In our previous blog, we talked about sustainability and growing your own garden in limited spaces. We have been strong supporters of growing your own food and which is why today we want to bring your attention to another important area of gardening which has taken over the country. Community Gardens! There are many urban dwellers who are not able to grow their own food owing to space, sunny location or other issues. Community gardens are of great help in such situations and otherwise as well for anyone who wants to grow their own greens while getting in touch with the other gardeners in their area and having a support system.
What is a community garden?
A community garden is shared plots of land rented by individuals to grow a variety of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers. Community gardens could be run by neighborhood associations, nonprofit organizations, landowners or anyone.
Benefits of having a community garden:
Community gardens have given gardening enthusiasts not just a space to grow their greens but also help create a social atmosphere for like-minded people to come together and also help the environment by using the urban lands and beautifying the cities. Let’s look at the list of benefits that community gardens come with.
1.) Grow your own food: One of the most beneficial and primary purposes of a community garden has been for people to able to grow their own fresh food and enjoy. Buying food in markets, you don’t know how long your produce has traveled, what went in growing it, whether any pesticides were used on it and mainly the price it comes with if you are trying to get organic. With the benefits of being able to grow your own fresh produce, you take control of what goes in your body and that too without the exorbitant pricing.
2.) Gardening keeps you healthy: It is not just healthy in the way that you get to eat fresh produce but gardening has been known to relieve stress and release happy hormones in your body. It is one of the best forms of exercise which gives the gardeners a chance to be in fresh environment rather than be in the stale air indoors. Gardening is also known to boost health for senior citizens’ emotional health as well as physical well-being. In fact, studies have shown that gardening reduces depression in all age groups and improves the immunity in kids and boosts the attention span in children with ADD. Gardening has been used as a therapy by many now. Bringing all age groups together in a community garden with common interest help people mingle and gives them a sense of purpose and direction towards a common goal and gives a boost of positivity and happiness.
3.) Place of learning: Whether you are a newbie gardener, a senior citizen with years of expertise or a child accompanying their parents in this family bonding activity, there is always something new that one gets to know in a place with so many varieties of vegetables and maybe some birds, lizards, etc. as well creating a well-balanced ecosystem. There might be a new vegetable that might catch your eye or an insect that might get your Childs’ attention or a growing method that you haven’t seen before. Being around nature gives your kid a chance to learn about where their food comes from and understand the way nature works and maybe eating better.
4.) Cleaner environment: Community gardening helps in boosting the environment with more oxygen and reducing pollution and the carbon footprint. So not only are you boosting your health and growing fresh produce but also giving back to the environment by keeping it healthy and clean.
Community gardens are a fabulous way of creating a healthy environment for the neighborhood reducing waste, growing your own food, helping boost positive attitude, keeping healthy and many more benefits but creating it is also a lot of hard work. It can take months of planning to start a community garden but in the end when your hard work bears fruit (literally), it all feels worth it.
