Master of Environmental Management (MEM) students Reilly Henson, Sofia Tenorio-Fenton, and Elissa Tikalsky (L-R) gardening on the Nicholas School rooftop. Reilly and Sofia registered for the Fall 2016 Executive Education course “Intermediate Environmental Social Marketing Strategy” to inform the research methods for their Master’s project and support the work of the Duke Superfund Research Center.

Community gardens promote health by helping people to eat well, exercise, and make connections to nature and each other. (The Nicholas School rooftop garden is a great example!) But chemical contaminants—such as lead, arsenic, and pesticides—found in soil at some gardens can cause health problems. Are gardeners in North Carolina aware of potential risks from soil contaminants, and if so, are they taking action to address these concerns? If not, how can social marketing methods inform behavior change among gardeners?

These are some of the questions that the Research Translation Core (RTC) of the Duke Superfund Research Center recently started to explore in a community-based participatory research project. Dr. Elizabeth Shapiro-Garza, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Environmental Policy and Management at the Nicholas School of the Environment, and coordinated by myself and Superfund Center colleague Bryan Luukinen.  We are fortunate to also receive support from three Nicholas School MEM students (Elissa Tikalsky, Reilly Henson, and Sofia Tenorio-Fenton). Our group also collaborates with a number of community-based and governmental partners in North Carolina.

Students observe animals at a community garden where members of the project team led an educational activity about reducing exposure to soil contaminants. (Photo by Catherine Kastleman.)

Since one of the project goals is to create a social marketing campaign to help gardeners make informed decisions about reducing soil contaminant exposure, several team members decided to learn more about social marketing by participating in the Nicholas School’s Executive Education (NSEE) course, “Intermediate Environmental Social Marketing Strategy” taught by Brian Day.  This non-credit course provides valuable skills to both MEM students and research practitioners like Bryan and myself.

The students used the practical exercises from the course to design and plan educational materials, focus groups, interviews, and a survey for gardeners. Bryan and I built skills in communications and health behavior change that we will use not only for this project, but also in future work.

As a result of taking an Executive Education course, our team built the capacity to implement an effective campaign so that gardeners across North Carolina can stay safe and healthy while reaping all the benefits of community gardens.

 

By Catherine Kastleman, MPH, Program Coordinator for the Research Translation Core and Community Engagement Core, Duke Superfund Research Center