Environmental (In)Justice from the Ground Up: Variation of Soil Health in Burlington, Vermont’s Community Gardens
Conference Year
2023
Abstract
Human social inequities are key drivers of ecosystem function in urban environments, yet few current literatures adequately account for them. This study examines relationships between Burlington residents’ social vulnerability — which measures a community's resilience when responding to or recovering from threats to public health — and the health of the soil in neighborhood community gardens. Soil samples from 17 gardens were collected and analyzed. Soil biochemistry and heavy metal content were compared to social vulnerability data using principal component analysis, stepwise regression, and related analyses. Results suggest that Burlington residents with higher social vulnerability have access to less healthy soil
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Deborah Neher
Secondary Mentor Name
Bindu Panikkar
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources
Second Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
Environmental Sciences
Primary Research Category
Life Sciences
Environmental (In)Justice from the Ground Up: Variation of Soil Health in Burlington, Vermont’s Community Gardens
Human social inequities are key drivers of ecosystem function in urban environments, yet few current literatures adequately account for them. This study examines relationships between Burlington residents’ social vulnerability — which measures a community's resilience when responding to or recovering from threats to public health — and the health of the soil in neighborhood community gardens. Soil samples from 17 gardens were collected and analyzed. Soil biochemistry and heavy metal content were compared to social vulnerability data using principal component analysis, stepwise regression, and related analyses. Results suggest that Burlington residents with higher social vulnerability have access to less healthy soil