The impact of gardening on mental resilience in times of stress: A case study during the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore

Abstract

To curb the spread of Covid-19, Singapore, like other cities, had to impose movement restriction and social distancing measures that may affect the well-being of its residents. In this paper, we assessed the potential benefits of gardening on the mental well-being of Singapore residents, based on the concept of mental resilience. We hypothesized that gardening activities promote mental resilience. A survey was administered on 8,786 participants of a “Gardening with Edibles” programme, measuring their mental resilience status, engagement in gardening activities and socio-demographic information. The mental resilience scores of participants who engaged in weekly gardening were compared with the scores derived from another survey conducted during the pandemic on an online community comprising demographically representative respondents with an interest on Covid-19 related community care. The results showed that the mental resilience of those who gardened was statistically significantly higher than the online community. Within the gardening group, those with more than one hour of weekly gardening time had significantly lower scores in in their total mental resilience, and five out of seven resilience factors, “emotional regulation”, “relationship”, “confidence”, “positive thinking” and “spirituality”, compared to those with more weekly gardening time, showing that the efficacy of the mediating effects may peak at a weekly gardening time of between one to four hours. Home gardening may be an effective way for people living in densely populated cities to interact with nature and build mental resilience during the pandemic.

The Multi-Sites Trial on the Effects of Therapeutic Gardening on Mental Health and Well-Being

“…When participating in the identical gardening program, the difference in the effects among participants remains unclear. Several recent studies showed gardening was associated with lower psychological distress and higher mental resilience during COVID-19 [48,49]. However, no studies with a larger sample size have reported the effects of therapeutic gardening on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Urban Farming as a Resilient Strategy During COVID-19 Pandemic

“…By planting and taking care of the garden, the activity helps them in reducing their stress, enhance their identity with the garden, gain more knowledge, build relationships or network with other people as well as other institutions, increase self-esteem, and finally increase their Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). BDNF is a critical protein that could help untreated patients reduce major depressive disorders (Sia et al, 2022). By having those benefits, some people will experience an increase in emotional regulation, spirituality, confidence, positive thinking, and relationships.…”

“…There are many studies on urban gardening or urban agriculture as a resilience strategy (Hou, 2018;Salleh et al, 2020;Gulyas & Edmonson, 2021;Langemeyer et al, 2021;Sia et al, 2022). Salleh et al (2020) mentioned urban agriculture as a community resilience strategy for food insecurity in Malaysia, while in East Asia and Global North, Hou (2018) and Gulyas & Edmonson (2021) believed that urban agriculture could increase city resilience against various environmental and socio-economic disturbances.…”

“…The opinion of Gulyas and Edmonson (2021), followed by Langemeyer et al (2021), found similar results and the importance of incorporating food resilience and global food sustainability from urban agriculture into urban land-use planning. Sia et al (2022) mentioned urban gardening as mental resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. None of the studies above mentioned the importance of urban gardening or urban agriculture as a resilient strategy in Central Java, specifically in urban and peri-urban areas of Semarang Regency.…”

Community Empowerment through Online Training of Drumstick Tree (Moringa oleifera) Cultivation and Its Utilization during the Covid-19 Pandemic for Urban Communities in Kediri, East Java, Indonesia

“…Through this community service, participants were expected to utilize their yards for gardening activities as a function of health improvement and reforestation. Gardening activities and the availability of green areas at home are also therapies to reduce stress levels during the Covid-19 pandemic (Zhang et al 2021;Afrianto et al 2021;Andini et al 2021;Giraud et al 2021;Lin et al 2021;Afrianto and Diannita 2022;Cerda et al 2022;Coyoca et al 2022;Egerer et al 2022;Sia et al 2022). Activities of this community development activities were distributing gardening and education packages through online media ranging from planting, maintaining, and processing the drumstick tree as a home industry business idea to raising residents' income.…”