 2012 National Community Gardening Survey." Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Baltimore, MD, March 26-29, 2014
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: "From Urban to Suburban and Everything In-between: Lessons Learned from the Diversity of Community Gardens in the Garden State." American Community Gardening Association Conference, Chicago, IL, August 7-10, 2014.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: "Community and School Gardens." New Jersey Master Gardener Conference, Milltown, NJ, July 9, 2014.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: "Community Gardening Panel." Northeast Organic Farmers Association Winter Conference, January 26,2014.


Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences included: 1. New Jersey community garden organizers and gardeners. 2. New Brunswick Community Garden Coalition. 3. National community gardening community, as represented by American Community Gardening Association. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? 1. New Jersey community garden organizers. PI and RA presented information collected to date at several state-wide events. 2. New Brunswick Community Garden Coalition. Draft report, Building Gardens and Community Capacity with Community Gardening Movement in New Brunswick. 3. National community gardening community, as represented by American Community Gardening Association. Lawson, Laura and Luke Drake. "Community Gardening Organization Survey 2011-12." Community Greening Review 18 (2013). PI and RA have presented workat ACGAannual meeting as well as academic events. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Anticipated work in 2014: Goal 1 Objective A: PI will continue to collect historic information from state archives, gardening organizations, etc. Objective C: To gather information on urban agriculture, PI and research associate are working withnew non-profit, Ag in the City, to develop on-line data collection of urban agricultural projects underway in NJ.Intention is to developaninteractive mapof NJ urban agriculture in 2014. Goal 2: To gather more individualized stories of gardeners, PI and Research Associate have developed a partnership with non-profit organization Isles, to work on a survey and interview protocol for gardeners in Trenton, NJ. This may then inform similiar investigations in other communities.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishments associated with Goal 1:Document the extent and practices of community gardens and urban agricultural efforts in New Jersey. Objective A: Historical documents collected Objective B: Survey has begun with qualitative study of activities around state.PI and RA have conducted interviews with community garden organizers in multiple NJ communities, including: Atlantic City, Belmar, Camden, Delanco, East Brunswick, Elizabeth, Hillsborough, Hoboken, Hopatcong, Jersey City, Lawrenceville, Linden, Maplewood, Moorestown, Morristown, Newark, New Brunswick, Pleasantville, Trenton, and West Milford.Site documentation as appropriate. Site and contextual analysis of 13 community gardens throughout state, completed in 2012. Objective C: See anticipated effort for 2014 below. Objective D: Site and contextual analysis of 13 gardens completed, 2012, and documented in report, Exploring the Diversity of New Jersey's Community Gardensavailable on website communitygarden.rutgers.edu. Accomplishments associated withGoal 2:Articulate the reasons that people become engaged in community gardening and urban agriculture in New Jersey. Objective A:The 13 site/context studies (Exploring the Diversity of New Jersey's Community Gardens)and interviews with community garden organizers has led to development of best management practices powerpoint - Best Management Practice for Community Gardens: Examples from Urban, Suburban, and Rural New Jersey- also available on project website andpresented at NJ Community Garden Conference and American Community Gardening Association Annual Meeting. Objective B:Civic engagement project to work with gardeners at twoNew Brunswick community gardens has alsoprovided opportunity to talk with gardeners to understand motivations and practices.This work has been documented in a draft report, "Building Gardens and Capacity with the Community Garden Movement in New Brunswick," and is the content to abook chapter under review: Lawson and Drake, "Foregrounding Community-building in Community Food Security: A Case Study of the New Brunswick Community Farmers' Market and Esperanza Garden," City of Farmers (Alfonso Morales and Julie Dawson, eds. University of Iowa Press, anticipated 2014-15). Research Associate is active member of New Brunswick Community Garden Coalition and serves as defacto Rutgers Liaison. Objective C: Accomplishments on this objective anticipated in 2014. Accomplishments associated with Goal 3:Share ideas and information on community gardens and urban agriculture in New Jersey. Objective A: PI and RA have devlopedwebsite www.communitygarden.rutgers.edu - to serve as forum for research and resources. Objective B: PI and RA have presented in multiple venues in New Jersey and in other states Objective C: See publications list Objective D: ACGA community garden survey reaches all members of the American Community Gardening Association.