Urban organic community gardening to promote environmental sustainability practices and increase fruit, vegetables and organic food consumption

(1)

Original

article

Urban

organic

community

gardening

to

promote

environmental

sustainability

practices

and

increase

fruit,

vegetables

and

organic

food

consumption

Paulo

Nova

a,∗

_,

_Elisabete

_Pinto

a,b

_,

_Benedita

_Chaves

c

_,

_Margarida

_Silva

a

a_Universidade_Católica_Portuguesa,_Centro_de_{Biotecnologia}_e_Química_Fina_e_Laboratório_Associado,_Escola_Superior_de_{Biotecnologia,}_Porto,_Portugal b_Instituto_de_Saúde_Pública_da_Universidade_do_Porto,_Porto,_Portugal

c_LIPOR_{Intermunicipal}_Waste_Management_of_Greater_Porto,_Porto,_Portugal

a

r

t

i

c

l

e

i

n

f

o

Articlehistory: Received5June2018 Accepted20September2018 Availableonline22November2018 Keywords:

Environment

Preventivemedicine&publichealth Communityhealth

Organicagriculture Organicfood Environmentalhealth

a

b

s

t

r

a

c

t

Objective:Todescribetheenvironmentalpracticesofparticipantsinanurbanorganiccommunitygarden atthebeginningoftheirgardeningexperienceandafteraperiodofsixmonths,andtodiscovertheir opinionabouthowthisactivityinﬂuencedtheconsumptionofvegetables,fruitsandorganicfood. Method:Interviewsusingstructuredquestionnaireswereconductedtwicewith115citydwellers:when theystartedinthevegetablegardenandabout6monthslater.Thequestionnaireincludedquestions relatedtoenvironmentalpractices.Thesecondevaluationalsoincludedquestionsrelatedtothe con-sumptionoforganicfood,vegetablesandfruit.

Results: Thisresearchshowedsigniﬁcantbehaviouraltransformation,includingpositiveoutcomesin environmentalpracticessuchasrecyclingandtryingtopersuadefriendsorfamilytorecycle,compost leftoversorchoosetowalk/biketosavepetrol.Intheopinionoftheparticipants,activitiesintheorganic communitygardenhelpedtoincreaseconsumptionoffruits,vegetablesandorganicfood.

Conclusion:Thestudyresultsreinforcethehypothesisthatanorganiccommunityvegetablegardencan inducesigniﬁcant,positivebehaviouralchangesamongitsusers.Inparticularthisresearchsuggests horticultureisassociatedwithpositiveimprovementsinpersonalenvironmentalbehaviours,awareness oftheenvironment’shighsocialpriorityandincreasedconsumptionoforganicfood,fruitandvegetables. ©2018SESPAS.PublishedbyElsevierEspa ˜na,S.L.U.ThisisanopenaccessarticleundertheCC BY-NC-NDlicense(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Prácticas

agrícolas

ecológicas

urbanas

para

promover

la

sostenibilidad

ambiental

y

aumentar

el

consumo

de

frutas,

verduras

y

alimentos

orgánicos

Palabrasclave: Medioambiente

Medicinapreventivaysaludpública Saludcomunitaria

Agriculturaorgánica Alimentosorgánicos Saludambiental

r

e

s

u

m

e

n

Objetivo:Caracterizarlasprácticasambientalesdelosparticipantesdeunjardíncomunitarioorgánico urbanoaliniciodesuexperienciaenprácticasagrícolasydespuésde6meses,asícomoconocersu opiniónsobrecómoestaactividadinﬂuyóenelconsumodeverduras,frutasyalimentosorgánicos. Método:Lasentrevistasconcuestionariosestructuradosserealizarondosvecesa115habitantesdela ciudad:cuandocomenzaronenlahuertayunos6mesesdespués.Elcuestionarioincluyópreguntas relacionadasconlasprácticasambientales.Lasegundaevaluaciónincluyótambiénpreguntassobreel consumodealimentosorgánicos,verdurasyfrutas.

Resultados: Seobservóunatransformaciónconductualsigniﬁcativa,incluidosresultadospositivosen prácticasambientalescomoelreciclajeeintentarqueamigosofamiliaresreciclen,lacompostadesobras oelegircaminaroirenbicicletaparaahorrargasolina.Enopinióndelosparticipantes,lasprácticas agrícolasdelacomunidadorgánicacontribuyeronaaumentarelconsumodefrutas,verdurasyalimentos orgánicos.

