Current and Past Research
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. |
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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. |
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Principal investigators |
Afsana Alam Akhie (BSc) Dr. Darko Joksimovic (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. |
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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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| Principal investigator | Prof. Kristiina Mai (PhD)
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| 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) |
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| Completed | 2019 |
| Final report | Indicators for Urban Agriculture in Toronto: A Scoping Analysis (external link) |
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| 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) |
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| Completed | 2016 |
| Investigators | M. Nabeel Ahmed (MEng, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Toronto Metropolitan University) |
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| Completed | 2016 |
| Final report | Earthworm Populations in Agricultural Green Roofs and their Influence on Soil Nitrogen, Greater Toronto Area |
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| 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) |
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| Completed | 2016 |