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lawson, Laura and Luke Drake. Best Management Practice for Community Gardens: Examples from Urban, Suburban, and Rural New Jersey. Presentation to American Community Gardening Association Annual Meeting, 2013.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lawson, Laura and Luke Drake. "Community Gardening Organization Survey 2011-12." Community Greening Review (Journal of the American Community Gardening Association), 18.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lawson, Laura. "It's Not Just About Food: The Multiple Roles of Urban Community Gardens." Growing in Place Symposium, Natural Learning Initiative, College of Design, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, February 1, 2013. Invited speaker.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lawson, Laura. "Gardens that 'Do': A Historical and Contemporary Study of Community Gardens," U.S. Botanic Garden,Washington D.C., March 8, 2013. Invited presentation
  • Type: Websites Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Gardening the Garden State website hosting research and resources about community gardening in New Jersey: http://communitygarden.rutgers.edu/index.html
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lawson, Laura, Luke Drake, Arianna de Vries, Chantae Moore, Maria Torres, and Frances Turner. Exploring the Diversity of New Jersey's Community Gardens. Report available on communitygarden.rutgers.edu website.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lawson, Laura, Luke Drake, Kristine Kopia, Deanna Lu, Chantae Moore, Hanife Vardi Topal. Building Gardens and Capacity with the Community Garden Movement in New Brunswick. Report to New Brunswick Community Garden Coalition and to Rutgers Office of Community Affairs.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Lawson, Laura and Luke Drake. Best Management Practice for Community Gardens: Examples from Urban, Suburban, and Rural New Jersey. Presentation to New Jersey Community Garden Conference, 2013.


Progress 10/01/11 to 09/30/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: 1.Initial survey to USDA Agricultural Extension Agents to collect information on community gardening in New Jersey. 2.Collection of historical documents on community gardening in New Jersey 3.Initial site inventories and contextual analyses of 13 community gardens in New Jersey - West Milford Organic Community Garden - Early Street Community Garden - Morristown - Riverview Park Community Garden - Jersey City - 3rd Street Community Garden - Hoboken - Duke Farms Community Garden - Hillsborough - Garden of Hope - New Brunswick, - Lawrenceville Township Community Garden - Chestnut Ave. Community Garden - Trenton - Chambers/Locust St. Community Garden - Trenton - Westminster Presbyterian Church Community Garden - Trenton - E Street Community Garden - Belmar - Pennington Park Community Garden - Delanco - Burlington County Community Agricultural CenterMoorestown, 4.Interviews of garden coordinators, extension agents, or garden members, alphabetized by location (names not provided per Institutional Review Board requirements): - Atlantic City - coordinators (2), extension agent, and garden member - East Brunswick - 3 coordinators, 1 member - Elizabeth - coordinator - Morristown - coordinator - New Brunswick - member - Piscataway - member - Pleasantville - coordinator - Union County - extension agent 5.Guided site visits and participant-observation at gardens in Atlantic City, Camden, East Brunswick, Elizabeth, Galloway, Linden, Morristown, Mountainside, New Brunswick, Piscataway, Pleasantville, Roselle Dissemination/ Outreach Activities Participation In roundtable discussions at the following: 1. Camden Community Garden Tour with New Jersey Conservation Foundation, September 2012 2. New Brunswick Community Food Alliance Food Forum, December 2012 3. New Brunswick Community Garden Coalition, monthly meetings Sept. 2012 - present 4. Assistance with planning for 3rd Annual New Brunswick Seed Swap, November 2012-January 2013 5. Development of "Gardening the Garden State" website research results to public and community partners, launched December 2012 6. Preparation of report for American Community Garden Association on results of national survey of community garden organizations, in process 7. Development of booklet highlighting some of the types of community gardens across New Jersey, in process. PARTICIPANTS: Luke Drake hired as research associate, assisting in site visits, interviews, and data collection. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Change in knowledge, specifically in the capacity of collaborative relationships with university researchers and sharing information among discrete gardening organizations.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period