Research & Publications
School gardens have been shown to serve a plethora of purposes from combating childhood obesity to raising standardized test scores to increasing parental involvement in schools.
This section provides research-based evidence, principally peer-reviewed, of the benefits of school gardens as they relate to:
- Children's health
- Academic performance and engagement
- Positive youth development and community development
- Environmental stewardship
These studies demonstrate the multi-faceted potential of the school garden as an effective, relatively inexpensive tool to better Georgia elementary and middle schools and their students.
School Garden Benefits
These publications document research conducted on a wide range of school garden benefits.
- CDC Childhood Obesity Solutions
Publications on community food systems from the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis. - Evaluation of Community Gardens (PDF)
A report highlighting the benefits and challenges of community gardens, published by University of Wisconsin. - School-based gardens can teach kids healthier eating habits
Publication on the impact of school gardens on child eating habits, from the University of California.
Other Recommended Resources
Learning Gardens and Sustainability Education: Bringing Life to Schools and Schools to Life
By Dilafruz R. Williams and Jonathan D. Brown
(Book review by Christopher Murakami, University of Missouri Science Education Center. Publication available at UGA Libraries.)
UC Cooperative Extension Garden-Based Learning Workgroup, Research Committee, November 2007.
Overview of Current Research Supporting Garden-Based Learning (PDF)
NOTE: The references to publications are provided just as much for your perusal as they are to give credit to the authors, so please access the articles listed to learn even more about the benefits of school gardens, and the research being conducted to support the claims.