Abstract
Although urban community food gardens have the capacity to strengthen and support neighborhoods in need, the benefits of such operations must be considered in tandem with the potential risks associated with urban environmental contamination. Therefore, research is needed to characterize existing community gardens in urban areas. In the present study, a survey of Houston, TX, community gardeners (N = 20) was conducted to better understand their risk-based knowledge and perceptions, current gardening practices, and willingness to implement risk mitigation measures. Soil samples collected from the beds (N = 22) and surrounding grounds (N = 24) of existing community garden sites in Houston, TX, were screened for trace and heavy metals using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The survey indicated that community gardeners had few concerns with regard to potential soilborne hazards and were generally willing to use diverse strategies to reduce potential hazards related to garden soil contamination. Ground and garden bed soil collected from community gardens were found to have excess concentrations of arsenic compared to federal health screening limits. The information provided here provides insight into possible discordance between community gardening risk perception and contamination risk that could be addressed through outreach, engagement, and remediation approaches.
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This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) under grant number P42ES027704 through the Texas A&M University Superfund Research Center. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIEHS.
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This work was supervised by a dissertation committee consisting of Dr. Jennifer A. Horney of the Program in Epidemiology of the University of Delaware and at Texas A&M University, Dr. Galen D. Newman of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Dr. Thomas J. McDonald of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, and Dr. Xiahui Xu of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. All primary data collection and analysis for this dissertation were performed independently by the student, Katie Kirsch.
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The survey protocol, questionnaire instrument, information sheet, and recruitment email were reviewed and approved by the Texas A&M University Institutional Review Board prior to data collection and determined to be exempt (IRB# IRB2019-1204 M).
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Potential survey respondents were screened to ensure that they were 18 years of age or older and affiliated with a community garden in Houston, TX. Individuals who met these criteria were required to provide informed consent to participate. Individuals who indicated that they are not 18 years of age or older, who were not affiliated with a community garden in Houston, TX, and/or declined to consent to participate did not advance to the survey.
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Kirsch, K.R., McDonald, T.J., Newman, G.D. et al. Surveys of community garden affiliates and soils in Houston, Texas. Environ Monit Assess 194, 330 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-09997-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-09997-4