Yvonne Black, University of Hull Spending time in outdoors, taking time out of the everyday to surround yourself with greenery and living things can be one of life’s great joys – and recent research also suggest it’s good for your body and your brain. Scientists have found that spending two […]
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Mothers behind bars nurture relationships with visitors in this unusual prison garden
Julie Stevens, Iowa State University Leaves are rustling. You can hear the sound of children kicking a ball, plinking the keys of a toy xylophone. People are laughing and talking. Are you picturing a prison? My colleagues and I did – and we turned these visions into reality. The garden […]
Organic food has become mainstream but still has room to grow
Kathleen Merrigan, Arizona State University Organic food once was viewed as a niche category for health nuts and hippies, but today it’s a routine choice for millions of Americans. For years following passage of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, which established national organic standards, consumers had to seek […]
The impulse to garden in hard times has deep roots
Jennifer Atkinson, University of Washington The coronavirus pandemic has set off a global gardening boom. In the early days of lockdown, seed suppliers were depleted of inventory and reported “unprecedented” demand. Within the U.S., the trend has been compared to World War II victory gardening, when Americans grew food at […]
Do kids who grow kale eat kale?
Garrett M. Broad, Fordham University It’s back-to-school time in the United States, and for countless children across the nation, it’s also time to get back into the school garden. For centuries, educators and philosophers have argued that garden-based learning improves children’s intelligence and boosts their personal health. In recent years, […]