Growing urban health: Community gardening in South-East Toronto

Abstract

This article describes results from an investigation of the health impacts of community gardening, using Toronto, Ontario as a case study. According to community members and local service organizations, these gardens have a number of positive health benefits. However, few studies have explicitly focused on the health impacts of community gardens, and many of those did not ask community gardeners directly about their experiences in community gardening. This article sets out to fill this gap by describing the results of a community-based research project that collected data on the perceived health impacts of community gardening through participant observation, focus groups and in-depth interviews. Results suggest that community gardens were perceived by gardeners to provide numerous health benefits, including improved access to food, improved nutrition, increased physical activity and improved mental health. Community gardens were also seen to promote social health and community cohesion. These benefits were set against a backdrop of insecure land tenure and access, bureaucratic resistance, concerns about soil contamination and a lack of awareness and understanding by community members and decision-makers. Results also highlight the need for ongoing resources to support gardens in these many roles.

Community and home gardens increase vegetable intake and food security of residents in San Jose, California

“…Gardening has been associated with a healthier diet and lower BMIs (Alaimo et al 2008;Litt et al 2011;van den Berg et al 2010;Wakefield et al 2007;Zick et al 2013). Although participants in our study were overweight, the majority reported good to excellent health.…”

Growing Gardens in Shrinking Cities: A Solution to the Soil Lead Problem?

“…Urban community gardens have a rich history in the United States of taking on conflicted political, social and historical meanings [8]. The ability to grow culturally appropriate food and maintain a cultural gathering space in community gardens has played a particularly important role amongst some immigrant populations [9][10][11][12]. Among native people, gardening can be used as a tool for decolonization [10].…”

“…Community gardens can also provide opportunities for positive intergenerational learning [10,[13][14][15] and positive interracial interaction [16]. By participating in community gardens, neighborhood residents also build organizing skills useful for other programs in the community [12].…”

House Garden as a Symbol of Place, Identity and Sense of Belonging for Low-Cost Flat Residents in Urbanizing Malaysia

“…Community gardens provide social benefits, such as the sharing of knowledge on food production with the wider community, and at the same time promote environmental awareness, stewardship of green space, and social equity through shared food production [6]. [10] Discusses that most gardeners in South-east Toronto community gardens were women, but men and children often attend and work in their plots. Regular tasks involved planting, weeding, watering and of course harvesting.…”