Garden Mosaics, a National Science Foundation-funded urban environmental sciences education project, has been recognized in the Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment competition, which identifies "the most outstanding initiatives that have made a positive contribution to improving the quality of life in cities and communities around the world."

The award is sponsored by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) and the municipality of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Marianne Krasny, Cornell professor and chair of natural resources, is the principal investigator for the project, and extension associate Keith Tidball is the program leader.

Garden Mosaics is an interactive science education program available on DVD and developed at Cornell that has been thriving in more than two dozen cities around the country and in South Africa for several years. The program combines science learning, multicultural understanding, intergenerational mentoring and community action through gardening. It has been adopted as the signature education program of the American Community Gardening Association.

Garden Mosaics was chosen by the Technical Advisory Committee of the UN-Habitat for the "good" practices category from among 715 practices. All selected practices will be featured on the Best Practices Database (http://www.bestpractices.org/). From the 1996 to 2006, more than 2,700 good and best practices from 140 countries have been compiled in the database. Through its global network of partners, best practices are analyzed with a view to extracting lessons that others can learn from and incorporate into their own work. The Best Practices Database and its partners also produce casebooks, engage in the transfers of best practice knowledge and expertise, and invite good and best practices to be showcased in conferences, seminars and training workshops.

Garden Mosaics' other awards include a gold plaque at the Intercom Awards (Chicago International Film Festival), a gold statuette at the Millennium Awards, a bronze Telly Award and honorable mention at the Chris Awards (Columbus International Film Festival).