This study forms part of three broader research projects that focus on investigating ways in which teachers can promote resilience in resource-constrained contexts by means of implementing school health initiatives, such as school-based vegetable gardens. Following on a need identified within the broader research projects, the purpose of this study was to explore and describe teachers’ perceptions of involving different groups of role-players in school-based vegetable gardens in resource-constrained contexts in an attempt to understand how different role-players may contribute to successful gardens. For this purpose, I focused on the experiences of 36 primary school teachers from nine schools in the Eastern Cape province who have been involved in school-based vegetable gardens in recent years. I was guided by Ozer’s (2007) model of potential effects of school gardens as theoretical framework, utilised interpretivism as meta-theory and followed a qualitative methodological approach. I selected a case study research design, applying Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) principles. Data were generated and documented by means of a PRA-based workshop, five semi-structured interviews and observation-as-contextof- interaction, supported by visual and audio documentation techniques, field notes and a reflective journal. Following inductive thematic analysis, I identified four themes and related sub-themes. The themes relate to role-players often involved in school-based vegetable gardens as well as their respective responsibilities; benefits associated with involving the various role-players; factors that may support the successful establishment and maintenance of school-based vegetable gardens, and challenges experienced when involving the different role-players. The findings of this study indicate that teachers experienced the role that different groups of people may fulfil positively despite some challenges associated with such involvement. More specifically, role-players in school-based vegetable gardens can significantly contribute to the success of such gardens by supporting teachers in developing innovative solutions to the challenges they face. Teachers and learners were found to be the primary role-players, supported by dedicated school principals and in many cases, one or two gardeners that may also be community members. Lastly, a dedicated garden coordinator (such as a teacher) and support by the national Department of Basic Education were found to be important. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

Food security is a global concern, experienced at a household level in South Africa (SA). The country experiences income inequality with a high unemployment rate. Many that are employed live under the international poverty line. The Potchefstroom area in the North-West Province of SA has a high unemployment rate. The Student Rag Community Service (SRCS) is a student driven non-profit organisation (NPO) of the North-West University (NWU) that is actively involved in socio-economic development of communities within this area. Some community programmes attempt to address food security, but it was uncertain which SRCS projects address such programmes. Unsustainable programmes may lead to greater food insecurity. Much funding has been used for SRCS projects and if unsustainable, funds were not optimally utilised. Archived documentation of implemented SRCS projects were not stored in a system that supported easy reference. Programmes were not assessed against clear sustainability indicators (SI), thus the sustainability thereof was uncertain. Thus, the research question was: Which of the SRCS projects addressed food security through their activities and programmes and were these projects sustainable? The study aimed to assess the food security-related SRCS community projects to promote sustainable development. A case study was done to assess this in its real-life content. The mixed methods strategy was used through the three data collection phases. Further, a non-probability sampling method and the triangulation design were used to compare data. Firstly, the available archived documentation (September 2007 until August 2011) was compiled in an electronic database. Data from the most recent term were scrutinised (September 2010 until August 2011) and food security-related projects (21/48) were identified and those with feeding schemes (5/21). These projects mostly address the themes: food and nutrition, hygiene and infrastructure. Secondly, these projects were visited and community project members were interviewed to assess their experiences with the SRCS’s project involvement and their opinions towards sustainability. Lastly, the SRCS project leaders’ (n=20), of the previous term (September 2012 until August 2013), knowledge and understanding of project sustainability were assessed through a group administered questionnaire. Qualitative data were thematically analysed and quantitative data were statistically analysed. Results indicated positive and negative expectations of community project members. Students indicated that community project members always or often participate and have sufficient skills and competences, but this was not indicated by community project members. Exposure or awareness was believed to increase project capacity. Available funds influenced the ownership and participation of community project members. Statistical analysis indicated a relationship between capacity building, empowerment and production of own food sources. Although some community project members and SRCS project leaders were able to define sustainability and agreed upon SI, these were not implemented or measured at projects. Within the study, SI based on the livelihood assets from literature, were used to assess projects. Some activities created dependence without focusing on the development of assets. Study limitations included a language barrier between the SRCS and the community, and the accessibility of project leaders after the ending of the annual SRCS term. The study might improve current and innovative SRCS projects to overcome poverty and promote food security. / M Consumer Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Food