Research Project by Rachael Rosenstein
Further Exploring Community Gardening
Using photography to communicate ideas is not a novel concept. In pursuit of furthering
its use, my research project aims to increase communities’ active participation in sustainability
solutions thinking and action, particularly in community and urban gardens, that may lead to
behavior change and increased overall happiness and sustainability of a particular location.
Becoming involved in such opportunities can take many forms, from paying to rent out a
plot of land which you tend, to volunteering at a public garden or food bank that grows produce
for residents in need. At any level, being part of these activities can provide lasting, positive effects in peoples’ lives.
Happiness Flourishes
This project’s goal is not to have a direct impact on increasing peoples’ happiness, but it does aim to address the prevalent disconnect between sustainable solutions communication and implementation. As Cloutier and Pfeiffer stated, “…happiness generally is not sought after as a goal in community development.”1 The authors go on to say that pursuing happiness within communities can thus allow for residents to hold a greater role in their community, be more successful in achieving their own goals, and “eliminate embedded issues” (e.g., crime or food deserts) while also moving towards sustainable development.1
Countless times when interviewing community garden members, they discussed how their happiness has increased since becoming involved in gardening. One owner of a plot in O-Haven urban garden in Aarhus, Denmark said, “I have [the plot] together with my brother so now we have a reason to see each other much more, so that makes me happy.”
An Aarhus gardener at Greenshare Community Garden explained: “…I can put a seed in the ground and it comes up and you can see life growing. I really enjoy walking by this every day when I go home from work, especially last year when I was writing my Master’s thesis and was having a really hard time, but I think it improved my everyday happiness to walk by this place and all this green and life and flowers and food.”
Later that same evening, a man at Hospital Park garden in Aarhus stopped by with his kids. While discussing his family’s experience in joining the garden and their time as members, he expressed the deep connections between green spaces, happiness, and being active.
“This has been a fantastic opportunity for me to go outside, I spend a lot of time inside. This coexists
quite well with the idea of having green areas in cities, to get people to get out to increase their happiness.
Just to get out in the sun for a few hours a week, it’s amazing how much it does to you, for your psyche.
This has been fantastic, it just made me a much happier man, and I didn’t spend that much time in this
park here before, but now I’m here up to an hour a day, sometimes more. Yesterday I spent six hours in
the garden just because of this one here. Absolutely. Green happiness.”
Well-being is Nurtured
Not only have these stories from garden members shown that gardening increases
happiness, but the members further expressed how gardening positively affects your overall
well-being. When asked if they thought being part of the garden increased their well-being,
one of the managers at O-Haven answered, “…in all I think it’s increased on many levels.
And it’s nice to stay down here. It is relaxing. I don’t know where I would go on a day like
this in Aarhus if I didn’t have this place.”
Looking at well-being in a different light, one of the Greenshare board members
commented on mental well-being: “…the focus is more on the social and psychological
benefits of eating locally and growing your own food. …what I’ve noticed is that most of the people who have gardens here find that…it’s meditative, that the social aspect is important on some sort of general level, but when you’re actually working in the garden it’s a chance to be alone and quiet.” The same family man at Hospital Park highlighted the misconceptions regarding well-being in saying that “well-being for me is not only if you are fit and healthy, it’s also how you feel up here [points to his head]…”
Community Grows
It is important to remember that community gardens are named as such for a reason. Life and growth in green spaces bring people together in ways other activities cannot. Discussing growth in the O-Haven community, the manager stated, “…there’s a huge value in the people I’m meeting, people I’m seeing, and the value it creates for the people.” The manager went on to say that not only had their sense of community increased a lot since becoming involved in the garden, “…but also the idea of being part of a city and seeing the city as not just some place that you can be a part of, but where you can also make changes.”
The Greenshare garden members have also experienced an increased sense of community. As one of the managers said, “I think growing food in the same space creates community, it creates connections between people, and it creates connections with people you would never speak to otherwise.”
Learning Opportunities are Abundant
Community and urban gardens can provide participants with learning opportunities. These can range from learning about gardening techniques and tools, to understanding how gardening influences other aspects of your life. A gardener at Greenshare noted:
“…I think I’ve learned to appreciate more growing my own food because it tastes better and I can pick
the amount that I need. So, for example, if I buy lettuce from the supermarket, a lot of it ends up going
to waste because I live on my own and I can’t eat all of it before it gets bad. Here, it’s more economic in
that I can take what I need for that day and then there’s less waste.”
Teaching children is another way to nurture community life through gardening. A member of the Gallo garden in Aarhus understands the connection between parents and their children in that “....if we can [teach] the children something, they can [teach] their parents.” This is a noteworthy nod to the power of sharing and spreading information, especially in a topic that has connections to so many aspects of daily life.
Conclusion
You can draw from these peoples’ experiences and conclude that their lives have all improved in one way or another as a result of their participation in community gardens. The Greenshare board member made sure to enforce that “…I think it is important both for the people who are gardening and the people who use the garden to see that pretty much anyone can grow anything;” you do not need to have a preexisting knowledge about gardening to get your hands in the dirt. It may take some time to adjust to new activities, but the manager also mentioned that “I think it’s only when you actually experience what gardening like this is like that you understand it or can value it.”
More than just gaining personal benefits, these community gardens provide family opportunities. The gardener at Hospital Park expressed that “…even a small [garden] patch like the one we have has been incredibly successful of generating a family hobby where we all can contribute in our own way, and…I would wish that all people could have this experience, because it’s just a matter of willingness and support. It is fantastic.”
I hope that my photographs and this discussion have sparked some interest in you to participate in gardening activities or otherwise become involved in your community. The connections to increased happiness, well-being, and sense of community are clear, and focusing on these ideas is an important part of pursuing sustainability solutions to ensure a better life for ourselves and a better future for generations to come.
“I think the more social connections you have, the more connected you
feel to your community, and the more fulfilling the activities you do in
your network are, the happier you’ll be.”
– Greenshare board member
1. Cloutier, S., & Pfeiffer, D. (2015). Sustainability Through Happiness: A Framework for Sustainable Development. Sustainable Development, 23(5), 317-327.
