Community gardens have recorded a sudden increase in the recent past and are reported to not only produce foods, but other benefits as well. Research has it that community gardens have numerous benefits including an increase in the consumption of vegetables and fruits, physical activity and psychological well being. Similarly, they can revive and beautify green spaces, while offering opportunities for building relations. They also provide an opportunity to partner with the public health initiatives that try to improve the related nutritional outcomes including knowledge, attitudes, and dietary intake. They can build and nurture the capacity of a community increasing its propensity for health (Lanier, Schumacher & Calvert, 2015). Community gardens according to Alaimo, Reischl & Allen, (2010) are public health promotion initiatives that can promote proper nutrition as well as physical activity in neighborhoods. Such enterprises are primarily used in areas with economic and structural barriers for accessing fresh produce and recreation facilities. Such gardens are thought to generate social benefits, for example, social capital, but there are only a few studies that support this claim. According to the authors, different studies were conducted that included participant observation, surveys and focus group discussion with community gardeners in Toronto. Such studies established that participating in gardening elicits pride while providing a positive place for social interactions as well as sharing. Another survey in Latino gardens in New York City found that community gardens offered an opportunity for socializing and community organizing and the gardeners perceived their gardens to be more of social, cultural gathering places and not like agricultural production sites. Another study of community gardens in New York found out that the gardens improved the residents’ attitudes towards their neighbor. Another survey by Glover and colleagues noted that community gardening is a social context used to produce and consume social capital and to access resources like ideas, labor, water, and tools.
Background
According to Draper & Freedman (2010), the differences between a community garden and a private in the form of ownership in that, in a private garden, the owner owns the property and can access and control its activities. In community gardens, multiple people converge in diverse settings for instance neighborhoods, schools, prisons, nursing homes and hospitals to cultivate food crops. Such gardens are used by different individuals and benefit people from various age groups, irrespective of their ethnicity, social, economic status and their physical condition. The origin of community gardening can be traced to the World War 1, but the original movement started in 1890. Issues like urban congestion, environmental degradation, and economic instability contributed to the development of the practice. Initially, the programs targeted the vulnerable people in the society, but the method became universal following the great depression. In the Second World War, the practice flourished and was referred to as the victory gardens. The communities were able to produce sufficient food during time gross shortage. The community gardens have been changing throughout history where they usually come and go depending on the social, economic conditions of the people. When food prices soared due to recessions, individuals resorted to community gardens to support their livelihoods. Acco0rding to Ferris, Norman & Sempik (2001), community gardens exist in different states in urban and rural areas and vary in their offering depending on the needs of the locals. Similarly, such practices are now recognized as global phenomena where urban gardening is seen as a means of improving food supply and as a leisure activity.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
According to Guitart, Pickering & Byrne (2012), community gardening is almost similar to urban agriculture, but the two are not synonymous. However, the practice is different from backyard farming which is usually managed by the family. According to the authors, many studies have dwelt on the issue and various books, guides, reports conference papers, theses, manuals, and literature have been published on the topic. Academic writing is diversified on community gardening with different documents having been pu8blished on different disciplines like geography, health, and planning. Despite the vast volumes of literature, a comprehensive review has not been conducted. Few studies have tried to review the existing literature. Petticrew & Roberts (2005) for example assessed the extent of academic research on such gardens. In their review, they were determined by identifying the study, the author, where the study was published, locations of the gardens and the methods used. They summarised the community gardens by these variables. In their summary, they included the crops grown, the people involved in the garden and the ownership of the land. They also examined the motivation and benefits and the limitations associated with community gardening. The authors concluded and highlighted potential areas for future research.
According to Lanier, Schumacher & Calvert (2015) community gardens despite having health benefits to the community. They also contribute to a myriad of challenges including insecurity of the land. According to the authors, the gardeners do not own the property and therefore they hope that the owners and decision makers will consider their gardening needs against developing other infrastructure on the land under use. Gardeners should be able to communicate the outcome and importance of their activities with the decision makers so that they can get the desired support in addition to creating awareness. According to the writers, support through long-term investments, for example, strategic planning and policy-making can be useful in the future evaluation of community gardens. Communities should be aware that there is no silver bullet to eliminating chronic diseases as well as increasing availability of fresh produce.
