Military Families Project

The Military Families Project is an integrated education/research project that is investigating the ability of a multi-generational Civic Ecology Education program to help communities deal with the stress of the military deployment cycle.

Youth and volunteer Veterans will create community gardens at The American Legions, VFW posts, and schools. They also will send seeds to parents who are deployed overseas so that they too can plant small gardens. Inspired by Kenneth Helphand's 2006 book describing the role of gardening in survival and resilience during wartime, the Civic Ecology Education programs for military families are called "Defiant Gardens" 4-H projects. The research component entails testing two hypotheses:

Civic Ecology Education programs targeting Military families and Veterans can increase the social capital of the youth, their parents, and Veterans.

Civic Ecology Education programs targeting Military families and Veterans can increase the biological diversity and ecosystem services at sites where the programs are conducted.

Civic Ecology Education programs potentially have multiple outcomes that help communities deal with stress, including the formation of trust and social networks among children and adults engaged in nature-based restoration activities, connections among youth and their broader community, young people and adults gaining volunteer experience, increased psychological and physical well-being and learning as a result of spending time in nature, and enhanced local environments.

The Military Families Project is starting in fall 2008 at Fort Drum, NY. Air and Army National Guard sites will be added in 2009. The Military Families Project is a collaboration between Jefferson County Cooperative Extension and Cornell University.

Funding for the Military Families Project is provided by Hatch and Smith-Lever funds through the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station.

Full Military Families Proposal (PDF).