Conclusión: Losresultadosdelestudiorefuerzanlahipótesisdequeunhuertocomunitarioorgánico puedeinducircambiosconductualessigniﬁcativosentresususuarios.Enparticular,estainvestigación sugierequelahorticulturaseasociaconmejoraspositivasenloscomportamientosambientalesyla concienciadelaaltaprioridadsocialdelmedioambienteyunmayorconsumodealimentosorgánicos, frutasyverduras.

∗ Correspondingauthor.

E-mailaddress:paulonova3@hotmail.com(P.Nova).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2018.09.001

(2)

Introduction

The way in which most cities have grown, characterized by heavy air and water pollution, lack of green spaces, large energy consumption,unsustainable wasteproduction, long dis-tanceindustrializedfoodchainsandanoveralldisproportionate footprinthasledtoanumberofpublichealthissues.1_As_such, mea-suresensuringimprovedurbanenvironmentalmanagementhave becomeimperative.2

The importanceof appropriate urban green spaces was for-mally recognized for the ﬁrst time at European level in 1990, whentheEuropeanCommissionpublishedtheGreenPaperonthe UrbanEnvironment.3_In_this_report_the_main_{environmental} prob-lemsarepointedoutandstrategiesoutlinedfortheachievementof urbansustainability.Sincethenseveralagreementsanddocuments (such as the United Nations’ Agenda 21, the Aalborg Commit-mentsandtheLeipzigCharter) haveadvanced socialreﬂection, particularlywithregardtourbansustainability–wherethe plan-ningofattractiveandmultifunctionalpublicspacestakescenter stage.4,5

Nevertheless, despitesome progress, themuch sought after urbansustainabilityisfarfromguaranteed.6_Urban_agriculture_is oneofthepiecesinthatpuzzlethatmustnotbeunderestimated, beingasourceofnearbyhealthyanddiversifiedfood.7_In_addition,_it doublesasagreenzone,contributingtothebroaderenvironmental andsocialbalance.Greenspaceshelpregulategreenhousegases, promotenoisereduction,balancerainwaterdrainage(preventing floods),lessentheorganicwastegoingtolandfills,preservesoil andbiodiversity,regulatethelocaltemperatureandevenimpart culturalandgreenvalues.8

On another level, local agriculture brings additional food security to urban deserts where poverty, economic crisis or social instability lead to hunger or at least little access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Self-production can make the dif-ferencebetweenlifeanddeath.Organic urbangardens canalso increasetheavailabilityof freshandnaturalfood.Thisincrease couldbebeneﬁcial topublichealth since itnaturally favorsits consumption.9,10

Thistypeofagriculturealsohasapedagogicalroleinenabling theurbanpopulationtomakecontactwiththebasisofitssurvival inﬂuencingitspractitionerstoagreaterimportanceofpreserving theenvironmentlikecarryingoutpracticesmoreenvironmental friendly.11

Inshort,urbangardeningenhancesboththehumanandthe ecologicaldimensionsofcitiesacrosstheworld.7_Recent_projects across Europe are aiming at improving urban spaces by strik-inga balancebetweenurbanneedsand sustainability, building bridges from food deserts to biodiversity through the green economy.12,13

Further,urbanhorticultureisarecentphenomenonin Portu-galanditsimpactindifferentdimensionswasnotyetstudied.In fact,thisistheﬁrststudythataimstoevaluatetheimpactoforganic urbangardensinenvironmentalpracticesandconsumptionof veg-etables,fruitandorganicfoodinthecountry.Researchelsewhere showspromisingresultsregardingtheinﬂuenceofurbangardens onseveralissuesrelatedwithhealth,qualityoflife,educationand environmentalsustainability.14–20 _Promising _results_in _Portugal wouldcontributetothereinforcementoftherolethesestructures playinpublichealthdecisionsandtotheirexpansionalongthe urbanterritory.

Theobjectivesofthisstudyweretocharacterizethe environ-mentalpracticesofparticipantsofanurbanorganiccommunity gardenatthebeginningoftheirgardeningexperience,aswellas toevaluatetheimpactsofthegardeningactivityonthose dimen-sionsandonopinionstowardsorganicfoodandfruitandvegetables consumptionafterasix-monthinvolvement.

Methods

Studydesign

Thisresearchwasconductedinanurbanorganiccommunity gardenestablishedrightbeforethebeginningof thestudy.The areaispartof a mentalhospital’slargergroundsand sits right inthemiddleofPorto,Portugal’ssecondlargestcity.Thisproject wasmadepossibleby aprivateinstitutionthataimstoexpand urbangardensacrossthecountry.Onlyasmallannualfeeisasked. Theinstitutionprovidedfullaccesstotheurbangardenfacilities and made easierthecontact withtheparticipants. Thecriteria forplotattributionwere:beingahospitalworkeroraresidentin thesurroundingneighborhoods.Alltheparticipantsreceivedbasic trainingonplantingandcompostingandacomposterwasmade availableforeachplot.

