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Current and Past Research

Four researchers interacting amongst the crops on the rooftop farm

The Urban Farm has been supporting research since 2016, officially becoming a Living Lab in 2019 to better support and integrate research projects and priorities into our day-to-day operations.

Current projects

Goals

Natural dyes are a way to experience ecological, historical, social cultural and artistics understandings of human, plan, land, community and ancestral relations. This pilot-led, research-creation project grows several nature dye plant species at the Urban Farm Living Lab for teaching, learning, research and creative activity.

Principal investigators

Joseph Medaglia (BFA, MA) and the Natural Dye Network in Northeast America (external link) 

Project duration

May 2022 - Ongoing

Goals

To investigate the performance of low-cost sensors and sensor networks for continuous and real-time monitoring of a productive green roof and gain a better understanding of rooftop hydrologic and thermal benefits analysis, including supervision of plant growth and temperature.

Principal investigators

Afsana Alam Akhie (BSc) Dr. Darko Joksimovic (PhD)

Project duration

April 2022 - October 2022

Goals

This project will compare and contrast non-dominant methods of crop production, including urban-rooftop, with respect to their viability in Ontario from practical and legal perspectives. The goal is to evaluate whether spillover benefits of these methods are proportionally incentivized by the province when considering climate-change and a post-covid future.

Principal investigators

Adam Binhammer (BScH) and Dr. Angela Lee (PHD)

Project duration

April 2022 - October 2022

Goals

To install a meteorological station on the roof of the George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre to monitor temperature, precipitation, wind speed/direction, humidity, and certain types of solar radiation; to use data as a teaching tool and for other research purposes. 

Principal investigator

Prof. Claire Oswald (PhD)

Project duration

August 2020 - Ongoing

Past projects

Goals

To compare the ecosystem services, such as the ability to mitigate urban heat island and the potential to manage stormwater, of a rooftop farm, a green roof and a conventional roof. 

Final report Hydrologic and Thermal Performance of a Full-Scale Farmed Blue-Green Roof (external link) 

Principal investigators

Tamer Almaaitah (MSc), Dr. Darko Joksimovic (PhD)

Project duration

August 2020 - December 2021

Goals This study aimed to find out whether adding biochar to an engineered green roof soil blend would ameliorate the soil in order to successfully grow spray-free vegetables.
Final report Using biochar as an amendment for engineered green roof soil blend (external link) 
Principal investigator Michelle Dang (Molecular Science (MSc) students and graduate research farm assistant), Ines Lacarne (Urban Farm lead field assistant) and the Ecological Farmers' Association of Ontario (external link) 
Project duration March 2021 - November 2021
Goals To monitor evapotranspiration, test various growing medium amendments and irrigation in test beds using varied green roof technology assembly.
Final report Addressing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus through Enhanced Green Roof Performance (external link) 
Principal investigator Prof. Kristiina Mai (PhD)
Research assistants Jeremy Lytle (BEng), Luzalen Marcos (BEng), Devon Santillo (BEng) and Jeremy Wright (BEng)
Project duration 2020 to 2021
Goals Monitoring irrigation usage, water flow sensors, wireless soil sensors.
Principal investigator

Prof. Kristiina Mai (PhD)

 

Research assistants Nabeel Ahmed (MES), Martin Fernandez (BEng), Pruthal Merchant (BEng), Devon Santillo (BEng), Bethany Santos (BEng) and Abigail Sy (BEng)
Project duration 2015 to 2019
Investigators

Prof. Kristiina Mai (PhD), Maleeka Batool (BEng), Dau Ekubor (BEng) and Rose Esfandi (BEng)

Completed 2019
Final report Indicators for Urban Agriculture in Toronto: A Scoping Analysis (external link) 
Investigators

Paul Coleman, health research specialist with Toronto Food Strategy, Toronto Public Health; Rhonda Teitel-Payne, co-coordinator with Toronto Urban Growers

Completed December 2016
Investigators

Muhammad Ammar Khan (BEng,  Department of Civil Engineering, Toronto Metropolitan University)

Completed 2016
Investigators

M. Nabeel Ahmed (MEng, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Toronto Metropolitan University)

Completed 2016
Final report Earthworm Populations in Agricultural Green Roofs and their Influence on Soil Nitrogen, Greater Toronto Area
Investigators

Caitlin Santos (MASc, Environmental Applied Science and Management, Toronto Metropolitan University)

Completed 2016
Investigators

Adrian Lue (MGeog, Department of Geography & Planning, University of Toronto)

Completed 2016