Research question and hypothesis
According to studies, community gardens have the potential to increase civic engagement by bringing the people together where they can share ideas and pool resources to work as a team. Such communities can develop their abilities, skills, knowledge including values to motivate each other towards a common goal. They create an avenue where members share and contribute to the wellbeing of the group. Their ability to bring together individuals from different social classes, religious affiliation, and gender and minority groups make them useful in addressing some of the challenges that the community faces. Apart from the direct benefits accrued by members in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables, they can also enhance their mental wellbeing of their members as they would be engaged in constructive physical activities which might deter them from participating in substance abuse or even psychological problems.
This study believes that engaging in community gardening will boost the civic engagement of the community in low-income areas. It involves the community in income generating activities and harnesses their energy towards a worthy cause and diverts the community members from vices that are likely to affect them in future. Evidence shows that communities from low-income areas especially in the US are susceptible to drug abuse and criminal activities leading to increase in cases of incarceration. By engaging such communities in gardening, there are high chances that the harmful practices will decline in future.
The research question for this study is, can community gardens lead to more significant civic engagement in low-income neighborhoods?
The hypothesis for the study will be community gardens lead to more significant civic engagement in low-income neighborhoods.
Research methods
Variables
Some of the variables for this study will include age, gender, income, occupation, ethnicity, level of education, number of members in the household and residence. The study will relate the above variable to civic engagement. The different variables are in determining the diversity of each group and how members are likely to benefit from each other. Age, for example, will be used to evaluate the appeal that such programs have on the youths and how their contributions can help the wellbeing of the entire group. Similarly, it will assist in assessing the ability of community gardens to engage the teen's indecisive engagements that will help in empowering them while reducing chances of substance abuse. Gender will also be used to evaluate the composition of the community groups and to establish whether some groups are overrepresented by members of a single sex. Income is an active variable in this study as it will help in the determination as to whether only poor people are engaged in the community gardens. It will also assist in evaluating whether low-income forces individuals to join such groups as a way of supplementing their income or if the lack of income forces them to engage in the community gardening. The occupation will be helpful in determining how many individuals from each group rely on other sources of income. Ethnicity will be used to determine the composition of each community group. Residence of each member will determine the distance that each member travels to the community garden this variable will be useful in identifying whether the participants joined the groups due to their proximity or as a result of other factors (Ferris, Norman & Sempik, 2001; Ohmer, 2009).
Concept
The researcher will employ a mixed approach in this study to be able to capture relevant data that can be used to test the hypothesis. This study requires that the researcher visits different sites to collect data. The project will be conducted for an elongated period to allow the collection of data that can be used for comparative analysis. The research will perform a simple baseline survey when the project commences and makes follow up to determine the progress of the project. If it is not possible to conduct a baseline survey, the researcher will use focus group discussion and key informant i8nterviews to acquire background information of the group. For this study, three different community garden groups will be identified for the research and the research will be conducted concurrently to allow for comparison of the outcome. The researcher will ensure that the community garden groups are not from the same locality so that they cannot affect the result of the study (Alaimo, Reischl & Allen, 2010; Draper, & Freedman, 2010).
Conceptualization and summary survey
Different definitions have been offered for a community garden, but no single explanation entirely suits the concepts. In most of the studies, researchers agree that community gardens are pieces of land that are not owned by the members but used for collective farming by groups who come together to utilize the community plots for the production of fruits, vegetables and other plants that might be planted by the team. Civic engagements are efforts by a community to work with the aim of making a difference in their public life. The bottom line is to develop knowledge and skills motivations and values that help in achieving the difference. In short, it is about promoting the quality of life in a given community using political and non-political avenues. Some of the data that the researcher will collect include the number of community members, the location of their community gardens, the diversity in the group based on age, minority groups and average income for each member and the current occupation of the gardener. These variables will be analyzed independently and the outcome used in the discussion. The acquired data can be used to determine the effect that the community will have on the civic engagement of the gardeners (Alaimo, Reischl & Allen, 2010; Draper, & Freedman, 2010; Houle, 2016).