security is a global concern, experienced at a household level in South Africa (SA). The country experiences income inequality with a high unemployment rate. Many that are employed live under the international poverty line. The Potchefstroom area in the North-West Province of SA has a high unemployment rate. The Student Rag Community Service (SRCS) is a student driven non-profit organisation (NPO) of the North-West University (NWU) that is actively involved in socio-economic development of communities within this area. Some community programmes attempt to address food security, but it was uncertain which SRCS projects address such programmes. Unsustainable programmes may lead to greater food insecurity. Much funding has been used for SRCS projects and if unsustainable, funds were not optimally utilised. Archived documentation of implemented SRCS projects were not stored in a system that supported easy reference. Programmes were not assessed against clear sustainability indicators (SI), thus the sustainability thereof was uncertain. Thus, the research question was: Which of the SRCS projects addressed food security through their activities and programmes and were these projects sustainable? The study aimed to assess the food security-related SRCS community projects to promote sustainable development. A case study was done to assess this in its real-life content. The mixed methods strategy was used through the three data collection phases. Further, a non-probability sampling method and the triangulation design were used to compare data. Firstly, the available archived documentation (September 2007 until August 2011) was compiled in an electronic database. Data from the most recent term were scrutinised (September 2010 until August 2011) and food security-related projects (21/48) were identified and those with feeding schemes (5/21). These projects mostly address the themes: food and nutrition, hygiene and infrastructure. Secondly, these projects were visited and community project members were interviewed to assess their experiences with the SRCS’s project involvement and their opinions towards sustainability. Lastly, the SRCS project leaders’ (n=20), of the previous term (September 2012 until August 2013), knowledge and understanding of project sustainability were assessed through a group administered questionnaire. Qualitative data were thematically analysed and quantitative data were statistically analysed. Results indicated positive and negative expectations of community project members. Students indicated that community project members always or often participate and have sufficient skills and competences, but this was not indicated by community project members. Exposure or awareness was believed to increase project capacity. Available funds influenced the ownership and participation of community project members. Statistical analysis indicated a relationship between capacity building, empowerment and production of own food sources. Although some community project members and SRCS project leaders were able to define sustainability and agreed upon SI, these were not implemented or measured at projects. Within the study, SI based on the livelihood assets from literature, were used to assess projects. Some activities created dependence without focusing on the development of assets. Study limitations included a language barrier between the SRCS and the community, and the accessibility of project leaders after the ending of the annual SRCS term. The study might improve current and innovative SRCS projects to overcome poverty and promote food security. / M Consumer Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Globally urbanization has increased to such an extent that more than half of the human population currently resides in cities. In the years to come, urban expansion will especially take place in developing countries through efforts to improve economic growth and poverty alleviation. This may have a negative effect on native biodiversity within and surrounding urban environments. However, residential areas with a high proportion of gardens form a significantly large part of urban environments and these domestic gardens contribute to the maintenance and preservation of biodiversity in cities. Although the preservation of biodiversity in these gardens is important in the overall conservation of urban green spaces, little is known about how these gardens can possibly contribute to conservation purposes in urban areas. Bearing in mind that anthropogenic activities are possible drivers of urban biodiversity, it is vital to quantify socio-economic aspects within urban ecological research. In developing countries, such as South Africa, the inclusion of socio-economic aspects are especially important because there is a wider gap between poor and wealthy households. There are also a larger number of people that are dependent on their gardens for subsistence purposes, such as vegetable gardening. In the Municipal Area of Tlokwe, South Africa, there exists a definite socio-economic gradient from the poorer western to the more affluent eastern part of the city. Five socio-economic status (SES) classes, primarily based on % unemployment, were used in this study. The ultimate aim of this study was therefore to determine the plant- and arthropod diversity within urban domestic gardens along a socio-economic gradient. Vegetable gardens within domestic gardens were selected to quantify plant- and arthropod biodiversity. Biodiversity of adjacent lawns were also sampled for comparative purposes. The study also attempted to determine to what extent socio-economic aspects of city residents may be possible drivers of biodiversity within the gardens. Various other factors that might have an effect on the plant and/or arthropod diversity were included such as soil characteristics, specific management factors of the gardens and other land-uses surrounding domestic gardens. Arthropod diversity was surveyd by means of pitfall traps and suction sampling in eight 0.25 m2 squares along an 8 m transect in each representative garden. Arthropods were identified up to morphospecies level. Vegetation was surveyed along the same transect