TheﬁrstevaluationtookplacebetweenJulyandOctober2015, atthemomentpeoplewerestartingtheirhorticulturalactivity. Follow-upoccurredbetweenMayandAugust2016.Theinterval betweenevaluationsrangedbetweensixandtwelvemonths,with twothirdsofrespondentsre-evaluatedeighttotenmonthsafter theinitialcontact.

TheEthicsLabofCatólicaPortoInstituteofBioethics Commit-teeandtheInstitutionalreviewboardapprovedthisstudy(ERS number:10/2015).

Participants

Allplotswerevisitedandtheiruserswereinvitedtoparticipate inthestudy.Contactswereattemptedonatleastthreedifferent daysandonatleastthreedifferenttimesoftheday(morning, after-noonandevening).Ifgardenerswerenotavailableduringthese attemptstheywerecontactedbyphone,againatthreedifferent timesofdayandonthreedifferentdays(contactsweresupplied bytheinstitutioninchargeofgardenmanagement,whoisa part-nerinthisstudy).Thosethatstillwerenotreachedafterallthese attemptswereexcluded.Ofthosecontacted,onepersondeclined tobeenrolledinthestudy.Ofthe116usersoftheurbanorganic communitygardenatotalof115peopleoptedin.

Oftheinitial115participants,102(88.7%)werefollowed-up. The13participantswhodroppedout(ﬁvegaveuphorticultureand eightremainedunavailable)werecomparedwiththeremaining regardingtheirsociodemographiccharacteristics(age,sex, educa-tionallevelandprofessionalstatus),experienceinhorticultureand motivationtostartthegardencareproject.Nostatistically signiﬁ-cantdifferenceswerefoundbetweenthetwogroupsforanyofthe variablesconsidered.

Datacollection

Datawascollectedusingsemi-structuredquestionnaires.These werealwaysappliedbythesameresearcherandduring face-to-faceorphonecallinterviews.Theinitialquestionnaireincluded socio-demographicparametersandimprovedenvironmental sus-tainabilitypractices(inspiredbythePortugueseversionofNew EcologicalParadigmScale,withanaddedfocusonurbanliving). Evaluationwas carriedout by presentinghorticulturists witha listofenvironment relatedactivitiesandaskinghowoftenthey hadengagedinsuchpracticesintheprevious12months. Profes-sionalactivitydatawereaggregatedbasedonthePortugueseJob ClassiﬁcationbytheNationalStatisticsInstitute.21_The question-naireappliedatthesecondevaluationincludedalltheparameters previously described (withthe exceptionof personal data)and added a ﬁnal chapter on perceived gardening impacts. It also assessedparticipants’opinionsregardingsavingsinproduce pur-chases,increasedorganicfooduse,increasedfruitandvegetables

(3)

Table1

Environmentalsustainabilitypractices.

Initialevaluation,n=102 n(%) Finalevaluation,n=102 n(%) Veryoften oroften Sometimes Rarely ornever Veryoften oroften Sometimes Rarely ornever p Ilookedforwaystoreusethings 33(32.4) 26(25.5) 43(42.2) 56(54.9) 30(29.4) 16(15.7) <0.001 Isortedpaperforthe

recyclingbin

31(30.4) 34(33.3) 37(36.3) 72(70.6) 17(16.7) 13(12.7) <0.001

Isortedpackagesfortherecyclingbin 31(30.4) 34(33.3) 37(36.3) 72(70.6) 17(16.7) 13(12.7) <0.001 Isortedglassfortherecyclingbin 31(30.4) 34(33.3) 37(36.3) 67(65.7) 22(21.6) 13(12.7) <0.001 Itriedtohavefriends/familysort

