This paper describes the theoretical and conceptual framework and the research and practice model of Think&EatGreen@School, a community-based action research project aiming to foster food citizenship in the City of Vancouver and to develop a model of sustainable institutional food systems in public schools. The authors argue that educational and policy interventions at the school and school board level can drive the goals of food system sustainability, food security, and food sovereignty. The complex relationship between food systems, climate change and environmental degradation require that international initiatives promoting sustainability be vigorously complemented by local multi-stakeholder efforts to preserve or restore the capacity to produce food in a durable manner. As a step towards making the City of Vancouver green, we are currently involved in attempts to transform the food system of the local schools by mobilizing the energy of a transdisciplinary research team of twelve university researchers, over 300 undergraduate and graduate students, and twenty community-based researchers and organizations working on food, public health, environmental and sustainability education.

BackgroundThe Sustainably Managing Environmental Health Risk in Ecuador project was launched in 2004 as a partnership linking a large Canadian university with leading Cuban and Mexican institutes to strengthen the capacities of four Ecuadorian universities for leading community-based learning and research in areas as diverse as pesticide poisoning, dengue control, water and sanitation, and disaster preparedness.MethodsIn implementing curriculum and complementary innovations through application of an ecosystem approach to health, our interdisciplinary international team focused on the question: “Can strengthening of institutional capacities to support a community of practice of researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and communities produce positive health outcomes and improved capacities to sustainably translate knowledge?” To assess progress in achieving desired outcomes, we review results associated with the logic framework analysis used to guide the project, focusing on how a community of practice network has strengthened implementation, including follow-up tracking of program trainees and presentation of two specific case studies.ResultsBy 2009, train-the-trainer project initiation involved 27 participatory action research Master’s theses in 15 communities where 1200 community learners participated in the implementation of associated interventions. This led to establishment of innovative Ecuadorian-led master’s and doctoral programs, and a Population Health Observatory on Collective Health, Environment and Society for the Andean region based at the Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar. Building on this network, numerous initiatives were begun, such as an internationally funded research project to strengthen dengue control in the coastal community of Machala, and establishment of a local community eco-health centre focusing on determinants of health near Cuenca.DiscussionStrengthening capabilities for producing and applying knowledge through direct engagement with affected populations and decision-makers provides a fertile basis for consolidating capacities to act on a larger scale. This can facilitate the capturing of benefits from the “top down” (in consolidating institutional commitments) and the “bottom up” (to achieve local results).ConclusionsAlliances of academic and non-academic partners from the South and North provide a promising orientation for learning together about ways of addressing negative trends of development. Assessing the impacts and sustainability of such processes, however, requires longer term monitoring of results and related challenges.

From 2010 to 2016, the Think&EatGreen@School project worked to create healthy and sustainable school food systems in the Vancouver School Board. Using models of CommunityEngaged Scholarship and Community-Based Action Research, we implemented diverse programmatic and monitoring activities to provide students and teachers with hands-on food cycle education, in order to influence policy, and to encourage university students to engage actively with the food system. Our focus was on transformation of local school food systems as a context-specific means to address serious global issues related to food security, health and environmental sustainability. This paper provides a synthesis of the project including the context that led to its inception, its overarching goals, methodological framework and areas of impact. Key learnings from this project highlight the need for continued work to integrate research, teaching and action on global food security, environmental and public health challenges and to build connections to create healthy, sustainable school food systems. CFS/RCÉARojas et al.

The “key players in a community-based action research project in Vancouver Public Schools study” is a part of the Think&EatGreen@School (TEGS) project that aims to document the experiences of important actors within the movement towards healthy and sustainable Vancouver public school food systems and related learning opportunities. By interviewing key players in the Vancouver school food movement, we found that meaningful collaboration is a critical component in creating rich learning experiences that result in a more holistic and integrated perspective on food systems and improved quality of life. The TEGS Project is guided by principles of community-based action research (CBAR), an iterative process using community-university collaboration to identify opportunities, generate knowledge, and devise and implement locally-appropriate action to create desired change. Capturing the stories and experiences of key players represents an important step in articulating the learning emerging from this collaboration. Key Players commented on important networks, challenges, “success stories,” and styles of leadership that facilitate successes. The Key Players study has assisted the Think&EatGreen@School community of learners to better understand practices that constitute ‘ seeds of change,’ to use these seeds to replicate positive actions, and to refine and strengthen the direction of the project.

This paper describes how a Small Grants initiative evolved to support the aims of a large, multi-sector community-university research project. It explores how the giving of small amounts of project funding to community groups enabled a deepening of community engaged scholarship across a large community-university research alliance. We present the Think&EatGreen@School Small Grants initiative as a case study on how the distribution of small amounts of funding can encourage the role of community voices in research, create opportunities for resource and knowledge sharing, generate rich information and valuable data, support and contribute to networks of support and resource sharing, and articulate the interests of a broad diversity of stakeholders.