Show me your garden and I will tell you how sustainable you are: Dutch citizens’ perspectives on conserving biodiversity and promoting a sustainable urban living environment through domestic gardening

Abstract

Beumer, C. (2018). Show me your garden and I will tell you how sustainable you are: Dutch citizens' perspectives on conserving biodiversity and promoting a sustainable urban living environment through domestic gardening.

The ‘GartenApp’: Assessing and Communicating the Ecological Potential of Private Gardens

“…Thus, in a next step, the effectiveness of the GartenApp in serving as a communication tool between scientists, citizens and municipalities that can reach a wider audience and induce real-world changes should be tested. We do not expect the app to be a stand-alone tool, because, after all, direct human interaction in local communities and real-world examples are essential for change and stewardship [24,[72][73][74], and raising awareness and appealing to values may not be enough to encourage changes in gardeners [25,71]. Of the five stimulating levers of a toolbox for garden governance described by [24], two could be supported by the GartenApp.…”

“…Decisions on their management and design are being made on the individual level, however, often resulting in what Odum referred to as the 'Tyranny of Small Decisions,' i.e., a degradation due to small-scale and uncoordinated management [13,[22][23][24]. In addition, the awareness for the public value of individual gardens for contributing to GI appears to be low [25]. Even if there is awareness, garden practices are strongly driven by perceived norms and do not necessarily reflect the values of the garden owners [24,25].…”

“…In addition, the awareness for the public value of individual gardens for contributing to GI appears to be low [25]. Even if there is awareness, garden practices are strongly driven by perceived norms and do not necessarily reflect the values of the garden owners [24,25]. Hence, no easy solution for increasing the public value of gardens in providing ecosystem services and contributing to biodiversity conservation exists, but social processes play a key role [24,25].…”

“…Even if there is awareness, garden practices are strongly driven by perceived norms and do not necessarily reflect the values of the garden owners [24,25]. Hence, no easy solution for increasing the public value of gardens in providing ecosystem services and contributing to biodiversity conservation exists, but social processes play a key role [24,25]. In keeping with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11.3 [26] and the Habitat III New Urban Agenda [27], these approaches should be inclusive and participatory.Approaches to overcome the 'Tyranny of Small Decisions' commonly build on providing gardeners with relevant information on their role in the urban ecosystem, empowering and encouraging them to contribute, and engaging them through citizens science [13,22,24,[28][29][30].…”

“…Even if there is awareness, garden practices are strongly driven by perceived norms and do not necessarily reflect the values of the garden owners [24,25]. Hence, no easy solution for increasing the public value of gardens in providing ecosystem services and contributing to biodiversity conservation exists, but social processes play a key role [24,25]. In keeping with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11.3 [26] and the Habitat III New Urban Agenda [27], these approaches should be inclusive and participatory.…”