and total species composition was determined. Plants were identified up to species level. The plant and arthropod surveys were conducted in both the vegetable gardens and lawns of all SES classes. For the soil samples a 1:2.5 water analysis was conducted. A social survey was conducted in all representative gardens by means of a questionnaire and a SPOT 5 satellite imagery was used to determine the land-use types in the areas surrounding the participating gardens. All the above mentioned factors were compared between the different SES classes. Diversity indices for the arthropods, multivariate statistical analyses and ANOVA analyses were applied to test for meaningful variables between socio-economic status classes as well as vegetable gardens and lawns. From the results it was evident that the more affluent SES classes had significantly higher arthropod diversity values, whilst the lower income classes had higher plant diversity. The factor analysis between the plants and arthropods with the surrounding land-uses revealed two significant factors. Firstly, arthropod diversity was influenced by domestic gardens in the surrounding landscape and there was a positive correlation between these two variables. This indicates that a high percentage of surrounding domestic gardens were possible drivers of arthropod diversity. No correlations were evident between plant and arthropod diversity. Secondly, the other significant factor showed that one SES class had a significantly higher percentage of woodlands and grasslands as opposed to two of the other classes that had a significantly higher percentage of built structures within the surrounding area. Differences were also apparent between the SES classes concerning management regimes, financial stability and level of education. The two more affluent SES classes had obtained a higher level of education and income and had management practices that were uncommon in the three poorer SES classes. This study proposes that domestic gardens are a means to conserve biodiversity in cities. Vegetable gardens in domestic gardens will also be able to harbour a larger diversity of plants and arthropods than the lawns. The socio-economic status of residents also had a significant effect on biodiversity and therefore it should be included in studies on urban domestic gardens. This study also provides additional knowledge to the fundamentals of the field of urban ecology and the importance of using domestic gardens as an urban green space for conservation purposes. / Thesis (Master of Environmental Sciences)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Globally urbanization has increased to such an extent that more than half of the human population currently resides in cities. In the years to come, urban expansion will especially take place in developing countries through efforts to improve economic growth and poverty alleviation. This may have a negative effect on native biodiversity within and surrounding urban environments. However, residential areas with a high proportion of gardens form a significantly large part of urban environments and these domestic gardens contribute to the maintenance and preservation of biodiversity in cities. Although the preservation of biodiversity in these gardens is important in the overall conservation of urban green spaces, little is known about how these gardens can possibly contribute to conservation purposes in urban areas. Bearing in mind that anthropogenic activities are possible drivers of urban biodiversity, it is vital to quantify socio-economic aspects within urban ecological research. In developing countries, such as South Africa, the inclusion of socio-economic aspects are especially important because there is a wider gap between poor and wealthy households. There are also a larger number of people that are dependent on their gardens for subsistence purposes, such as vegetable gardening. In the Municipal Area of Tlokwe, South Africa, there exists a definite socio-economic gradient from the poorer western to the more affluent eastern part of the city. Five socio-economic status (SES) classes, primarily based on % unemployment, were used in this study. The ultimate aim of this study was therefore to determine the plant- and arthropod diversity within urban domestic gardens along a socio-economic gradient. Vegetable gardens within domestic gardens were selected to quantify plant- and arthropod biodiversity. Biodiversity of adjacent lawns were also sampled for comparative purposes. The study also attempted to determine to what extent socio-economic aspects of city residents may be possible drivers of biodiversity within the gardens. Various other factors that might have an effect on the plant and/or arthropod diversity were included such as soil characteristics, specific management factors of the gardens and other land-uses surrounding domestic gardens. Arthropod diversity was surveyd by means of pitfall traps and suction sampling in eight 0.25 m2 squares along an 8 m transect in each representative garden. Arthropods were identified up to morphospecies level. Vegetation was surveyed along the same transect and total species composition was determined. Plants were identified up to species level. The plant and arthropod surveys were conducted in both the vegetable gardens and lawns of all SES classes. For the soil samples a 1:2.5 water analysis was conducted. A social survey was conducted in all representative gardens by means of a questionnaire and a SPOT 5 satellite imagery was used to determine the land-use types in the areas surrounding the participating gardens. All the above mentioned factors were compared between the different SES classes. Diversity indices for the arthropods, multivariate statistical analyses and ANOVA analyses were applied to test for meaningful variables between socio-economic status classes as well as vegetable gardens and lawns. From the results it was evident that the more affluent SES classes had significantly higher arthropod diversity values, whilst the lower income classes had higher plant diversity. The factor analysis between the plants and arthropods with the surrounding land-uses revealed two significant factors. Firstly, arthropod