Involvement in community gardens - sustaining the benefits

This study investigates the creation and management of community
gardens. It explores the processes of community involvement associated
with their development and the factors that influence personal
involvement with a project. Relationships between place attachment and
involvement are examined within this framework to.investigate common
assumptions that relate feelings of attachment to pro-active behaviour..
The research project was developed in collaboration with a community
development organisation supporting neighbourhood regeneration in an
area of Sheffield. This facilitated an in-depth field based approach
encompassing participant observation, interviews and visualethnographic
techniques.
Investigation of three case study gardens reveals a complex framework
of factors influencing involvement; incorporating relationships with place,
personal values, social relationship and practical issues. The role of
attachment to place is found to be important in the initiation of
involvement, although differing in character from traditional concepts of
place attachment. The process of community involvement is found to
encourage strong feelings of place attachment among both those taking
part and those simply observing. The role of this attachment in the
continuation of involvement is less evident however, moderated by a
range of more practical factors.
The presence of a facilitating organisation in encouraging sustained
involvement was a highly influential factor in the development and
management of community gardens in this study. However, the
consistency of support available from grant-reliant community
organisations can vary and the research highlights the importance of
securing long-term support mechanisms. Efficient facilitation, both at a
group and neighbourhood level, is needed to ensure that the benefits
community gardens provide to individuals and communities can be
sustained.