Justice through School Gardens

How do food systems become unjust?

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Why do our current food systems fail to provide access to healthy school for so many children?

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What role may schools play in alleviating inequities in food systems?

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How might Arizona policies make school gardens part of all schools?

This course on school gardens will provide students with interdisciplinary approaches on how to make our food system more sustainable and just by connecting students to local elementary schools. Through the school garden, Lab students will support an elementary school's environmental and nutritional education curriculum. Lab students will use their experiences to create a model for state policy on gardens in school. As part of our intellectual scaffolding for understanding the importance of school gardens at the intersection of food justice, environmental justice, and climate justice, students will investigate the problems with the modern food system and how it exacerbates inequalities, for example, health outcomes and children's performance in school. In this Lab, we will look at food and food systems to get at some of the fundamental justice questions raised and then how school gardens might be part of the solution to those inequities. Fulfills (HU or SB) general studies requirements.

Collaborations

•   Cultural Resources Department of the Salt River Pima Maricopa     Indian Community
•   Matthew Toro, Geospatial Hub, ASU Library
•   Motoki Nomachi, Professor of Slavic Minority Languages
•   Labriola Center, ASU Library
•   Joseph Buenker, ASU Library

School Gardens in the News

At the Humanities Lab, we strive to ensure our Labs are relevant and current. Here are some recent articles about the health of education in today’s news!

Black Gardeners Find Refuge in the Soil
Opinion: Here’s how our organic school garden helps students grow