Work

The effect of campus gardens on urban biodiversity: An undergraduate lab series contributing to a national dataset

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In this series of labs, undergraduate students examine the effect of campus gardens on biodiversity, using other campus landscapes as controls. University campuses have not traditionally been considered a place for rigorous research, yet they are the one place available to every institution. Here we aim to encourage the use of campuses as study sites, harnessing the power of multiple investigators to contribute to a rigorous national dataset. This series of lab protocols includes field work on participants’ home campuses, investigating birds, insects, pollinators, plants, and soil organisms. Instructors may choose smaller or larger implementations of this series, such that the work may encompass a couple of weeks up to a full semester. For instructors lacking campus gardens, an alternative study design is presented utilizing community or other forms of neighborhood gardens. This resource is presented by TUBA (Teaching Undergraduate Biology through urban Agriculture), an NSF-sponsored Research Coordination Network.

Source: QUBES

DOI: 10.25334/v283-z783

Authors: Kay, Adam, Aoki, Carissa, Baumgarten, Joni, Stanko, Maria, Surasinghe, Thilina

Institutions: Maryland Institute College of Art, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Bridgewater State University

Language: English

Topic: Urban Agriculture and Sustainability

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Quality education, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W6907667546

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