Community Gardens and Social Connectedness Among Rural Older People

Abstract

Community gardens are growing in popularity as a strategy to effectively deal with population health at a local level. Community gardens can offer a range of psychosocial and health benefits to individuals who utilize them, including nutritional, social, psychological benefits, as well as the opportunity to become connected to nature. This chapter addresses these issues among a group of older persons who reside in a rural town. There are several benefits associated with participation in a rural community garden, including forming social support networks in order to cultivate social capital. Community gardens created social connectedness among the participants, which could lead to better overall health and well-being. The main reason for their initial involvement with the community garden was that they were new to the area. Joining the group to develop support networks within the local area would allow them to cultivate social support capital in their new living environment. The present findings can inform government policies regarding localized food sustainability programs, which is important given the increasing popularity of such programs Australian-wide and elsewhere.