Community gardens contribute to a healthy lifestyle by: providing fresh, safe, affordable herbs, fruits and vegetables. helping to relieve stress and increase sense of wellness. getting people active, which improves overall physical health. providing social opportunities that build a sense of community and belonging.
By providing access to fresh organic produce, opportunities for physical activity, contact with nature, and neighborhood meeting places, these gardens promote physical and mental health in communities with diverse residents” (Prevention Institute, 2004, p. 21).
A community garden is a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people. Community gardens utilize either individual or shared plots on private or public land while producing fruit, vegetables, and/or plants grown for their attractive appearance.
Community gardens provide space for people to work together to create beautiful, productive spaces. Local gardeners report that by getting involved in community gardens, they spend more time outdoors, interact more with neighbours, meet new friends, and experience improvements in their mental and physical health.
A community garden thrives on its community members. Typically, they make money through ongoing memberships. These memberships can either be basic or provide ongoing gardening supplies. Additional revenue opportunities exist in gardening shops, seed shops, classes, and similar visitation experiences.
Community gardens:
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 are well known for providing space for neighbors to grow fresh, healthy food close to home. But beyond improving food access, community gardens provide the space for powerful neighborhood-level social change.
How much does a community garden cost? It varies. A report from the University of British Columbia quotes an average start-up cost of $7,000-10,000. You have to consider land acquisition, soil analysis, land preparation, equipment and tools, storage facilities, fencing, plants, seeds and utilities.
Types of Community Gardens
PREPARE AND DEVELOP THE SITE
Whether it's your plants, tools, or cash that goes missing, theft is at least an occasional fact of life for most all community gardens. Sadly, vandalism in the form of property destruction or defacement also occurs. While non-members are the most obvious culprits, intra-garden shenanigans are known to occur, too!
In-ground plots can be from 10 x 10 up to 20 x 20 feet. Pathways between beds and plots should be least 3 to 4 feet wide to allow space for wheelbarrows. The soil in both raised bed and in-ground plots should be amended with aged compost or manure to improve its fertility and increase its organic matter content.
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