Progress 12/11/14 to 10/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:We have two target audiences: Practitioners and activists in New Jersey urban agriculture General public seeking information on New Jersey urban agriculture. Changes/Problems:We started this project with the intention of mapping existing urban agriculture networks. Through discussions with urban agriculture organization staff and advocates, it became clear that this effort was not considered as important as other efforts to develop a broad and inclusive network. By working with the agricultural community and urban advocates, we have built a stronger network of support for urban agriculture. The proposal for GIS mapping was further complicated by the loss of a research assistant with experience in GIS mapping; this person was replaced by someone with much more focus on networking, technical assistance to community organizations, and focus on policy. We believe this shift was responsive to our intended audience and also led to some very impactful work. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have 3 educational outcomes: Active website that provides educational resources and materials: agriurban.rutgers.edu. Ag in the City biennial conference Educational programs at Rutgers New Brunswick, including:development of the Student Farm as demonstration of small-scale urban organic production, thestudent farm internship program, and summer course, "Principles and Practices of Small Scale Urban Agriculture." How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Website: agriurban.rutgers.edu Ag in the City conference Multiple presentations to local groups and agencies. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1) In the process of working on this research project, we realized that there is confusion about what the term "urban agriculture" means. Rather than mapping existing programs, we focused on broadening how people perceive urban agriculture so that it is more inclusive - for-profit and non-profit gardening, food production, and direct marketing that connects urban consumers with local agriculture. We developed new content for our website to promote this inclusive definition. Video became our main conduit for education, with five short videos highlighting different examples of urban agriculture around the state of New Jersey. 2) Based on information gained from multiple site visits, interviews, and meetings, we have gained a very good perspective on the unique opportunities and challenges for urban agriculture in New Jersey. We have presented this work to multiple audiences. Most important, however, was a keynote that Laura Lawson gave at an Urban Agriculture Symposium organized by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Justice Advocacy Council. At attendance was the Secretary of Agriculture, who was very receptive to a broad definition of urban agriculture and asked that the presentation be distributed throughout his agency. 3) We have continued to build the capacity of the Ag in the City network. We formed an advisory group to guide networking efforts and identify key priority topics for discussion. On December 8, we held the 2017 Ag in the City conference at Rutgers New Brunswick, attended by approximately 50 urban agriculture practitioners and advocates. The conference focused on four areas - urban direct marketing, policy concerns related to New Jersey's 5-acre rule, community engagement, and the role of urban agriculture in local food system planning.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Lawson, Laura and Meredith Taylor. "Urban Changes Everything about Agriculture." The Culture of Cultivation: Designing with Agriculture conference, University of Pennsylvania, November 17-18, 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Lawson, Laura. "An Assessment of Urban Agriculture in New Jersey." Keynote at Urban Agriculture Symposium, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Oct. 18, 2017.
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Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:This year, the major focus of our engagement efforts have involved developing demonstration projects on the Rutgers University campus that can be used for demonstration, teaching, and outreach. One such demonstration site is the new Rutgers Student Farm, established spring 2016, to facilitate new courses, volunteer activities, and other activities. The target audience includes students in agricultural majors, students in other majors (i.e. social work, landscape architecture, planning, human ecology, etc.), and the general public. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The intention of the demonstration sites is to provide hands-on training opportunities for students and community-at-large. We have developed a new course, "Principles and Practices of Small-scale Urban Agriculture," which ran in summer 2016 with 13 students from diverse majors. These efforts will continue in 2017. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated primarily through our website: http://agriurban.rutgers.edu/. We developed a video to highlight the student farm, which has been shown at conferences and other gatherings as well. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Goal 1: we will continue to gather information on existing and new urban agricultural efforts. The goal is to develop a series of New Jerseyurban agriculture profiles that will be included on our website in 2017. Goal 3: we will have a fall conference, "Ag and the City," that will convene urban agriculture and community garden activities in the state to discuss key issues (economic, political, technical, social).