materialsforrecycling

7(6.9) 15(14.7) 80(78.4) 20(19.6) 21(20.6) 61(59.8) <0.001

Iboughtproductsinrecyclableor reusablepackaging

13(12.7) 17(16.7) 72(70.6) 20(19.6) 35(34.3) 47(46.1) 0.002

Ipickedtrashfromthegroundthat wasnotmine

3(2.9) 22(21.6) 77(75.5) 16(15.7) 11(10.8) 75(73.5) 0.038

Icompostedleftovers 3(2.9) 13(12.7) 86(84.3) 101(99) 1(1.0) 0(0.0) <0.001

Ichoosetowalkorbiketo savegas

5(4.9) 10(9.8) 87(85.3) 20(19.6) 17(16.7) 65(63.7) <0.001

Iwrotealetterorsignedapetition concerninganenvironmentalissue

1(1.0) 2(2.0) 99(97.1) 2(2.0) 10(9.8) 90(88.2) 0.008

Ivotedforacandidateorpartythat supportstheenvironment

0(0.0) 0(0.0) 102(100) 7(6.9) 6(5.9) 89(87.3) 0.001

Imadeadonationtoanenvironmental group

0(0.0) 4(3.9) 98(96.1) 1(1.0) 9(8.8) 92(90.2) 0.717

Ivolunteeredtohelpagreenactivityor environmentalgroup

0(0.0) 4(3.9) 98(96.1) 3(2.6) 8(7.0) 91(89.2) 0.025

consumption and improved environmental sustainability prac-tices.Bothquestionnaireswerepreparedspeciﬁcallyforthisstudy. Dataanalysis

Categoricalvariablesweredescribedbytheirabsolute(n)and relative(%)frequencies.Inordertoevaluatethenormalityofthe distributionofcontinuousvariablestheKolmogorov-Smirnovtest wasused.Forthecomparisonofthesamevariablebetweenthetwo momentsofevaluation,incaseswherethevariabledidnotfollow thenormaldistribution,theWilcoxontestwasusedforthe com-parisonofordinalandcontinuousvariablesorcomparisonbetween anordinalandcontinuousvariable.Ananalysisoftheimpactof exposuredurationonenvironmentalsustainabilitypracticesand participantsperceptionswasalsoperformed.Forthiscomparison wedividedtheparticipantsintotwodistinctgroups:thosethat investedupto3hoursaweekandthosewhogardenedformore than3hoursaweek.

Asigniﬁcancelevelof5%wasusedforallstatisticaltests. StatisticalanalysiswasperformedusingtheIBMSPSS STATIS-TICS23softwareforMicrosoftWindows.

Results

Samplecharacterization

Thesampleconsistedmainlyoffemales(57.8%)andhadamean ageof53years(minimum24andmaximum77years).Alarge pro-portionoftheparticipantswasmarriedorhadlive-inrelationships and,insomecases,alsohadchildren.Theeducationallevelofthe samplewashigh, with52.0% oftheparticipantsholdinghigher educationdegrees and 23.5% secondary educationdegrees. The majorityoftheparticipantswerefromPorto(96.1%).The remain-derresidedinMatosinhos(2.9%)andMaia(1.0%),twocitiesvery closetoPorto.

Regarding occupation, the sample was mainly composed of “specialists in intellectual and scientiﬁc activities” (39.2%) and “technicians and professionals of intermediate level” (22.5%). Regarding the professional status, about half of sample was

employed(48.0%)andahighproportionwasretiredand/or dis-abled(38.2%).Wheninterviewedabouthouseholdincome,anequal proportionofrespondentsstatedthat“currentincomeisenough” orthat“itisverydifﬁculttoliveoncurrentincome”(31.4%)(options suppliedinthequestionnaire).

Only36.3%oftheparticipantsreportedhavingexperiencein horticulturepriortotheirstartatthegardeninquestion.Atthe momentofenteringthestudythemajorityofrespondents(51.0%) hadbeengardeningatthesiteforamaximumofthreemonths. However,25.5%hadstartedjustoneweekpriortotheﬁrst inter-view.

Environmentalsustainabilitypractices

Forallparametersrelatedtoenvironmentalsustainability prac-tices,withtheexceptionof“Imadeadonationtoanenvironmental group”,significantimprovementswereregisteredbetweenthe ini-tialandfinalevaluations.Inparticular,regardingtocompostingand glassrecycling,theproportionofparticipantswhoreporteddoing thisoftenorveryoftenmorethandoublesfromthefirsttothe secondevaluation.

It is also important to note that 10 individuals who never had“lookedforwaystoreusethings”,21individualswhonever had“triedtohavefriends/familysortmaterialsforrecycling”or “boughtproductsinrecyclableorreusablepackaging”,17 individ-ualswhoneverhad“pickedtrashfromthegroundthatwasnot mine”,33individualswhoneverhad“choosetowalkorbiketo savegas”and18individualswhoneverhad“volunteeredtohelpa greenactivityorenvironmentalgroup”starteddoingthispractices duringtheperiodoftimebetweenbothinterviews.Theresultsare showninTable1.

