With over 55% of people living in urban areas globally, and with that figure expected to rise to 70% by 2050, it’s no wonder people are feeling increasingly disconnected from the natural world. A potent way to combat this problem is by starting a community garden.
A community garden is an area set aside for the planting of trees, vegetables, herbs, flowers or other plant life. The idea is that it is run by the local community for the benefit of the community.
Community gardens can be planted in disused areas, beautifying the neighborhood for everyone, bringing people together, supporting local insect populations, fostering connections, and providing a yield of nutritious, organic, locally grown, seasonal food.
Let’s look at some of the reasons you should consider starting a community garden in your area.
Key Takeaways
1. It Connects You To The Natural World
For urban dwellers, finding and fostering connection to the natural world can be tricky to maintain. A community garden helps people get outside more and tune in to the natural cycles and rhythms of the year. This is known to have innumerable psycho-somatic benefits, including reducing instances of stress, anxiety, depression and inflammation.
Even if you don’t garden yourself, having one of these places near you can help you reap the benefits, just by spending some of your free time there.
2. You have Access To Healthy Food
Around 34 million people experience food insecurity in the United States, including 9 million children. Having easy, ready access to nutrient-dense food increases the likelihood of maintaining healthy eating habits and lifestyle. Planting a community vegetable patch can greatly help with this, and can ensure that everyone who wishes to, has access to vibrant plant-based food items throughout the growing season, thus increasing food security.
Getting children involved with growing food when young can help propel them into a healthy adulthood. It’s important to know where food comes from and how it’s grown to become a well-rounded, ecologically informed individual. Community lead, grassroots initiatives are one of the best ways to do this for city dwellers.
3. Brings People Together
Community gardening can allow you to grow more than fruit, vegetables and herbs. It brings people together, fosters community (as the name suggests) and can create social cohesion in urban environments. Locally based projects can serve as ways of bringing people together who live in the same area, but may not interact otherwise. By co-creating and bringing ideas to fruition, people can form deeper, more meaningful bonds than they would be capable of otherwise.
Community gardens have the ability to turn neighbours into a cohesive community. It also can allow people of foreign origin the opportunity to cultivate foods of their own culture that they may not be able to purchase otherwise, providing for valuable cultural exchange between residents of an area and foster a greater sense of belonging.
4. You will Benefit The Local Environment
Not only can a garden help beautify unused areas by turning wastelands into productive and beautiful gardens, but it can also provide immense benefits for local wildlife. Bees, insects and other pollinators will enjoy the nectar source, and by providing for them you can help keep their numbers up. Planting in urban environments can also help improve air quality, as plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen.
The added soil and organic matter can help absorb more water into the earth, reducing storm and flood damage caused by extensive use of concrete and other building materials. Larger areas planted with trees and other greenery can also provide shade and regulate summer heat, exacerbated by the heat island effect.
5. Helps Boosts Your Mental and Emotional Health
Gardening is known to be a natural way to reduce stress. It’s also a useful way to keep active and provide light and gentle exercise, also helping with mobility. Bending, squatting, pushing, and pulling all provide gentle aerobic exercise, which is important for maintaing a healthy lifestyle. Being outdoors can also help ensure you achieve enough vitamin D from the sun, which is important for immunity and your joints and bones.
6. Life Long Education
Community gardens can pave the way for practicable education in the fields of ecology, social justice, agriculture, philanthropy, and natural philosophy. It can allow for cross-generational interactions between members of an area who may not communicate were it not for the garden. Depending on the climate, vegetable gardens are often most active during the summer months, when schools are on holidays and can be a useful place for children to receive vital, non-academic education.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Community gardens provide boundless benefits to human and non-human inhabitants of an area. Increased access to nutrient-dense, locally-grown organic food, as well as boosting mental, physical and emotional well-being are some of the benefits. Gardens can allow city dwellers a chance to connect to the natural world and learn from its bountiful lessons. Community gardens serve as a way of bringing different members of an area together, creating bonds and allowing people to feel a sense of belonging.
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