Abstract
Participation in urban agriculture conducted through community gardens and allotments is known for its benefits to physical and mental health. Due to the recognition of these benefits, which include reduction of stress, depression and anxiety, such participation is increasingly being prescribed as a non-medical health intervention. Community gardens have the added advantage of immersion into a community, without the often-long waiting lists and level of commitment involved in allotment tenancies. What has not been explored is the demanding nature of the commitment required by volunteer coordinators, and ironically, the negative effects it can have on their wellbeing. In a study of food activism in Aberdeen, UK, we conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with participants from a range of bodies involved in the city’s food growing projects. From the spectrum of food growers, we found that volunteer coordinators of community gardens experienced the greatest burdens on their time and wellbeing, with their demanding multi-functional roles leading to fatigue and feelings of over-commitment. Other problems encountered by community gardeners were over-reliance on grant funding and the disproportionate impacts of COVID closures on vulnerable groups. Policy interventions are required to reduce dependency on competitive grant funding and to support both coordinators and the long-term sustainability of community gardens.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 647-662 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Local Environment |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 5 |
Early online date | 12 Jan 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 12 Jan 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Open Access via the Taylor & Francis/JISC Open Select agreementThis project was funded by the University of Aberdeen and the Wellcome Trust through the Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS) project (Grant number 205200/Z/16/Z).
Data Availability Statement
No data availability statement.Keywords
- Volunteer burnout
- community garden
- coordinator wellbeing
- urban agriculture