Participantsopinionsregardingthebeneﬁts stemmingfromhorticulture

Theparticipantsemphasizedinapracticallyconsensualwaythe inﬂuenceofhorticultureonincreaseoforganicfooduse,increase fruitsand vegetablesconsumption and improve environmental sustainabilitypracticesrespondinginthevastmajoritythat per-ceivedimmense or a lot theinﬂuence of horticultureonthese

(4)

Table2

Participantsopinionsregardingthebeneﬁtsstemmingfromhorticulture. Evaluation,n=102 n(%)

Savingsinproducepurchases

Immenseoralot 16(15.7)

Moderatelyorlittle 62(60.8)

Anythingorcannottell 24(23.5)

Increasedorganicfooduse

Increasedfruitandvegetableuse

Improvedenvironmentalsustainabilitypractices

aspectsoftheirlives.Withregardtosavingsinproducepurchases theparticipantsstatedthattheyfeltamoderatelytolittlesavings. TheresultsarepresentedinTable2.

Impactofexposuredurationonenvironmentalsustainability practicesandparticipantsperceptions

Inordertounderstandwhetherdedicatingmoretimeto veg-etable gardening enhanced green practices, participants were dividedintotwodistinctgroups:thosethatinvestedupto3hours aweekandthosewhogardenedformorethan3hoursa week. Theﬁrstgroupconsistedof42gardeners(41.2%)andthesecond groupof60(58.8%).Statisticallysigniﬁcantdifferenceswereonly foundforthe“Icompostedleftovers”,wherethelongerstaysgroup doingit“veryoften”in93.3%ofcases,asopposedto71.4%forthose workinglesserhours.

Withregardtoparticipants’perceptions,itwasobservedthat thosewhospentmoretimeonhorticulturewereabletosavemore andweremoreinﬂuencedintheconsumption oforganicfoods. Regardingtheotherparameters,nosigniﬁcantdifferenceswere found.However,itispossibletoobservehigherfrequencyvalues inthegroupthatspendsmorethan3hoursperweek.Theresults areshowninTable3.

Discussion

Thepresentstudysuggeststhatthepracticeofurbanorganic communitygardeningisassociatedwithimprovementinpersonal environmentalbehaviors and overall environmentalawareness. Participant’sconsumptionoforganicfoodandfruitsandvegetables also showed improvement. Interestingly, extra gardening time wasnotassociatedwithbetteroutcomesformostoftheangles considered.

The study was carried out in an urban organic community gardenwherethemajorityparticipantswereprofessionallyactive, educated,middle-agedwomen.Thisspeciﬁcproﬁlecanbe under-stoodthroughthecriteriausedfor allocatingplots,whichgives prioritytothose workingatthehospitalonwhosegroundsthe gardenis located.Thisproximity allowsfor increasedpresence andgardeningeffort.

The questionnaire focused onenvironmental practices com-monly available in cities (such as sorting domestic waste for recycling).Thisapproachprovedeffectiveasremarkablypositive changescouldbemeasured.Tothebestoftheauthors’knowledge thisisthefirsttimethaturbangardeningexposurehasbeenshown toinfluencespecificgreenpracticesofanadultsample.

Previousresearchsuggeststhat“improvingtheenvironment” isacrucialaspectofparticipantstowardshorticulturalactivities, particularlyasregardsaestheticandecologicalvalues.Hence hor-ticulturalactivitiesarebeneﬁcialnotonlyfortheparticipantsbut alsofortheenvironment.15 _Our _research_goes_one_step_further, uncoveringthepositiveimpactonspeciﬁcenvironmentalpractices suchasrecyclingandtryingtohavefriendsorfamilyrecycle, com-postleftoversorchoosetowalk/biketosavegas.It’salsoimportant tonotethattheproductionoforganicfoodincommunitygardens increasesitsconsumptionamongparticipants,whichcanpositively impactonhealthofthepopulationandtheenvironment,duetothe reductionintheuseofpesticides.

Acorrelationbetweenanincreasedconnectionwithnatureby environmentalvolunteersandimprovedgreenpractices, environ-mentalawarenessandresponsibilitywaspreviouslydescribedin theliterature.Participantsreportedthattheyhadnotincorporated thesepracticespreviouslymostlybecauseof“neverreallyhaving thoughtaboutit”.22_Gardening_being_one_way_of_{(re)discovering} nature,it istobeexpectedatleastsomelevelofinﬂuence.Our researchshowstheconnectionisinfactbroadandencouraging. Theseresultsopennewpathsforpublichealthsinceexposureto urbanorganiccommunitygardenscouldboostcitizenengagement inmoreenvironmentalfriendlypractices.