diversity was influenced by domestic gardens in the surrounding landscape and there was a positive correlation between these two variables. This indicates that a high percentage of surrounding domestic gardens were possible drivers of arthropod diversity. No correlations were evident between plant and arthropod diversity. Secondly, the other significant factor showed that one SES class had a significantly higher percentage of woodlands and grasslands as opposed to two of the other classes that had a significantly higher percentage of built structures within the surrounding area. Differences were also apparent between the SES classes concerning management regimes, financial stability and level of education. The two more affluent SES classes had obtained a higher level of education and income and had management practices that were uncommon in the three poorer SES classes. This study proposes that domestic gardens are a means to conserve biodiversity in cities. Vegetable gardens in domestic gardens will also be able to harbour a larger diversity of plants and arthropods than the lawns. The socio-economic status of residents also had a significant effect on biodiversity and therefore it should be included in studies on urban domestic gardens. This study also provides additional knowledge to the fundamentals of the field of urban ecology and the importance of using domestic gardens as an urban green space for conservation purposes. / Thesis (Master of Environmental Sciences)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

M. Tech. (Food Service Management, Department of Hospitality and Tourism, Faculty of Human Sciences) -- Vaal University of Technology| / INTRODUCTION: Urban agriculture (UA) is increasingly being seen as an important component of urban development and urban environmental management. Urban agriculture is an alternative source of employment, household income, food and nutrition security among many low-income urban dwellers. Investments in Urban agriculture in South Africa are negatively influenced by a paucity of information on available land and farming opportunities and lack of policy. A situation analysis in Eatonside concluded that high unemployment rates, income-poverty, chronic household food insecurity and a high prevalence of malnutrition existed. Efforts to increase food availability will bring overall benefits to the community. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this project was to conduct an empirical study to assess food insecurity training needs in order to develop an appropriate home gardening training programme for gardeners in the informal settlements. METHODS: A random selection of 143 households was made from the informal settlement (refer baseline), but only 91 dwellers successfully completed the questionnaires that were administered by four trained field workers. The resu Its were analysed using the SPSS® 12.0 program. MAJOR FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS: The results showed that 72.5 percent had some knowledge of home gardening, whereas 29.7 percent had skills at all in home gardening; 69.2 percent responded that they had some knowledge of soil management, while 69.2 percent had no knowledge regarding planting management and only 13.2 percent had any knowledge regarding storage after harvesting and preparation of vegetables. Out of all the 91 participants, only 29.7 percent had ever worked in a garden. The researcher and fieldworkers were the first group to be trained so that they could conduct the training of the participants with the assistance of the farmers. Since the patiicipants were both male and female, no problems were encountered with digging the ground, as every day after training the males made a point of preparing the ground for the next day. Training was conducted over two days for each group; there were four groups including the fieldworkers. Groups 2 and 3 had 25 participants each while group 4 had 41 participants (n = 91). On day one, the trainers provided all the theory that the participants would need to work in a garden. On day two, the trainers incorporated theory with practical training which involved the participants. CONCLUSION It was found that most of the householders who participated in this project owned a vegetable garden. Most of the participants felt that they had benefited greatly from the training given in the gardening project, both because they were now able to have year round access to fresh vegetables, and because of the money-saving aspect / NRF -- CRC

Submitted by Viviane Lima da Cunha (viviane@biblioteca.ufpb.br) on 2017-07-20T12:25:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 8355941 bytes, checksum: 4578b237a60519138ddea8c5bc23f675 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-20T12:25:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 8355941 bytes, checksum: 4578b237a60519138ddea8c5bc23f675 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-28 / This paper is connected to the proposal of transforming unbuilt areas into elements of the green urban infrastructure. It is fully known that the disorderly processes of urban expansion of brazilian medium-sized cities have caused damaged to the periurban natural environment thus causing the supression of green urban areas. Those areas are considered an importante indicator of the quality of life in the cities, due to the several functions they can exert and the benefits they can bring to the urban population, such as the access to better quality food, when destined to farming. Furthermore, the green areas are part of the green infrasctructure of the cities and are also one of the vital elements to the urban sustainability. Therefore, based on these observations, the potential for implementation of vegetable gardens in empty urban spaces as a part of the green urban infrastructure in João Pessoa, Paraíba’s state’s capital, was evaluated. Through the usage of tools like GIS (Geographic Information System), themed maps were developed aiming at providing the necessary information for the classification, in graded scale, of the potential of transformation of urban empty spaces, adapting and using the systematization developed by Sanches (2011). The chosen methodological procedure is guided by the principles of green infrasctructures and defines quantity and quality indicators, with numerical values for each of these evaluation criteria, which are grouped in three distinct categories- ecological group, hydrous group and social group- the arithmetic mean in each group composes the final grade, and the sum of these grades results in the rate of the potential for the transformation of the analysed areas in vegetated spaces. After the application of the methodological procedure and the visitation of the areas with the highest potential for transformation, some propositions were issued in order to enable the implementation of vegetable gardens in these empty urban spaces and, consequently, the bulding of models of sustainable farming production. / O presente trabalho relaciona-se com a proposta de transformação de áreas desprovidas de construção em elementos da infraestrutura verde urbana. Sabe-se que os processos desordenados de expansão urbana das cidades brasileiras de porte médio têm ocasionado danos ao meio ambiente natural periurbano e que entre suas implicações está a supressão das áreas verdes urbanas. Estas compreendidas como um importante indicador da qualidade de vida nas cidades, devido às diversas funções que podem exercer e benefícios que são capazes de proporcionar à população urbana, como o acesso a alimentos de qualidade, quando destinadas ao cultivo. Além disso, as áreas verdes constituem a infraestrutura verde das cidades e são um dos elementos chaves para a sustentabilidade urbana. Assim, com base nessas observações, buscou-se avaliar o potencial de implantação de hortas em vazios urbanos da cidade de João Pessoa, capital do estado da Paraíba, como parte da infraestrutura verde urbana. Por intermédio de ferramentas SIG (Sistema de Informação Geográfico), foram elaborados mapas temáticos, com o objetivo de fornecer as informações necessárias para a classificação, em escala graduada, do potencial de transformação dos vazios urbanos, a partir da adaptação e aplicação de sistematização desenvolvida por Sanches (2011). O procedimento metodológico adotado pauta-se nos princípios de infraestrutura verde e estabelece indicadores quantitativos e qualitativos, com valores numéricos, para cada um dos seus critérios de avaliação, que são agrupados em três categorias distintas – grupo ecológico, grupo hídrico e grupo social –, cuja média aritmética em cada grupo conforma as notas finais, e a soma destas resulta no grau potencial de transformação das áreas analisadas em espaços vegetados. Após a aplicação do procedimento metodológico e de visitas às áreas com maior potencial de transformação, foram lançadas proposições com o intuito de viabilizar meios para a implantação de hortas nesses vazios urbanos e, consequentemente, para a construção de modelos de produção sustentável para o cultivo.

Les jardins associatifs (p.ex. familiaux) connaissent aujourd’hui un regain d’intérêt en France et sont souvent associés à de nombreuses fonctionnalités et services au sein des systèmes urbains (p.ex. alimentation, support de biodiversité). A ce titre, les sols de jardins représentent un enjeu majeur et leur caractérisation, aussi bien physicochimique que biologique nécessite d’être mieux appréhendée. Quelle est la relation entre les caractéristiques physicochimiques et les pratiques de jardinage ? Quelle est l’influence de ces propriétés sur la biodiversité fonctionnelle et taxonomique ? Pour répondre à ces questions, des investigations ont été menées au sein de jardins potagers choisis pour être représentatifs de la variabilité de ces systèmes sur le territoire national français. Les travaux ont porté sur les propriétés agronomiques et toxiques des terres de surface. La végétation et les microarthropodes du sol ont aussi été caractérisés. A l’aide de plusieurs bases de données, des comparaisons avec d’autres usages de sols ont permis de replacer les sols de jardins étudiés au sein de la couverture pédologique française. Ainsi, en dépit de teneurs totales élevées en métaux, les sols de jardins présentent une fertilité physicochimique indéniable et sont le support d’une biodiversité du sol élevée. En revanche, pour la végétation, une homogénéisation biotique croissante au sein des villes est observable avec la sélection d'espèces ayant des traits adaptés au milieu urbain. Les sols de jardins, pourtant situés dans un contexte urbain fortement anthropisé, ne doivent donc pas être considérés comme des écosystèmes dégradés, mais au contraire comme une ressource à préserver / Community gardens (e.g. allotments, shared gardens) currently experience a renewed interest among the French and are often associated with many functions and services within urban ecosystems (vegetable supply, biodiversity). As such, garden soils are a major concern and their characteristics (physico-chemical as well as biological ones) need to be better understood. What connection is there between the functional quality of garden soils and the alteration of their physico-chemical characteristics by gardening practices? What influence do these properties in garden soils have on functional and taxonomic biodiversity? In order to answer these questions, investigations were conducted in vegetable gardens chosen as representative of the ecosystemic variability within French territory. On one hand work was done on the topsoil's agronomical properties and toxicity. On the other hand these soils were characterised using several biological indicators, such as vegetal species and soil microarthropods. With the help of several databases, we were able to place these garden soils among other french topsoils by comparing them to other land uses. Despite having high total metallic contents garden soils show an undeniable physico-chemical fertility, and support a high level of soil biodiversity. In contrast, an increasing plant biotic homogenisation can be observed within cities. Indeed, there is a selection of species with traits that are particularly adapted to urban environments. In conclusion, even though garden soils exist in a highly anthropised urban context they are not degraded ecosystems, but rather a precious resource