Garden-Based Learning Research Briefs

The second essay in our 30th Birthday Celebration Essay Series

Prefaced by Life Lab Education Director Whitney Cohen, the following pieces demonstrate the impact of garden-based learning on student's wellbeing:

The Impact of Garden-Based Learning on Student Health and Nutrition

The Impact of Garden-Based Learning on Academic Achievement

The Impact of Garden-Based Learning on Student Health and Nutrition
Introduction by Whitney Cohen - Education Director, Life Lab Science Program
Nutrition Brief (PDF download)

"Mom! Try this! Can we bring some of these home?!" Parents are often astounded as their children greet them after a day at Life Lab Summer Camp, asking for more fresh carrots, cherry tomatoes, or beets. After 30 years of gardening with children, however, we've become accustomed to it. As we've seen time and again, and as research is now documenting, children who plant, grow, harvest, and prepare fresh fruits and vegetables can't wait to eat them!

With childhood diabetes and obesity rates on a rapid rise, many parents, teachers, and concerned citizens feel a moral imperative to support children in developing healthy eating habits. In addition to the grave health implications of a poor diet, children who are hungry or poorly nourished do less well in school, both academically and behaviorally. As concern rises, policy makers and teachers in the classroom are searching for the most effective ways to improve the health and wellbeing of their students.

Schools provide us with a great place to start tackling this challenge. Eating habits and preferences are established early. The most effective way to increase children's intake of fruits and vegetables and encourage lifelong healthful eating habits is to teach them about healthy choices and nutrition concepts in the elementary years. Studies show that if established before 6th grade, positive habits are more likely to persist into adulthood.

Further studies show that garden-enhanced nutrition education is a profoundly engaging and effective way to establish healthy eating habits with youth. It is now well documented that, when children have a hand in growing food, their understanding of food and its relationship to their health increases. Recent studies have shown a combination of direct instruction and hands-on school gardening activities to be a very effective way to influence students’ attitudes about fruits and vegetables. These innovative educational methods have yielded positive results in increasing children's long-term knowledge of and preference for fruits and vegetables, and have ultimately resulted in increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by children. Mary Pat Horn, a teacher in Sausalito, California, noticed this in her school:

My students clearly have an increased knowledge of where their food comes from and how it is grown. They now have the ability to grow some of the food at their own homes. The garden-based nutrition program has greatly increased their knowledge and desire to eat healthy food and to be physically active every day.

The following is a compilation of research demonstrating the impact of garden-based learning on students' nutrition, health, and wellbeing. These articles were reviewed and catalogued by the University of California’s Garden-Based Learning Workgroup along with members of the California School Garden Network. These articles, along with information on assessment of garden-based learning programs, are available at www.csgn.org/research.php

It is critical to the long-term health and wellbeing of children that we find ways to increase their consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Fruit and vegetable consumption plays an important role in the prevention of cancer and heart disease, and decreases risk factors for many other chronic diseases. (Liu 2000; Domel 1993; Kirby 1995; Bazzano 2002)
There is currently an epidemic of overweight and obesity in the United States caused by poor dietary patterns, sedentary lifestyles, and other unhealthful behaviors. (CDC 2002; Lund 2004; NCHS 2004)
Research shows that eating patterns, and especially food choices relating to the consumption of fruits and vegetables, are developed at an early age. (Kirby 1995)
Proper adolescent nutrition can reduce the risk of overweight, obesity, and diet-related diseases later in life. Therefore, it is essential for the health and wellbeing of children that we find a way to encourage their consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. (McAleese and Rankin 2007)

Studies have shown that garden-enhanced nutrition education can significantly increase children’s consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Sixth-grade students involved in a garden-based nutrition education program increased their fruit and vegetable consumption by 2.5 servings per day, more than doubling their overall fruit and vegetable consumption. This study demonstrated the importance of combining nutrition education with hands-on gardening activities to influence nutrition-related behaviors. (McAleese and Rankin 2007)
Fourth-grade students who received garden-based nutrition education were more willing to try vegetables than students who received nutrition education without gardening activities. This changed behavior continued for at least six months after the nutrition education program. (Morris 2002)
Fourth-grade students who received garden-based nutrition education had improved knowledge of, preferences for, and attitudes toward fresh fruits and vegetables (Morris, Briggs and Zidenberg-Cherr 2002).

References
Bazzano LA, He J, Ogden LG, et al. 2002. "Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in US Adults: The First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . 2002, 76(1):93-99.

