Urban community gardens are vibrant spaces that celebrate inclusion and hands-on learning!
Community Garden Roots envisions community gardening as an avenue for growing social connection. Community gardens facilitate neighborhood resilience through knowledge transfer and resource sharing bringing together neighbours from different generations and diverse backgrounds.
People find themselves drawn to community gardens for a variety of reasons, whether it be to socialize, grow their own food or reduce their carbon footprint. These shared motivations naturally foster connections among gardeners, even between those meeting of the first time.
Research indicates that community gardens are deemed safe spaces that foster a sense of belonging, positive mental health and resilience, especially for those in minority populations. Growing and celebrating cultural foods often sparks conversations and storytelling, bringing together community members from diverse backgrounds.
Photo Credit: Angelina Sharma, Project Coordinator, Community Garden Roots.
Outdoor activities that allow for socialization have become top of mind following the social isolation experienced by many during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a shared, yet open-air place for gathering, community gardening is a social model resilient to the challenges of social distancing.
One gardener compared the impact of inclusive community participation to permaculture gardening, a gardening practice where an ecosystem flourishes through biodiversity. Communities not only foster sustainable agricultural resilience by contributing to these spaces, but also empower and strengthen their neighbours and the diversity of the local communities.
Photo Credit: Angelina Sharma, Project Coordinator, Community Garden Roots.
Community Garden Roots strives to support gardeners on their journey to put roots down in their new communities by providing the opportunity to grow fresh and culturally appropriate foods that remind them of home.
About the author
Melody Choi is an alumni of Simon Fraser University, with a major in Communications and a minor in Health Sciences. She participated in the PHABC RiseUp! Volunteer Program and completed her placement with Community Garden Roots (formerly known as Can You Dig It!). These blog posts were written to showcase the diverse benefits that community gardens offer.
References
Botany One. (2023, August). Pandemic gardening surged globally as a coping strategy, new research shows. https://botany.one/2023/08/pandemic-gardening-surged-globally-as-a-coping-strategy-new-research-shows/
Food and Agriculture Organization. (2021). Urban food systems and COVID-19: The role of city region food systems in building resilient food systems. https://www.fao.org/3/cb5463en/cb5463en.pdf
Greenleaf Communities. (n.d.). The many benefits of community gardens. https://www.greenleafcommunities.org/the-many-benefits-of-community-gardens/
Lowcock, A. (2014). Vancouver inclusive community gardens: An examination of current practices to improve social inclusion and access. University of British Columbia. https://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/2014-02_Vancouver%20Inclusive%20Community%20Gardens_Lowcock.pdf
Morris, H. A., Zhu, Y., & Saini, B. (2020). Community gardens and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study. JMIR Research Protocols, 9(10), e21218. https://www.researchprotocols.org/2020/10/e21218/PDF
See What Grows. (n.d.). Community gardens: Important for the community. https://seewhatgrows.org/community-gardens-important-community/