Future of Food: Journal on Food

Recycling urban waste as possible use for rooftop vegetable garden

Grard B.J.-P
UMR ECOSYS, INRA, France and UMR ESE, AgroParisTech – University Paris-Sud, CNRS France.
Bel N.
TOPAGER, France
Marchal N.
Association “Potager sur les toits”, France
Madre F.
TOPAGER, France and UMR CESCO 7204, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, France.
Castell J.-F.
UMR ECOSYS, INRA, France
Cambier P.
UMR ECOSYS, INRA, France
Houot S.
UMR ECOSYS, INRA, France
Manouchehri N.
UMR GENIAL, AgroParisTech, France
Besancon S.
UMR GENIAL, AgroParisTech, France
Michel J.-C.
UP EPHOR, Agrocampus Ouest, France
Chenu C.
UMR ECOSYS, INRA, France
Frascaria-Lacoste N.
UMR ESE, AgroParisTech – University Paris-Sud, CNRS France.
Aubry C.
UMR SAD-APT, INRA, France

Urban authorities in Europe are confronted with increasing demands by urban dwellers for allotment gardens, but vacant urban soil tends to be scarce and/or polluted by past industrial activities. A possible solution for local authorities could therefore be to promote rooftop gardening. However little technical information exists on certain forms of rooftop urban agriculture, called Z-Farming. In 2012, a pilot experiment was run in Paris (France). Simple and cheap systems of rooftop gardening were tested on a rooftop using as crop substrates only local urban organic waste so as to contribute to the urban metabolism. Production levels and heavy metal contents in cropping substrates and edible vegetables were measured. Available results show (i) high levels of crop production with limited inputs compared to land professional gardening, (ii) low levels of heavy metal pollutants in the edible parts of the crops, especially for Cd and Pb with respect to EU norms for vegetables and (iii) positive influence on yields on organizing the substrate in layers and enhancing the biological activity through earthworm inoculation. These encouraging results allow us to consider that rooftop gardening is feasible and seem to have a great potential to improve urban resiliency. It will nevertheless be necessary to identify more precisely the types of roof that can be used and to assess more fully the generic result of the low level of pollution, as well as the global sustainability of these cropping systems.

Keywords : urban farming ,urban agriculture ,organic waste ,green roof ,vegetables .

Myanmar High School Students’ Perceptions of College and International Readiness in Western Society

Mark Speckien
Louisiana Tech University
Mark Speckien
Louisiana Tech University
International students are more likely to experience mental health issues and increased stress. Mental health is often surrounded by negative societal stigmas that act as barriers to seeking support and tend to lead to greater mental health concerns. International students tend to seek socioemotional support from other international student peers rather than seeking out counseling services. However, this study shows that LGBTQIA+ international students were less likely to seek socioemotional support from other international student peers due to fear of their sexual orientation being discovered and their families finding out about their identity. This study examines how LGBTQIA+ international students talk about their experiences on and off campus in relations to their socioemotional well-being. Specifically, this study sought to better understand the complexities of LGBTQIA+ students’ identities, and the challenges they faced in terms of their socioemotional well-being. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Keywords : international students, socioemotional well-being, mental health, identity development, intersectionality, LGBTQIA