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We continue to be in touch with new projects in New Jersey. We have not focused on the mapping component of this goal in 2016. In an effort to provide technical support and promote urban agriculture to address food insecurity, we are developing demonstration projects on campus that can be used for education and outreach. This year, we established the Rutgers Student Farm at Rutgers Gardens. The initial site - approximately 1/3 acre - became the site for classes, volunteer activities, and internship program. One half of the produce grown was donated to the local foodbank. Students maintained records, and this will be used to promote further work on urban agriculture's impact on food security strategies. The Student Farm will expand to 4 acres in the next 2 years. We are also facilitating the development of an aeroponics lab, campus community garden, and other demonstration sites. Effort continues to develop the "Ag in the City" network. We have organized an advisory group of urban agriculture practitioners from around the state to guide the development of a 2017 Ag and the City conference. This conference is intended to convene many of the New Jersey community garden and urban agriculture community to discuss key issues and network.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Lawson, Laura, Luke Drake, and Nurgul Fitzgerald. "Foregrounding Community-building in Community Food Security: A Case Study of the New Brunswick Community Farmers Market and Esperanza Garden." City of Farmers: Problems, Possibilities and Processes of Producing Food in Cities. Edited by Julie Dawson and Alfonso Morales. University of Iowa Press, 2016. Pages 140-158.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Drake, Luke, Beth Ravit, and Laura J. Lawson. "Developing a Vacant Land Inventory through Productive Partnerships: A University, NGO, and Municipal Planning Collaboration in Trenton, New Jersey." Cities and the Environment 8, 2 (article 6) (2016).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Lawson, Laura with Meredith Taylor and Arianna Lindberg, "Forging Forward with Urban and Organic Agriculture at Rutgers," Northeast Organic Farmers Association New Jersey Annual Conference, Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, NJ. January 30, 2016.
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Progress 12/11/14 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences have been 1) community garden and urban agricutlure non-profit organizations, 2) community garden and urban agriculture particpants, and 3) scholars/academics engaged in urban agriculture research. Changes/Problems:A major challenge faced has been the closure of two nonprofit organizations that the PI intended to study as networking organizations. One of the reasons that the board at Ag in the City felt they could end was because the PI had been selected as Dean of Agriculture and Urban Programs and could include their work in the goals of her office, the Office of Agriculture and Urban Programs. The Farm-to-School Network was absorbed into the Dept. of Agriculture. Both of these examples reveal the acceptance of urban agriculture. The PI will continue to study and support networking of community gardens and urban agriculture through her office. A second challenge is due to staff changes. The goal to develop GIS software was supported by a research associate, Luke Drake, who left Rutgers in July 2015. The PI will seek this expertise elsewhere. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Ag in the City Conference, held March 13, 2015, at the Rutgers-Newark campus. This event drew approximately 200 participants. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The PI has developed a website: agriurban.rutgers.edu. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Goal 1: Ongoing documentation of community gardens and urban agricultural projects in New Jersey and development of typology Goal 2: Development of case studies for Trenton and/or New Brunswick. Goal 3: diagrammatic and GIS analysis of urban agricultural network, including farmers' markets
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1, objective 1 - The PI continues to document existing community gardens and urban agiruclutre in New Jersey. Of particular note is her work assisting in the development of new gardens - one in East Orange and the otherat the Boys and Girls Club in Trenton. A case study was completed that describes the New Brunswick Community Farmers' Market and its associated Jardin de la Esperanza; this will be published in a book chapter. Goal 1, objective 2 - little progress made to date on development of a typology. Goal 2, objective 1 - little progress to date on case studies in Trenton and New Brunswick. Work was completed on a vacant land survey that was done in partnership with Isles, a nonprofit organization supporting urban agriculture and community gardens in Trenton. This was documented in a multi-authored journal article. Goal 2, objective 2 - This part of the project has been compromised by unexpectedclosure ofthe two nonprofit organizations the PI intended to study - Ag in the City and the Farm-to-School Network. For the first half of 2015, the PI joined the board of Ag in the City and assisted in planning a statewide conference. This conference was held March 13, 2015 with approximately 200 participants. However, after the conference, the board decided to end the non profit because of funding concerns and lack of staff support. The organization has handed over all their material to the PI. the Farm-to-School Network's mission has been absorbed into the Department of Agriculture. Goal 2, objective 3 - this objective is no longer possible because of the closure of the organizations. The PI is looking into alternatives. Goal 3, objective 1-3. The PI has taken leadership in developing the Office of Agriculture and Urban Programs, within the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University. This office will assist in raising awareness of urban agriculture in New Jersey. To date, the PI has hired staff to support the office, developed a website (www.agriurban.rutgers.edu), and presented the new office's intended mission to Rutgers faculty, extension agents, nonprofit organizations, students, and others.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Lawson, Laura, Luke Drake, and Nurgul Fitzgerald. "Foregrounding Community-building in Community Food Security: A Case Study of the New Brunswick Community Farmers Market and Esperanza Garden." City of Farmers: Problems, Possibilities and Processes of Producing Food in Cities. Edited by Julie Dawson and Alfronso Morales. University of Iowa Press. In contract, anticipated 2016.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Drake, Luke, Beth Ravit, Iana Dikidjieva, and Laura J. Lawson. "Urban Greening Supported by GIS: From Data Collection to Policy Implementation." AIMS Environmental Science. Available online, 11/2015.
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