Domel, S.B., T. Baranowski, et al. 1995. "A Measure of Outcome Expectations for Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Fourth and Fifth Grade Children: reliability and Validity." Health Education Research Theory & Practice 10 (1), 65-72.

Kirby, S.D., Baranowski, T., Reynolds, K., Taylor, G. "Children's Fruit and Vegetable Intake: Regional, Adult-Child, Socioeconomic, and Urban-Rural Influences." Journal of Nutrition Education, Oct 1995.

Krebs-Smith, Susan M. and Linda S. Kantor. 2001. "Choose a Variety of Fruits and Vegetables Daily: Understanding the Complexities." The Journal of Nutrition. 2001 (131), 487S-501S.

Liu, Simin, et al. October 2000. "Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: the Women’s Health Study." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 72 (4), 922-928.

Lund, Laura E., Sharon Sugerman and Susan Foerster. "Prevalence of Obesity and Healthy Weight in California Counties, 2001." Department of Health Services, Health and Human Services Agency, State of California, 2004.

McAleese, Jessica D. and Linda L. Rankin. "Garden-Based Nutrition Education Affects Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Sixth-Grade Adolescents." Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 107, Issue 4, April 2007, pages 662-665

Morris, Jennifer et al. "Garden-Enhanced Nutrition Curriculum Improves Fourth-Grade school Children's Knowledge of Nutrition and Preferences for Some Vegetables." Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Research and Professional Briefs, 2002. www.adajournal.org

Morris, Jennifer & M. Briggs, S. Zidenberg-Cherr. "Development and Evaluation of a Garden-Enhanced Nutrition Education Curriculum for Elementary School Children." Journal of Child Nutrition & Management. Issue 2, Fall 2002.

Ogden, C.L. et al. 2006. "Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 1999-2004. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2006 (295) 1549-1555.

US Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. Overweight in Children and Adolescents. 2005. United States Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_adolescents.htm

The Impact of Garden-Based Learning on Academic Achievement
Introduction by Whitney Cohen - Education Director, Life Lab Science Program
Academics Brief (PDF download)

In today's educational climate, it is not uncommon to hear educators and administrators alike lament: “A school garden sounds great, but we don’t have time to garden. We need to use every available minute of class time to focus on meeting the standards.” Under intense pressure to meet state content standards and facilitate positive student performance on standardized tests, a simple truth is often overlooked: Garden-based learning is not separate from classroom curriculum and content standards. Gardens have proven, in fact, to be superb instructional tools for improving student learning and academic achievement in core content areas, as measured by standardized tests. In addition, garden-based educational programs positively impact student attitudes toward learning, resulting in increased attention and enthusiasm from students for the educational process. In the words of Delaine Easton, a former California State Superintendent of Public Instruction:

A garden in every school is … essential to make our standards come alive. We must not lose the creativity, problem solving, and sheer love of learning that comes from hands-on, experiential learning. Gardens should not compete with our standards; gardens should be an avenue to high standards.

The following is a compilation of research demonstrating the impact of garden-based learning on students' academic achievement and attitudes toward learning. These articles were reviewed and catalogued by the University of California’s Garden-Based Learning Workgroup along with members of the California School Garden Network. These articles, along with information on assessment of garden-based learning programs, are available at www.csgn.org/research.php

Research strongly suggests that garden-based education increases academic achievement and often results in higher test scores.

Science achievement of students who participated in a hands-on (i.e., experiential) gardening program was higher than that of students who only engaged in classroom curriculum. (Klemmer et al. 2005)
Participants in a school garden program in California experienced significant gains in overall GPA in math and science, and improvement on a standardized psychosocial questionnaire. (Murphy 2003)
Garden-based learning was associated with increased scores in science achievement tests in a controlled study. (Smith and Motsenbocke 2005)
A broad study of 40 schools from across the U.S. shows that environment-based education curriculum results in better performance on standardized achievement tests. (Lieberman & Hoody 1998)
Involvement with school nature areas has a direct relationship with improved academic performance. (Bell 2001)
Involvement with Junior Master Gardeners results in gains in academic knowledge in science, horticulture, and environment. (Dirks & Orvis 2005)

Research and anecdotal reports from teachers demonstrate the value of gardens in creating a positive learning environment.

School programs based on environmental education and hands-on learning resulted in reduced classroom management and discipline problems. (Lieberman & Hoody 1998)
Teachers stated that gardening programs led to more conducive learning environments. (Murphy 2003)
Environment-based education, of which school gardens were a part, increased attention and enthusiasm for learning. (Lieberman and Hoody 1998)
Curriculum based on hands-on, problem solving environmental education leads to greater pride and ownership of accomplishments. (Lieberman & Hoody 1998).
Impact of outdoor education provides positive attitudes towards science. (Waliczek et al. 2003).

