Program on the Environment

Summary:

Science communication is a pivotal factor in the success of efforts on the part of the scientific community to educate the public regarding the realities of climate change. This project examines the potential of urban farms as a tool for environmental education, and the impact of visiting the urban farm at UW on an individuals environmental perceptions. My role of intern at the farm involved manual field work at the farm, as well as the development of interpretive signage for the Mercer Court farm site. I found that visiting the urban farm had a positive impact on environmental perceptions.

“WHY I DID IT”:

Lack of information on the part of average citizen is one of the greatest barriers in the battle to conserve the Earth’s environment. This is further compounded by the fact that access to natural spaces in urban areas is increasingly diminishing, thus preventing citizens from formulating the incentives and desire necessary to educate themselves regarding environmental issues. Discerning the most effective avenues of communicating the complex issues facing the environment in a manner that also endows individuals with these incentives must therefore be a primary goal of the scientific community and policy makers. Urban farms are an ideal candidate; Already many schools incorporate urban farms into their facilities and curriculum, providing underserved children with access to natural spaces. Urban farms also alleviate the negative ecological impacts of cities, and engage citizens with the food system that supports them. I therefore sought to demonstrate their potential through my project.
“HOW I DID IT”:

During my internship I had to carry out fieldwork at the farm, which consisted of tasks, typically weeding or harvesting, set forth by student field guides for a mandatory five hours a week. Additionally, I researched sign design techniques and familiarized myself with photoshop in preparation for the design of the interpretive signage which was submitted to Perry Acworth, my site supervisor, and other administrators in the Botanic Gardens staff. I also carried out data gathering from volunteers at the farm. Myself, and two fellow capstone students interning at the UW Farm designed a survey of 28 questions using the Google Forms application, which was distributed to volunteers via email. The survey was kept open for approximately four weeks, and 50 responses were received in total. Finally, I conducted a literature review of studies pertaining to urban farming which was then compiled into an annotated bibliography.
“WHAT I DISCOVERED”:

From the data collected from the survey I discovered that urban farms do indeed have an impact on an individuals environmental perceptions, 54.2% of responses indicated that after their visit to the urban farm they were more interested in environmental conservation, with zero responses in the negative indicating a strong degree of influence. Certain demographics are under represented at the urban farm at UW; while caucasian and asian demographics are well represented, the middle eastern, and hispanic demographics accounted for only 4% of total responses. Additionally, we received zero responses from the African American, Pacific Islanders, and Native American demographics. Additionally, it appears urban farms are more popular amongst younger age brackets,  58% of responses came from the 18-24 age bracket alone, although this may simply be due to the fact that data was gathered at a university.
“WHAT I LEARNED”:

• To overcome my desire to procrastinate
• Communicating and formulating new relationships in a professional capacity
• Design and development of signage meant for public consumption and use
• Manual farming skills such as planting, harvesting, and weeding
• In depth literature analysis and review for use in further writing
• Presenting and articulating my findings to a diverse, and curious audience

“The Big Picture”:

Urban farms provide a host of benefits, but chief among them is their ability to alter the environmental perceptions of visitors as demonstrated by my data. This facet of urban farms, combined with their popularity amongst younger individuals and potential for growth make them an ideal tool for environmental education.