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Articles on Urban gardening

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The Market Gardeners’ District in Bamberg is made up of several hectares of land encircled by densely built small houses of a distinct style. Unesco

Inside Bamberg’s Market Gardeners’ District, where medieval traditions meet a changing world

Urban farming is an ancient tradition in Bamberg, and the gardeners’ district is an integral part of the World Heritage City, growing food, promoting sustainability and fighting climate change.
Trouble in paradise: Disappointments in school and community gardens point to the need for systemic changes in how our society organizes land, labour and resources. (Mitchell McLarnon)

Community and school gardens don’t magically sprout bountiful benefits

Gardens require huge labour, and outcomes like health, well-being or food security are affected by systemic barriers people face in cities and schools.
Community vegetable gardens, such as this one in Pickering, Ont., support health and should be seen as part of the city’s food system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

A prescription for health: City vegetable gardens produce more than just food

Publicly accessible gardens are an essential part of our food system. It’s important for policymakers to understand that growing food in city gardens is central to health, food security and culture.
A bumblebee visits a blooming honeysuckle plant. Sidorova Mariya | Shutterstock

Urban gardens are crucial food sources for pollinators - here’s what to plant for every season

Up to 85% of the nectar available to pollinating insects in a city comes from gardens. What we plant – whether in an allotment or a window box – can make a huge difference.
Plants are more than background foliage in our busy lives. Our relationship with plants supports human health and well-being in many ways. (Sarah Elton)

How the relationships we have with plants contribute to human health in many ways

Plants support human health not only in terms of providing food, oxygen and shade. Our relationships with plants facilitate political decisions and actions that support health in the city.
Despite help from the government and charities, the number of food-insecure kids is rising. NurPhoto/Getty Images

18 million US children are at risk of hunger: How is the problem being addressed and what more can be done?

An estimated 1 in 4 US children have trouble getting enough to eat at least sometimes. We asked four scholars for their insights..
Compost awaiting distribution at the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District’s Rancho Las Virgenes compost facility, Calabasas, Calif. Brian Vander Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

City compost programs turn garbage into ‘black gold’ that boosts food security and social justice

Turning food scraps and yard trimmings into compost improves soil, making it easier for people to grow their own food. City composting programs spread those benefits more widely.
Affluent neighborhoods have very different microbes from those in poor ones. Zentangle/Shutterstock.com

Inequity takes a toll on your gut microbes, too

You probably know about the collection of microorganisms that live in, on and around us. But did you know that not everyone in society has equal access to them? That needs to change.

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