European research on rural care farming has shown it to be an effective means of therapy for vulnerable populations that have experienced neglect or trauma, such as individuals with learning disabilities and the formerly incarcerated. However, what role can care farming play in building a sense of community amongst at-risk urban youth? Specifically, does care farming influence how continuation students see their urban school community? This paper aims to answer these questions through community-based participatory research with continuation students at John R. Wooden High School (JRWHS) in Reseda, California. With many of the students facing personal traumas and feeling neglected by standardized schooling, JRWHS students have found their one-acre urban school farm to be educationally and personally enriching. Using civic ecology as a lens in which to view care farming, this paper anticipates to see community building as inherently part of care farming. Indicators of community, such feelings of belonging and having an influence, will be examined alongside JRWHS students’ stories through focus groups, interviews, and observations.
Jesse Flores, University of California Los Angeles