Gardens aren’t only valued by students, but by teachers as well. Research shows that teachers who are trained in the use of garden-based learning strategies think that gardens help student learning.

84.3% of teachers exposed to school gardens think gardens help students learn more effectively. (Skelly and Bradley 2000)
73% of teachers surveyed think experiential learning in gardens is effective. (Skelly and Bradley 2000)

References
Bell, A. 2001. The Pedagogical Potential of School Grounds. GreeningSchool Grounds: Creating Habitats for Learning. T. Grant and G. Littlejohn, eds. New Society Publishers. 9-11.

Dirks, Amy E. and Kathryn Orvis. 2005. "An Evaluation of the Junior Master Gardener Program in Third Grade Classrooms." HortTechnology, 15 (3) 443-447. http://horttech.ashspublications.org

Klemmer, C.D., T.M. Waliczek, and J.M. Zajicek. 2005. Growing Minds: The Effect of a School Gardening Program on the Science Achievement of Elementary Students." HortTechnology, 15 (3) 448-452. http://horttech.ashspublications.org

Lieberman, G.A. and L. Hoody. "Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning." Sacramento, CA: CA State Education and Environment Roundtable, 1998. www.seer.org/pages/research

Murphy, Michael and Erin Schweers. "Evaluation of a Food Systems-Based Approach to Fostering Ecological Literacy." Final Report to Center for Ecoliteracy, 2003. www.ecoliteracy.org

Skelly, Sonja M. & Jennifer C. Bradley. "The Importance of School Gardens as Perceived by Florida Elementary School Teachers." HortTechnology 10(1) 229-231, Jan-March 2000.

Smith, Leanna L. and Carl Motsenbocke. 2005. Impact of hands-on science through school gardening in Louisiana Public Elementary Schools. HortTechnology, 15 (3) 439-443. http://horttech.ashspublications.org

Thorp, Laurie. 2001. Agricultural Education in an Elementary School: An ethnographic study of a school garden. Presented at 28th Annual National Agricultural Education Research Conference, Dec 12, 2001.

Waliczek T.M. et al. 2003. Exploring impact of outdoor environmental activities on children using a qualitative text data analysis system HortTechnology 13(4): 684-68


