Reflecting on Urban Agriculture and Agricultural Literacy in 12 Years of Compulsory Education in Türkiye

As a part of the natural system, humankind has been in a multidimensional, direct and indirect relationship and interaction with nature since its existence, depending on factors such as individual and social value judgments, perceptions, level of understanding and interpretation, point of view, level of satisfaction of needs, degree of importance and priority, etc.  In this context, this obligatory coexistence has led to the emergence of irreversible negativities and problems as a result of human beings' tendency to destroy, exploit, change, shape, and consume nature as a unilateral commodity according to their own needs and requirements (Gül & Kurdoğlu, 2021).

Today, 55% of the world's population, which has reached 8 billion, lives in urban areas and this rate is expected to increase to 68% by 2050 (United Nations, 2023). In Turkey, the proportion of people living in provincial and district centers, which was 93.2% in 2021, became 93.4% in 2022. On the other hand, the proportion of people living in towns and villages decreased from 6.8% to 6.6% (TUIK, 2023).

As a result of social, cultural, economic, political, and technological changes, the urban population is increasing and urbanization is increasing both horizontally and vertically. As cities grow, biological reserves outside the city are decreasing and pressures on natural and rural areas are increasing. It is accepted by everyone that natural resources and ecosystems have reached an irreversible point as the multifaceted production and consumption activities of human beings gradually increase and exceed the carrying capacity of nature. In today's process, it has emerged that nature should be protected holistically, and human beings should adopt a lifestyle in harmony with nature.

For this purpose, the thought that environmental education is essential for the creation of sustainable life (Bonnett, 1999; Buckler & Creech, 2014; Farmer, Knapp & Benton, 2007; Orr, 1994; UNESCO, 2015; UNESCO, 2017) the idea of ecological literacy as a basic approach in the education system was put forward by Orr (1992) (Kujumdzieva, Nustorova & Nedeva, 2019). According to Orr (1994), he emphasized the importance of ecological literacy as a part of education, especially for living without harming the earth.

The experiences of children in their early childhood years are very important for their development and understanding for the rest of their lives. Environmental education to be provided to children in this period will enable children to gain knowledge, awareness, consciousness, and positive attitudes and behaviors about the environment and to be sustainable (Russo, 2001; Hellden & Hellden, 2008; Akbayrak & Kuru Turaşlı, 2017; Arlemalm-Hagser, 2013; Borg, Winberg & Vinterek, 2019; Buldur & Omeroğlu, 2018; Cohen & Horm-Wingerd, 1993; Evans et al, 2007; Hsiao & Shih, 2015; Kahriman-Ozturk, Olgan & Tuncer, 2012; Samur, 2018; Simsar, 2021; Soydan & Samur, 2014; Ozen Uyar & Yılmaz Genc, 2016).

Increasing environmental literacy is shown as the most effective way to deal with environmental problems (Akıllı & Genç, 2015).

In recent years, it is seen that there has been a gradual move away from organic (natural) agricultural production for many reasons such as population growth, negative consequences of climate change, approaches to reduce carbon emissions, and technological and digital developments.  In particular, a dangerous process has started in which genetically modified products, artificial meats, and products are produced and encouraged for consumption. Citizens who are not informed about this issue remain unaware of the basic facts about food, agriculture, and natural resources and do not even realize that the food products they use impair their health. Because it is accepted by experts that most diseases, especially cancer, are related to the food consumed and eating habits.

Therefore, for the sustainability of life and food security and standards, it has become a necessity for everyone to understand agricultural and animal production and consumption fundamentally well and to comprehend its importance in ecological terms. In this context, it is of great importance to initiate and disseminate ecological literacy to school-age children.

Individuals can exhibit environmentally friendly attitudes and behaviors by getting to know nature from early childhood. Because the saying "he who knows, loves; he who loves, protects" proves this. To know, love and protect nature; in short, requires being "ecologically literate". In this context, the term "ecological literacy" represents the transfer of sustainable ecological relations and processes in nature to daily life in a sustainable way in terms of understanding, making sense of, internalizing, discourse, and action.

Urban agriculture, one of the environmental and nature protection actions, is directly related to the "ecological literacy" process of urban people. To become ecologically literate, especially in urban schools, it is possible to implement environmental education with appropriate programs, curricula, and learning processes. As environmental education gains importance in the world and our country, issues related to environmental education take more place in educational processes. However, it is an important deficiency that environmental education is not carried out with appropriate course materials based on a program that shows integrity from the preschool stage to the end of education life. Unfortunately, the resources on environmental education published in our country so far are far away from the ideal of raising an ecologically literate generation because they do not carry the integrity of the subject appropriate to the nature of environmental education and do not effectively guide the learning processes.

This study, it was aimed to reveal the importance of the concept of agricultural literacy within the scope of ecological literacy and to make suggestions in the context of increasing awareness of agricultural literacy in childhood by including it in the 12-year compulsory education and training curriculum in Türkiye.