Air pollution and urban heat island effect caused from the development of infrastructures are getting serious, in which air flow is reduced and heat is trapped among high-rise buildings. In order to mitigate these problems, various methods have been developed in previous studies. Green roof has been identified as one of the most important means to mitigate these problems and implement sustainable development principles in the building features. Governments world-wide have been introducing various policies and regulations for promoting green roof particularly for building projects. However, existing buildings in Hong Kong display limited green roof features, especially for old buildings. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities with many high-rise buildings. This paper examines the major barriers encountered in promoting green roof systems for existing buildings in Hong Kong. A case study approach is adopted to investigate how and why the barriers hindered the implementation of green roof features. Research results showed that lack of promotion and incentives from government and lack of government coordination are the top barriers to the implementation. This research concludes by providing suggestions and actions that can help mitigate these barriers. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

No description available.

Community gardens are places where people connect, share, and engage their social and ecological communities. The purpose of this thesis was to document and communicate participants’ experiences of community-building through community gardening in Kenora, Ontario, Canada. The primary method used was Photovoice, whereby a group of twelve participants shared photos and stories of their garden communities in a series of workshops. Follow-up interviews were used to get participant feedback on the Photovoice process and fill gaps in the data, while participant observation was used to triangulate data. Results suggest a uniquely relational perspective of community gardening, the significance of sharing and learning in the garden, as well as success with and barriers to social capital and ecological citizenship among gardeners. Of particular importance, future garden initiatives should facilitate opportunities for intergenerational bonding, connecting across community gardens, building gardens in accessible locations, addressing systemic barriers to inclusion, and conducting further community-based research.

Statistics show that the sales of pesticides in Sweden are increasing. This study examines why this increase occurs, and who is buying the pesticides. The study has two aims: the first is to investigate the availability of pesticides for household use, and the second is to identify the problems garden owners are experiencing in the garden and the strategies they use to solve them. As a background to my work, some of the most debated pesticides and industrial chemicals with an impact on gardening during the 20th century are briefly summarized. The background section also includes a brief account of gardening in Sweden today. In my study, five garden stores were inventoried and staff were interviewed, garden owners were interviewed at allotment compounds and in home gardens, and an online survey was posted on a garden forum. The results indicate a wide variation in the range of pesticides in garden stores. The bigger stores have more varieties while the smaller stores have chosen to reduce the supply of pesticides. Interviews with the staff indicate that customers have little knowledge of pesticides and gardening in general. Many customers are looking for quick and easy solutions to their problems, the lawn being a big concern for many. Allotment owners use very little pesticides, while home gardeners and the respondents of the online survey use pesticides to a greater extent, but home gardeners often consider pesticides dangerous and want to decrease their use.

Low stone rows and alignments were reported as early as 1904 on the coastal platform of eastern Palliser Bay. In all subsequent references it was assumed that the features were horticultural and, on the grounds of their appearance, of considereable age. Methodical investigation of these claims within the context of a three year archaeological programme (1969-1972) including analysis of prehistoric settlements, economy, and physical anthropology, was regarded as a worthwhile project, since orthodox opinion at the time favoured a later introduction of Polynesian horticulture some centuries after initial settlement of New Zealand about the 9th century AD. Extensive field surveys showed that at least 93ha of the coastal platform between Whatarangi and Cape Palliser had been subject to stone clearance according to several simple principles, such as equal access to the best soils, maintenance of a rectilinear system, and the clear separation of individual plots with boundary markers and paths. In addition, excavations conducted within the major complexes revealed artiificial deepening of the prehistoric topsoil, frequent incorporation of wood charcoal, rare addition of beach gravel, and inclusion of domestic refuse where the walls were adjacent to coastal villages. Both radio-carbon dates and artefacts found in association with the stone structures indicate early establishment of horticulture on this coast by the 12th century AD with an apparent peak of activity and complexity of garden system before the beginning of the 15th century, followed by decline and virtual abandonment. Climatic conditions prevailing in Palliser Bay today preclude cultivation of all Polynesian cultigens except the kumara (Ipomoea batatas) and gourd (Lagenaria siceraria). It is now accepted that mean annual temperature at the time of settlement was 1� - 2�C higher. Even so, growing season length and rainfall would probably not have been adequate for crops such as taro or yam. Within New Zealand, the kumara gardens of Palliser Bay find close parallels on both sides of Cook Strait, and on the eastern coast of the Wairarapa. Similar principles of garden layout applied in the larger Auckland wall complexes, and in 18th century gardens north of Hawkes Bay. From a survey of tropical Polynesian garden structures it appears that an extensive repertoire of horticultural techniques was introduced by the first settlers to temperate New Zealand and despite the loss of variety in cultigens it persisted until the 18th century as a viable means of subsistence.

Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

1889. Progr. No. 573.

India’s IT-capital Bangalore is experiencing rapid urbanization causing diminishing greenery and biodiversity. Urbanization contributes to disconnecting humans from nature, further contributing to environmental degradation, since connecting with nature is crucial for fostering pro-environmental behaviour and stewardship which is required for urban resilience. The city’s long legacy of home gardening has been threatened by the city growth, however, Bangaloreans are finding new ways of engaging in gardening. This study gives an inside perspective of how and why middle class Bangaloreans choose to engage in gardening, building on interviews with 24 terrace and community gardeners, and identification of 6 community garden initiatives. The terrace gardening movement emerged during the 1990s, and have now spread to engage several thousands of citizens, growing on their rooftops across the city, however, community gardening is a ‘new’ phenomenon. The motivations expressed by gardeners are, in this study, categorised in motivational drivers and direct benefits. Motivational drivers affect the gardener’s desire to engage and these drivers are identified as memories, cultural values and beliefs, experiences of urbanization, perception of risk and external influence. Direct benefits are the benefits they get from gardening, identified as material, psychological and social benefits. The main motivations stated were the benefits of healthy food and connecting with nature. Terrace gardeners have a strong network and the main platform for interaction is social media, and many community gardeners are also part of that forum, where experiences and knowledge are shared. Gardeners use natural and organic practices and many have a desire to preserve traditional species and methods. This indicates that urban gardening is a way of stewardship of urban (agro)biodiversity and thus requires increased attention, for overcoming challenges related to management and lack of perseverance, and for contributing to city resilience through human and nature connections through gardening. / FOR 2432

Community gardening in cities is increasing, driven by social interaction and food security. City soils are sinks for heavy metals; including neurotoxic lead (Pb). Exposure routes are primarily through inhalation/ingestion of soil, or second by ingestion of plants that have accumulated Pb. This research evaluates soil at three Liberty City, Florida sites estimating risk of Pb exposure through primary and secondary pathways. Soil cores were collected from Liberty City, and red Malabar spinach (Basella rubra) was grown in Pb soil treatments in a greenhouse. Total soil Pb levels and plant tissues were measured after acid digestion, by ICP-OES. In Liberty City, two sites had hotspots with areas of elevated soil Pb levels. Plants grown on Pb contaminated soil all accumulated statistically significant Pb concentrations. Therefore, there is a potential risk of Pb exposure to residents in Liberty City by exposure in hotspot sites through both the primary and secondary pathways.

The purpose of this research was to identify the logistical, conceptual, educational, and attitudinal factors that affect elementary school teachers’ implementation of school gardening in the curriculum. This research also sought to qualitatively describe the current application of school gardening by the study population in the elementary school curriculum, and to identify avenues in which the horticultural community can assist teachers in implementing the use of this teaching strategy. The target population consisted of elementary school teachers who taught at schools that had received a Youth Gardening Grant from the National Gardening Association in either the 1994/95 or 1995/96 academic years. Data were collected using a School Gardening Survey which was sent to an accessible population of 315 elementary schools. From this mailing, 236 usable responses were received for analysis. The results of the survey were confirmed, and expanded upon, by personal interviews conducted with 28 teachers from the test population who used school gardening in their curriculum and taught in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Survey and interview responses provided data for statistical analysis using the computer statistic package, Statistical Analysis System (SAS). Chi-square correlations did not provide significant relationships between factors; however, frequencies, averages and mean and mode information provided insight into the use of school gardening and the needs of teachers who are using this teaching strategy. Survey data indicated that the most important factors that need to be present for the successful use of school gardening were logistical factors. The most essential factors were a person, or persons, who take on the responsibility for the gardening program, the availability of a site to grow plants, and adequate funding for gardening materials. In addition, the availability of gardening equipment and the support of the principal were stated to be very important to school gardening success. Interview data indicated that the most crucial factors that need to be present for the successful use of school gardening were educational factors. Student ownership of the gardens and the integration of school gardening into the curriculum were seen as more important to school gardening success than the logistical features of school gardening. There was survey and interview consensus, however, that the lack of preparation time for school gardening activities and the lack of instructional time for learning using school gardening were factors that influence the use of this teaching strategy. There was also agreement that the logistical factors of a growing site, a water source, the availability of gardening equipment, adequate funding, and a person who is responsible for school gardening were important to the successful use of school gardening. Essentially all of the interviewed and surveyed teachers (99%) use school gardening as an interdisciplinary teaching method. It is the interdisciplinary nature of gardening and growing plants that allows school gardening to be used successfully within the elementary school curriculum. Study results also indicated that school gardening is used to teach students in all grade levels found in an elementary school including students in prekindergarten, special education, and 3English as a Second Language2 classes. School gardening is often used to benefit students beyond standard academic achievement. Teachers use school gardening for such goals as social development, therapy, recreation, environmental awareness, community relationships, exploring diversity, and the arts. School gardening is also seen as a teaching strategy that can occur both indoors and outdoors. Teachers are not limiting their concept of gardening to an activity that must occur in the out-of-doors. Teachers indicated that they depend primarily on their own knowledge of gardening when gardening with their students. They also rely more on their gardening knowledge than on their knowledge of science when using school gardening within the curriculum. However, these same teachers expressed a need for further education and information on the integration of gardening into the curriculum, and the horticultural aspects of gardening that can be implemented within the educational, time, facility, funding, and legal limits placed on a school situation. Teachers also requested that this education be provided as in-service training, Master Gardener training, or graduate and/or continuing education classes provided through the local institution of higher education. The survey and interview respondents indicated that school gardening is a very effective, interdisciplinary teaching method. These teachers find that use of school gardening assists students in learning and understanding new ideas, and that student learning improves when using school gardening in the curriculum. In addition, interviewed teachers indicated that students obtain a more positive environmental ethic when gardening is used in the curriculum. Elementary school teachers may use school gardening to improve student academic and social achievement, to provide a hands-on learning experience that reaches across the curriculum, to furnish a forum that provides opportunities to learn such positive social qualities as nurturing life and responsibility, and to encourage students to expand their appreciation for the living world around them. The interdisciplinary nature of school gardening shows promise as a teaching strategy that can be used to enhance student learning, and to expose students to the expanse of learning available through the process of growing plants. / Ph. D.