Sowing seeds for learning: A case study of a school garden in Pocahontas, Iowa

Thumbnail Image
Date
2011-01-01
Authors
Dirks, Katie
Major Professor
Advisor
Francis Owusu
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Altmetrics
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Organizational Unit
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Community and Regional Planning
Abstract

This thesis is a study of a school garden in Pocahontas, Iowa, examining three research questions: How was the school garden set up? Why was it set up in that manner? And what are the benefits that stemmed from the garden? Because the school district was short on resources, the community played a significant role in the success of the garden, highlighting the role that planning literature on collaboration theory can play in such a process. I utilized participant observation, stakeholder interviews, and student surveys to collect data for analysis and conclusions. The findings emphasized the importance of open communication, the importance of a knowledge and understanding of relationships with a community and organizations, and factors that contribute to the sustainability of a garden program such as ease of curriculum integration and having one person in charge of the garden going into the future. This study also has implications for relationships between planning and school gardens; because school gardens often rely on multiple stakeholders for sustainability, planners schooled in collaboration are uniquely suited to organize and develop such programs.

Comments
Description
Keywords
Citation
Source
Copyright
Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2011