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Community Gardens as a Platform for Education for Sustainability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Linda Corkery
Linda Corkery*
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales
*
†Head of School, School of the Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. E-mail: l.corkery@unsw.edu.au
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Abstract

Community gardens fulfil many roles, including the reclamation of public space, community building, and the facilitation of social and cultural expression. This paper discusses a nexus between research and education for sustainability that evolved out of an examination of the role of community gardens in fostering community development and neighbourhood improvement in Sydney's Waterloo Public Housing Estate. It argues that they are also an educational resource providing a valuable platform for learning about multiple dimensions of sustainability.

The paperis based on interdisciplinary research undertaken by a team from UNSW's Faculty of the Built Environment and the School of Social Work. The findings of this research affirm the importance of community gardens for public housing tenants, and present the gardens and their associated activities as an effective platform for education for sustainability.

Keywords

community gardensneighbourhood improvementpublic housing.
Type
Research Article
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , 2004 , pp. 69 - 75
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004

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