Table3

Impactofexposuredurationonenvironmentalsustainabilitypracticesandopinionstowardsaspectsrelatedtoorganicfood,fruitandvegetablesconsumption. Upto3hoursaweek,n=42 Morethan3hoursaweek,n=60 p

n(%) n(%)

Savingsinproducepurchases 0.016

Immenseoralot 3(7.5) 13(22.0)

Moderately 12(27.5) 21(35.6)

Littleoranything 27(65.0) 25(42.4)

Increasedorganicfooduse 0.011

Moderately 9(21.4) 7(22.7)

Increasedfruitandvegetableuse 0.345

Moderately 0(0.0) 4(6.7)

Improvedenvironmentalsustainabilitypractices 0.783

Moderately 6(14.3) 9(15.0)

(5)

From a public health perspective, it is equally noteworthy thatresearchshowsurbangardeningseemstocomplement not just environmental education and conservation objectives but also health and wellbeing goals. The potential of urban and communitybiologicalgardensasaneducationaltoolhasbeen stud-iedinchildreninaschoolenvironmentand,similartothepresent research,hasregisteredpositiveresults.Researchershavefound anincrease in consumption of fruits and vegetablesas wellas changesinbehaviorsand attitudestowardsthesefoods in chil-drenexposedtogardening.14,23_Other_studies_have_associated_the practiceofhorticulturebychildrenwithimprovementsinsocial interactionwithinterestingresults.Gardeningcouldpromote pos-itiveoutcomesinsocialinclusion withrespecttogender,social class,raceandabilityandimproveself-understanding, interper-sonalandcooperative skills.24,25_In _addition,_other_studies_have shownthatchildrenexposedtohorticulturealsoimprovetheir aca-demicperformance,exhibitingamorepositiveattitudetowards learningandeducation.26_Despite_the_differences_in sociodemo-graphicproﬁle,theseresultsalsopointtothefactthatexposureto urbancommunitygardeningisanexcellentmultileveleducational tool.

Adultsamplesalsoshowencouragingresults.Severalstudies havedetectedimprovedoutcomesinphysicalactivity,foodand nutrition intake, mental and physical health, social skills, pain andsmoking habits.16–20,27_In _a _world_with_so_many_physically andmentallydebilitatingchronicdiseases,theactiveinclusionof organicgardensintourbanplanningcouldbecomepartofthe solu-tion.Theimplicationsforpublichealtharepromisingandprofound. Urbanorganicgardenscouldprovideavailabilityandinﬂuencethe consumptionofhealthyfood,moregreenspaceincitiesandbepart oftheanswertocounternegativetrendsimposedbyurbanization. Duringourfacetofaceinterviewsonedimensionthatemerged clearly was the constant exchange of knowledge among par-ticipants, who discussed among themselves the most diverse aspects of the trade –from the preparation of the soil to the productivity of each species and variety. The lack of prior gardening knowledge of the participants ended up promot-ingtheir socialization,in addition to thehorizontal transfer of know-howand experience.Hencea newcommunity iscreated that likely elevatesthe group’s environmentalawareness level throughcontamination.Furtherresearchshouldexploretheactual dynamics.

Environmentalawareness has proven tobeone of the hall-marksofthehorticulturalexperience.Recyclingpracticesclearly showedimprovement. Also,adrasticimprovementin compost-ingpracticescouldbemeasured–atrendmostlikelypromptedby thefactthata composterwasmadeavailablefor eachplotfree ofcharge.Solidwastemanagementit’sabigpublichealth con-cern,infacttheby-productsofanurbanlifestyleareincreasing evenfasterthanurbanization.28 _The_last _report_from_the_World BankGroupsaysthatworldcitiesgenerateabout1.3billiontons ofsolidwaste/yearandbytheyear2025thisvolumeisexpected toincreaseto2.2billiontonnes.28_The_same_happens_with_organic wastewithanestimatedvolumeof38billionmetrictonsproduced worldwide.29_Since_waste_growth_is_an_inevitable_consequence_of humanurbanization there’sa needtoﬁndsolutions tocounter suchenvironmentalandpublichealthconcerns. Aswe showin thisinvestigationurbanorganicgardeningcouldreallybeabig partoftheanswerbyinﬂuencingrecyclingpracticesandgiventhe opportunitytocompostleftovers.

Theinﬂuence ofvegetable gardeningon political optics and actioncouldnotbeestablishedastherewerenoelectionsinthe yearprecedingtheﬁrstevaluation.Thisparameterisnotalways easy toevaluatedue tothetime in betweenelections (usually 4 years). However social intervention (as in volunteering) was

clearlyimproved.Itispossiblethehorizontaltransferofknowledge amongthegardencolleaguesencouragedsuchchanges.