	Garden-Based Learning Research Briefs The second essay in our 30th Birthday Celebration Essay Series Prefaced by Life Lab Education Director Whitney Cohen, the following pieces demonstrate the impact of garden-based learning on student's wellbeing: The Impact of Garden-Based Learning on Student Health and Nutrition The Impact of Garden-Based Learning on Academic Achievement The Impact of Garden-Based Learning on Student Health and Nutrition Introduction by Whitney Cohen - Education Director, Life Lab Science Program Nutrition Brief (PDF download) "Mom! Try this! Can we bring some of these home?!" Parents are often astounded as their children greet them after a day at Life Lab Summer Camp, asking for more fresh carrots, cherry tomatoes, or beets. After 30 years of gardening with children, however, we've become accustomed to it. As we've seen time and again, and as research is now documenting, children who plant, grow, harvest, and prepare fresh fruits and vegetables can't wait to eat them! With childhood diabetes and obesity rates on a rapid rise, many parents, teachers, and concerned citizens feel a moral imperative to support children in developing healthy eating habits. In addition to the grave health implications of a poor diet, children who are hungry or poorly nourished do less well in school, both academically and behaviorally. As concern rises, policy makers and teachers in the classroom are searching for the most effective ways to improve the health and wellbeing of their students. Schools provide us with a great place to start tackling this challenge. Eating habits and preferences are established early. The most effective way to increase children's intake of fruits and vegetables and encourage lifelong healthful eating habits is to teach them about healthy choices and nutrition concepts in the elementary years. Studies show that if established before 6th grade, positive habits are more likely to persist into adulthood. Further studies show that garden-enhanced nutrition education is a profoundly engaging and effective way to establish healthy eating habits with youth. It is now well documented that, when children have a hand in growing food, their understanding of food and its relationship to their health increases. Recent studies have shown a combination of direct instruction and hands-on school gardening activities to be a very effective way to influence students’ attitudes about fruits and vegetables. These innovative educational methods have yielded positive results in increasing children's long-term knowledge of and preference for fruits and vegetables, and have ultimately resulted in increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by children. Mary Pat Horn, a teacher in Sausalito, California, noticed this in her school: My students clearly have an increased knowledge of where their food comes from and how it is grown. They now have the ability to grow some of the food at their own homes. The garden-based nutrition program has greatly increased their knowledge and desire to eat healthy food and to be physically active every day. The following is a compilation of research demonstrating the impact of garden-based learning on students' nutrition, health, and wellbeing. These articles were reviewed and catalogued by the University of California’s Garden-Based Learning Workgroup along with members of the California School Garden Network. These articles, along with information on assessment of garden-based learning programs, are available at www.csgn.org/research.php It is critical to the long-term health and wellbeing of children that we find ways to increase their consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruit and vegetable consumption plays an important role in the prevention of cancer and heart disease, and decreases risk factors for many other chronic diseases. (Liu 2000; Domel 1993; Kirby 1995; Bazzano 2002) There is currently an epidemic of overweight and obesity in the United States caused by poor dietary patterns, sedentary lifestyles, and other unhealthful behaviors. (CDC 2002; Lund 2004; NCHS 2004) Research shows that eating patterns, and especially food choices relating to the consumption of fruits and vegetables, are developed at an early age. (Kirby 1995) Proper adolescent nutrition can reduce the risk of overweight, obesity, and diet-related diseases later in life. Therefore, it is essential for the health and wellbeing of children that we find a way to encourage their consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. (McAleese and Rankin 2007) Studies have shown that garden-enhanced nutrition education can significantly increase children’s consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Sixth-grade students involved in a garden-based nutrition education program increased their fruit and vegetable consumption by 2.5 servings per day, more than doubling their overall fruit and vegetable consumption. This study demonstrated the importance of combining nutrition education with hands-on gardening activities to influence nutrition-related behaviors. (McAleese and Rankin 2007) Fourth-grade students who received garden-based nutrition education were more willing to try vegetables than students who received nutrition education without gardening activities. This changed behavior continued for at least six months after the nutrition education program. (Morris 2002) Fourth-grade students who received garden-based nutrition education had improved knowledge of, preferences for, and attitudes toward fresh fruits and vegetables (Morris, Briggs and Zidenberg-Cherr 2002). References Bazzano LA, He J, Ogden LG, et al. 2002. "Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in US Adults: The First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . 2002, 76(1):93-99. Domel, S.B., T. Baranowski, et al. 1995. "A Measure of Outcome Expectations for Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Fourth and Fifth Grade Children: reliability and Validity." Health Education Research Theory & Practice 10 (1), 65-72. Kirby, S.D., Baranowski, T., Reynolds, K., Taylor, G. "Children's Fruit and Vegetable Intake: Regional, Adult-Child, Socioeconomic, and Urban-Rural Influences." Journal of Nutrition Education, Oct 1995. Krebs-Smith, Susan M. and Linda S. Kantor. 2001. "Choose a Variety of Fruits and Vegetables Daily: Understanding the Complexities." The Journal of Nutrition. 2001 (131), 487S-501S. Liu, Simin, et al. October 2000. "Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: the Women’s Health Study." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 72 (4), 922-928. Lund, Laura E., Sharon Sugerman and Susan Foerster. "Prevalence of Obesity and Healthy Weight in California Counties, 2001." Department of Health Services, Health and Human Services Agency, State of California, 2004. McAleese, Jessica D. and Linda L. Rankin. "Garden-Based Nutrition Education Affects Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Sixth-Grade Adolescents." Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 107, Issue 4, April 2007, pages 662-665 Morris, Jennifer et al. "Garden-Enhanced Nutrition Curriculum Improves Fourth-Grade school Children's Knowledge of Nutrition and Preferences for Some Vegetables." Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Research and Professional Briefs, 2002. www.adajournal.org Morris, Jennifer & M. Briggs, S. Zidenberg-Cherr. "Development and Evaluation of a Garden-Enhanced Nutrition Education Curriculum for Elementary School Children." Journal of Child Nutrition & Management. Issue 2, Fall 2002. Ogden, C.L. et al. 2006. "Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 1999-2004. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2006 (295) 1549-1555. US Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. Overweight in Children and Adolescents. 2005. United States Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_adolescents.htm The Impact of Garden-Based Learning on Academic Achievement Introduction by Whitney Cohen - Education Director, Life Lab Science Program Academics Brief (PDF download) In today's educational climate, it is not uncommon to hear educators and administrators alike lament: “A school garden sounds great, but we don’t have time to garden. We need to use every available minute of class time to focus on meeting the standards.” Under intense pressure to meet state content standards and facilitate positive student performance on standardized tests, a simple truth is often overlooked: Garden-based learning is not separate from classroom curriculum and content standards. Gardens have proven, in fact, to be superb instructional tools for improving student learning and academic achievement in core content areas, as measured by standardized tests. In addition, garden-based educational programs positively impact student attitudes toward learning, resulting in increased attention and enthusiasm from students for the educational process. In the words of Delaine Easton, a former California State Superintendent of Public Instruction: A garden in every school is … essential to make our standards come alive. We must not lose the creativity, problem solving, and sheer love of learning that comes from hands-on, experiential learning. Gardens should not compete with our standards; gardens should be an avenue to high standards. The following is a compilation of research demonstrating the impact of garden-based learning on students' academic achievement and attitudes toward learning. These articles were reviewed and catalogued by the University of California’s Garden-Based Learning Workgroup along with members of the California School Garden Network. These articles, along with information on assessment of garden-based learning programs, are available at www.csgn.org/research.php Research strongly suggests that garden-based education increases academic achievement and often results in higher test scores. Science achievement of students who participated in a hands-on (i.e., experiential) gardening program was higher than that of students who only engaged in classroom curriculum. (Klemmer et al. 2005) Participants in a school garden program in California experienced significant gains in overall GPA in math and science, and improvement on a standardized psychosocial questionnaire. (Murphy 2003) Garden-based learning was associated with increased scores in science achievement tests in a controlled study. (Smith and Motsenbocke 2005) A broad study of 40 schools from across the U.S. shows that environment-based education curriculum results in better performance on standardized achievement tests. (Lieberman & Hoody 1998) Involvement with school nature areas has a direct relationship with improved academic performance. (Bell 2001) Involvement with Junior Master Gardeners results in gains in academic knowledge in science, horticulture, and environment. (Dirks & Orvis 2005) Research and anecdotal reports from teachers demonstrate the value of gardens in creating a positive learning environment. School programs based on environmental education and hands-on learning resulted in reduced classroom management and discipline problems. (Lieberman & Hoody 1998) Teachers stated that gardening programs led to more conducive learning environments. (Murphy 2003) Environment-based education, of which school gardens were a part, increased attention and enthusiasm for learning. (Lieberman and Hoody 1998) Curriculum based on hands-on, problem solving environmental education leads to greater pride and ownership of accomplishments. (Lieberman & Hoody 1998). Impact of outdoor education provides positive attitudes towards science. (Waliczek et al. 2003). Gardens aren’t only valued by students, but by teachers as well. Research shows that teachers who are trained in the use of garden-based learning strategies think that gardens help student learning. 84.3% of teachers exposed to school gardens think gardens help students learn more effectively. (Skelly and Bradley 2000) 73% of teachers surveyed think experiential learning in gardens is effective. (Skelly and Bradley 2000) References Bell, A. 2001. The Pedagogical Potential of School Grounds. GreeningSchool Grounds: Creating Habitats for Learning. T. Grant and G. Littlejohn, eds. New Society Publishers. 9-11. Dirks, Amy E. and Kathryn Orvis. 2005. "An Evaluation of the Junior Master Gardener Program in Third Grade Classrooms." HortTechnology, 15 (3) 443-447. http://horttech.ashspublications.org Klemmer, C.D., T.M. Waliczek, and J.M. Zajicek. 2005. Growing Minds: The Effect of a School Gardening Program on the Science Achievement of Elementary Students." HortTechnology, 15 (3) 448-452. http://horttech.ashspublications.org Lieberman, G.A. and L. Hoody. "Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning." Sacramento, CA: CA State Education and Environment Roundtable, 1998. www.seer.org/pages/research Murphy, Michael and Erin Schweers. "Evaluation of a Food Systems-Based Approach to Fostering Ecological Literacy." Final Report to Center for Ecoliteracy, 2003. www.ecoliteracy.org Skelly, Sonja M. & Jennifer C. Bradley. "The Importance of School Gardens as Perceived by Florida Elementary School Teachers." HortTechnology 10(1) 229-231, Jan-March 2000. Smith, Leanna L. and Carl Motsenbocke. 2005. Impact of hands-on science through school gardening in Louisiana Public Elementary Schools. *HortTechnology, 15 (3) 439-443. http://horttech.ashspublications.org Thorp, Laurie. 2001. Agricultural Education in an Elementary School: An ethnographic study of a school garden. Presented at 28th Annual National Agricultural Education Research Conference, Dec 12, 2001. Waliczek T.M. et al. 2003. Exploring impact of outdoor environmental activities on children using a qualitative text data analysis system HortTechnology* 13(4): 684-68 © Life Lab Science Program