School gardening increases knowledge of primary school children on edible plants and preference for vegetables

Abstract

At least 10% of children worldwide are diagnosed with overweight. Part of this problem is attributed to low vegetable intake, for which preference at a younger age is an indicator. Few studies examined long‐term effects of school garden interventions on the knowledge about and preference for vegetables. Therefore, in this study, an intervention period of 7 months (17 lessons) was organized for primary school students (n = 150) of age 10–12 years in the Municipality of Nijmegen (the Netherlands). Surveys were conducted before and after the intervention period to test the ability of students to identify vegetables, to measure their self‐reported preference for vegetables, and to analyze students’ attitudes toward statements about gardening, cooking, and outdoor activity. The long‐term effects were measured by repeating the survey 1 year after the intervention (n = 52). Results were compared with a control group of students (n = 65) with similar background and tested for significance with α = 0.05. School gardening significantly increases the knowledge of primary schoolchildren on 10 vegetables as well as their ability to self‐report preference for the vegetables. The short‐term (n = 106) and long‐term (n = 52) preference for vegetables increased (p < 0.05) in comparison with the control group. The latter did not show a significant learning effect (p > 0.05). This implies that the exposure to vegetables generated by school gardening programs may increase willingness to taste and daily intake of vegetables on the long term. Students’ attitudes toward gardening, cooking, and outdoor activity were unaffected by the intervention.

Gardening Activities at School and Their Impact on Children’s Knowledge and Attitudes to the Consumption of Garden Vegetables

“…Improving children's ability to recognise objects (Sloutsky, 2010) and name them is considered important in learning about garden vegetables. Moreover, our results corroborated the findings of numerous other studies (Adams, 2006;Davids, 2008;Graham et al, 2005;Hollar et al, 2010;Hutchinson et al, 2015;Kirby, 2008;Klemmer et al, 2005;Kos & Jerman, 2012;Kos, 2014;Leuven et al, 2018;Mohrmann, 1999;Nolan et al, 2012;Ratcliffe et al, 2011;Rickinson et al, 2004;Robinson -O'Brien et al, 2009;Smith & Motsenbocker, 2005;Trepanier -Street, 2000;Zidenberg-Cherr, 2005;) that found substantially improved academic outcomes in children that were included in gardening programmes. Experiential learning has also been found to promote higher-level learning (Waliczek et al, 2003).…”

“…While gardening, the children in the current study's experimental group developed a positive attitude to consuming vegetables. Many studies have examined the question of the impact of the direct experience of gardening on this, with positive impacts reported by the following studies: Cavaliere, 1987;Cotugna et al, 2012;Hutchinson et al, 2015;Koch et al, 2006;Langellotto and Gupta, 2012;Lautenschlager and Smith, 2007;Leuven et al, 2018;Lineberger and Zajicek, 2000;Meinen et al, 2012;Morgan et al, 2010;Morris et al, 2001;Morris and Zidenberg-Cherr, 2002;Nolan et al, 2012;Nury et al, 2017;Parmer et al, 2009;Pothukuchi, 2004;Sarti et al, 2017;Waliczek and Zajicek, 2006;Wang, et al, 2010. Ohly et al (2016 noted the need to establish the impact of school gardening in terms of children's health and well-being by using more systematic and robust mixed methods of review.…”

Clinical Ecology—Transforming 21st-Century Medicine with Planetary Health in Mind

“…Indeed, daily contact with external microbiomes may influence internal ecosystems [118,119]. This suggests another pathway (beyond what is described as social and psychological) by which personal, school, and community gardening provide their health benefits [120,121]. While clinicians wait for this area of scientific inquiry to mature, it would seem reasonable to incorporate nature relatedness scales in clinical practice.…”

Residents’ Attention and Awareness of Urban Edible Landscapes: A Case Study of Wuhan, China

“…Governments play a vital role in the successful integration of different benefits of urban open spaces, such as urban parks, community gardens, and school yards [42][43][44]. For example, the Canadian national government pursued the People's Food Policy, a national food policy in 2011.…”