Somemethodologicalaspectsinthisstudycontributetodata reliability.Both assessmentswerecarried outduringgardening appropriate months:theﬁrst duringsummer/earlyfall andthe secondatspringtime.Also,therewereveryfewlosses:almostall gardenersinitiallyregisteredwereavailableatfollow-upaswell. Andbecausethequestionnairewaspreparedspeciﬁcallyforthis study(andtherewasasingleresearchercollectingdata)thebefore andaftercomparisonwasmadethatmucheasier.

Nevertheless,thepossibilitythatsomeoftheseresultsmaybe slantedduetoinformationbiascannotberuledout,sincethe par-ticipants,knowingtheobjectivesofthestudy,mayhavetriedto fitinwiththeresearcher’sexpectations.Inaddition,theevaluation periodwasshort.Itcouldhappenthatthegardeningcommitment decreasesinthelongterm,atleastwithsomepeople.Itshould alsobenotedthat thesamplestudied,becauseof itsprofile,is notnecessarilyrepresentativeofothercommunitygardens.These characteristicswillcertainlyinfluencelevelsofmotivation, expec-tationsandtheabilitytoimproveself-behaviors.

Conclusion

Studyresultsreinforcethehypothesisthatanorganic commu-nityvegetablegardencaninducesigniﬁcantpositive behavioral changesamongitsusers.Inparticularthisresearchsuggests hor-ticulture is associated with positive improvements in personal environmentalbehaviors, awareness of the environment’s high socialpriorityandincreasedorganicfood,fruitandvegetables con-sumption.

Editorincharge

CarlosÁlvarez-Dardet.

Transparencydeclaration

Thecorrespondingauthoronbehalfoftheotherauthors guar-antee the accuracy, transparency and honestyof the data and informationcontainedinthestudy,thatnorelevantinformation hasbeenomittedandthatalldiscrepanciesbetweenauthorshave beenadequatelyresolvedanddescribed.

Whatisknownaboutthetopic?

Thenegativeecologicalandpublichealthimplicationsofa growingurbanizationinsocietyleadtothesearchforpolicies aimedatimprovingqualityoflife,environmental sustainabil-ityand citizenhealth.Urbanvegetable gardeningis oneof thetoolsavailabletolocalandstategovernmentswherelittle fundingcangoalongway.

Whatdoesthisstudyaddtotheliterature?

Thisworkopensimportantpathsforpublichealth.Urban gardeningexposurehasan immenseuntappedpotentialto bringimprovedenvironmentalbehaviortocitydwellers.Our results bringdetail into the advantages of introducing this typeofinfrastructureintourbanplanning.Wefoundpositive outcomesinenvironmentalpracticessuchasrecycling, talk-ingfriendsandfamilyintorecycling,compostingleftoversor choosingtowalk/biketosavegas.

(6)

Authorshipcontributions

P.Nova:collection,analysisandinterpretationofdata;design andstudyconception;writingofthemanuscript.E.Pinto:design andstudyconception;criticalrevisionofthestudyandapprovalof thefinalversionofthearticle;studycoordination;writingofthe manuscript.M.Silva:designandstudyconception;criticalrevision ofthestudyandapprovalofthefinalversionofthearticle;study coordination;writingofthemanuscript.B.Chaves:criticalrevision ofthestudyandapprovalofthefinalversionofthearticle.

Funding

None.

Conﬂictsofinterest

None.

References

1.SuM,FathbB,YangaZ.Urbanecosystemhealthassessment:areview.SciTotal Environ.2010;408:2425–34.

2.UnitedNations,DepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs,Population Divi-sion.WorldPopulationProspects:The2015Revision,KeyFindingsandAdvance Tables.2015.241.

3.CommissionoftheEuropeanCommunities(CEC).Greenpaperontheurban environment.Brussels;1990.

4.EuropeanCommission.TheAalborgcommitments.Denmark;2004.

5.EuropeanCommission.LeipzigcharteronsustainableEuropeancities.Brussels; 2007.

6.EuropeanEnvironmentAgency.TheEuropeanenvironment—stateandoutlook 2015—synthesisreport.Luxembourg;2015.

7.BoukharaevaL.Familyurbanagricultureasacomponentofhuman sustain-abledevelopment.CABReviews:PerspectivesinAgriculture,VeterinaryScience, NutritionandNaturalResources.2006;1.(025).