Sample questions
Kindly indicate your age, educational level, income bracket, number of household members and ethnicity in the spaces below. What according to you are the benefits of community gardens? What motivates you to be a member of the group? Have you gained any knowledge and skills from being a member of the team? How has the entire group benefited from being members of the community garden? What influence has the community garden had on nonmembers? Can you list some of the benefits that you have personally achieved from being a member of the group? Apart from fresh foods and vegetables can you list additional benefits that members receive from the community gardens?
Sample frame
The researcher will use probability and nonprobability sampling techniques for the study. The three groups would be selected from a list obtained from the local administration. Care will be taken to ensure that teams from the same locality are selected or that the selection will only involve those community gardens that have realized immense success while neglecting those that are still struggling to form. The researcher will try to balance so that at least one group will be from a different category from the other two. Each member of a team has the probability of being selected for a personal interview. The researcher will interview thirty percent of the group members as the results can be representative of the entire community gardening group from one locality. However, the researcher can discontinue further research upon realizing that there is information saturation. Similarly, the number can be increased if it is evident that new information is forthcoming. A focus group discussion in each community group will be conducted. The FGD will involve 5-8 members who have not participated in the personal interview. If a team is small, the researcher will survey the entire group. From the population under investigation, the researcher will try to acquire information on how community gardening has or can enhance their civic engagement (Ferris, Norman & Sempik, 2001).
Conclusion
From the ensuing discussion, the researcher will conduct a comprehensive study that will involve different variable to determine the effect of community gardening on the civic engagement of low-income communities. The study will include three different groups that are operating community gardens in various .location in the urban or peri-urban areas. The study will use personal interviews and focus group discussion on gathering relevant information that can be used for concluding. The researcher will base their conclusion on two studies one will be conducted at the commencement of the project and the other will be carried out at the end of the project. Doing so will help in comparative analysis. Due to the challenges expected in conducting a baseline survey, the researcher will use the interview schedule to acquire background information for each group. The identified variables will be used to determine the individual characteristics of each group (Alaimo, Reischl & Allen, 2010; Draper, & Freedman, 2010).
References
Alaimo, K., Reischl, T., & Allen, J. (2010). Community gardening, neighborhood meetings, and social capital. Journal Of Community Psychology , 38 (4), 497-514. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20378
Draper, C., & Freedman, D. (2010). Review and Analysis of the Benefits, Purposes, and Motivations Associated with Community Gardening in the United States. Journal Of Community Practice , 18 (4), 458-492. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2010.519682
Ferris, J., Norman, C., & Sempik, J. (2001). People, Land and Sustainability: Community Gardens and the Social Dimension of Sustainable Development. Social Policy &Amp; Administration , 35 (5), 559-568. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9515.t01-1-00253
GLOVER, T., SHINEW, K., & PARRY, D. (2005). Association, Sociability, and Civic Culture: The Democratic Effect of Community Gardening. Leisure Sciences , 27 (1), 75-92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01490400590886060
Guitart, D., Pickering, C., & Byrne, J. (2012). Past results and future directions in urban community gardens research. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening , 11 (4), 364-373. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2012.06.007
Houle, J., Lauzier-Jobin, F., Beaulieu, M., Meunier, S., Coulombe, S., & Côté, J. et al. (2016). Socioeconomic status and glycemic control in adult patients with type 2 diabetes: a mediation analysis. BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care , 4 (1), e000184. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2015-000184
Lanier, J., Schumacher, J., & Calvert, K. (2015). Cultivating Community Collaboration and Community Health Through Community Gardens. Journal Of Community Practice , 23 (3-4), 492-507. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2015.1096316
Ohmer, M., Meadowcroft, P., Freed, K., & Lewis, E. (2009). Community Gardening and Community Development: Individual, Social and Community Benefits of a Community Conservation Program. Journal of Community Practice , 17 (4), 377-399. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705420903299961
Petticrew M, Roberts H (2005). Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A practical guide. Malden Ma: Blackwell Publishing.
