Creating relevant science through urban planning and gardening

The purpose of this article is to describe a community-based science projec t that was coproduced with urban teenagers and to elaborate on my understan ding of what it means to create a practicing culture of science learning. T his understanding will be positioned in relation to various educationally r elevant discourses and research on urban science education, concluding with an exploration of these questions: In what ways did an urban planning and community gardening project help to create a teaming environment in which s cience was relevant? To whom was science relevant and toward what ends? It is argued that in a practicing culture of science learning, science was rel evant because (a) it was created from participants' concerns, interests, an d experiences inside and outside science, (b) it was an ongoing process of researching and then enacting ideas. and (c) it was situated within the bro ader community. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.