8.NowakDJ,CraneDE,StevensJC.Airpollutionremovalbyurbantreesandshrubs intheUnitedStates.UrbanForestry&UrbanGreening.2006;4:115–23.

9.MougeotL.Growingbettercities:urbanagricultureforsustainable develop-ment.Ottawa:InternationalandDevelopmentResearchCentre;2006.

10.ZeeuwH,GundelS,WaibelH.Theintegrationofagricultureinurbanpolicies. InN.Bakker,M.Dubelling,S.Gundel,V.Sabel-Koschella,A.Zeeuw(eds.), Grow-ingCities,GrowingFood:UrbanAgricultureonthePolicyAgenda.Feldaﬁng, Germany:FoodandAgricultureDevelopmentCentre(ZEL).2000;1:161-180.

11.KabischN,QureshiS,HaaseD.Human-environmentinteractionsinurbangreen spaces—asystematicreviewofcontemporaryissuesandprospectsforfuture research.EnvironImpactAssess.2015;5:25–34.

12.MattijssenTJM,OlafssonAS,MollerMS,etal.Urbangreeninfrastructure: con-nectingpeopleandnatureforsustainablecities.Asummaryforpolicymakers. GreenSurgeD8.5.Copenhagen;2017.

13.EuropeanCommission.GreenSurge:greeninfrastructureandurbanbiodiversity forsustainableurbandevelopmentandthegreeneconomy.2017.Availableat:

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/110888en.html

14.DuncanMJ,EyreE,BryantE,etal.Theimpactofaschool-basedgardening inter-ventiononintentionsandbehaviourrelatedtofruitandvegetableconsumption inchildren.JournalofHealthPsychology.2015;20.

15.ChenH,TuH.Exploringdimensionsofattitudestowardhorticulturalactivities. Hortscience.2010;45:1120–5.

16.ClatworthyJ,HindsJ,CamicPM.Gardeningasamentalhealthintervention:a review.MentalHealthReviewJournal.2014;18:214–25.

17.WangD,MacMillanT.Thebeneﬁtsofgardeningforolderadults:asystematic reviewoftheliterature.Activities,Adaptation&Aging.2013;37:153–81.

18.VerraM,AngstFBT,LehmannS,etal.Horticulturaltherapyforpatientswith chronicmusculoskeletalpain:resultsofapilotstudy.AlternativeTherapiesin HealthandMedicine.2012;18.

19.CamargoR, CoelhoE,GundimD,etal.Usodahortoterapianotratamento depacientesportadoresdesofrimentomentalgrave.EnciclopédiaBiosfera. 2015:3634–43.

20.HawkinsJ,MercerJ,ClaytonD.GrowingahealthyolderpopulationinWales: projectsummaryandkeyﬁndings.Wales:NationalInstituteforSocialCareand HealthResearch.2013.

21.InstitutoNacionaldeEstatística.ClassificaçãoPortuguesadasProfissões2010. Lisboa,Portugal:INE;2010.

22.HineR,PeacockJ,PrettyJ.Evaluatingtheimpactofenvironmental volunteer-ingonbehavioursandattitudestotheenvironment.ReportforBTCVCymru, UniversityofEssex;2007.

23.BerezowitzC,BontragerYA,SchoellerD.Schoolgardensenhanceacademic per-formanceanddietaryoutcomesinchildren.JSchHealth.2015;85.

24.DymentJE,BellAC.Ourgardeniscolourblind,inclusiveandwarm:reﬂections ongreenschoolgroundsandsocialinclusion.InternationalJournalofInclusive Education.2006;12:169–83.

25.RobinsonCW,ZajicekJM.Growingminds:theeffectofaone-yearschool gar-denprogramonsixconstructsoflifeskillsofelementaryschoolchildren.Hort Technology.2005;15:453–7.

26.DirksAE,OrvisK.Anevaluationofthejuniormastergardenerprograminthird gradeclassrooms.HortTechnology.2005;15:443–7.

27.NovaP,PintoE,ChavesB,etal.Growinghealthandqualityoflife:beneﬁtsof urbanorganiccommunitygardens.JNutritionHealthFoodSci.2018;6:1–7.

28.TheWorldBank.Whatawaste:aglobalreviewofsolidwastemanagement. UrbanDevelopmentSeriesKnowledgePapers.2012:15.

29.KiyasudeenK,IbrahimMH,QuaikS,etal.Prospectsoforganicwaste manage-mentandthesigniﬁcanceofearthworms:introductiontoorganicwastesand itsmanagement.Rotterdam:SpringerInternationalPublishing;2016.