Issue 43, 2020
Articles
Development and validation of the Just Community Gardening Survey: A measure of the social and dietary outcomes of community garden participation
Our aim was to develop and validate a survey measuring outcomes of community gardening related to food system equity. Face validity was assessed by six community gardening experts and resulted in minor changes to the survey. Weighted kappa and Cronbach’s alpha were used to determine test-retest reliability and internal consistency using a sample of community gardeners in New York City (n=38). Weighted kappa analyses revealed almost perfect agreement (mean = 0.981, range 0.498-1, p≤.001). Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for eight scales, most of which had excellent agreement. The resulting 25-item Just Community Gardening Survey consisted of demographic, garden participation, garden activities, social participation, social cohesion, collective efficacy, perceived impact on dietary intake, food access and security, horticultural and environmental knowledge and diet-related health questions. This validated survey not only measures the social and dietary outcomes of community gardening, it incorporates important aspects of food justice not assessed in previous research.
Do children want environmental rights? Ask the Children!
In this paper, we argue for the importance of application and safeguarding of the ‘environmental rights of children,’ and further argue that an understanding of children’s perspectives towards nature and their rights to a viable and healthy environment can help both educational and policy development. To that end, we present a case study of preliminary qualitative research conducted in the United Kingdom that asks children themselvestheir views and degree of exposure to the natural environment. This research is underpinned by an environmental rights-based approach for environmental education, and a novel argument for incorporating children’s own understandings and perspectives in application of environmental rights. We conclude with recommendations for strengthening children’s environmental engagement, protection of rights, and education, and recognize that there is a need for further research to better understand children’s perspectives to their own environmental rights.
Assessment of Environmental Consciousness among Patrons in Selected Academic and Public Libraries in Lagos Metropolis
The study examined environmental consciousness patterns among patrons in academic and public libraries. Using the survey method, data was collected from 383 patrons who were conveniently selected from six libraries in Lagos metropolis. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal consistency and reliability of the multiple item scales. The least Cronbach’s Alpha value returned for the variables in the questionnaire was 0.79. Q uantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Waste disposal was found to be the most disturbing environmental issue. Respondents from both academic and public libraries agreed that there is not enough useful information on adopting pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs). Further findings showed that respondents from both academic and public libraries demonstrate similar pattern of motivation towards environmental consciousness. It is recommended that libraries should include services that will foster eco-friendly behaviour among library patrons.
Reviews
Review: The Nature of Hope: Grassroots Organizing, Environmental Justice, and Political Change
Book review
Review: Green Growth That Works: Natural Capital Policy and Finance Mechanisms Around the World
Book Review
Review: Éduquer par la Philosophie et le Conte au Développement Durable: 12 Ateliers Pédagogiques (Education through philosophy and tale for Sustainability development: 12 pedagogical workshops)
Book review of Éduquer par la Philosophie et le Conte au Développement Durable: 12 Ateliers Pédagogiques.
Review: Food Loss and Food Waste: Causes and Solutions
Book review for Food Loss and Food Waste: Causes and Solutions.
Review: Plastic Soup: An Atlas of Ocean Pollution
Book review for Plastic Soup: An Atlas of Ocean Pollution.
Review: Le Saint-Laurent d'île en île. Rencontres et paysages (The St. Lawrence from Island to Island: Meetings and Landscapes)
Book review of Le Saint-Laurent d'île en île. Rencontres et paysages
Review: Critical Care : Architecture and Urbanism for a Broken Planet
Today, architecture and urbanism are capital-centric, speculation-driven, and investment-dominated. Many cannot afford housing. Austerity measures have taken a disastrous toll on public infrastructures. The climate crisis has rendered the planet vulnerable, even uninhabitable. This book offers an alternative vision in architecture and urbanism that focuses on caring for a broken planet. Rooted in a radical care perspective that always starts from the given, in the midst of things, this edited collection of essays and illustrated case studies documents ideas and practices from an extraordinarily diverse group of contributors.Focusing on the three crisis areas of economy, ecology, and labor, the book describes projects including village reconstruction in China; irrigation in Spain; community land trust in Puerto Rico; revitalization of modernist public housing in France; new alliances in informal settlements in Nairobi; and the redevelopment of traditional building methods in flood areas in Pakistan. Essays consider such topics as ethical architecture, land policy, creative ecologies, diverse economies, caring communities, and the exploitation of labor. Taken together, these case studies and essays provide evidence that architecture and urbanism have the capacity to make the planet livable, again.
Review: Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future
Book review for Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future