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Health Promotion International Advance Access originally published online on February 26, 2007
Health Promotion International 2007 22(2):92-101; doi:10.1093/heapro/dam001
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© The Author (2007). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Growing urban health: Community gardening in South-East Toronto

Sarah Wakefield1,*, Fiona Yeudall2, Carolin Taron3, Jennifer Reynolds4 and Ana Skinner5

1 Department of Geography and Program in Planning, University of Toronto, 100 St George Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G3 2 School of Nutrition/Centre for Studies in Food Security, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B 2K3 3 Centre for Urban Health Initiatives, University of Toronto, 15 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3H7 4 FoodShare Toronto, 238 Queen Street W., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 1Z7 5 Laidlaw Foundation, 365 Bloor Street E., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4W 3L4

* Corresponding author. E-mail: sarah.wakefield{at}utoronto.ca


  Abstract

This article describes results from an investigation of the health impacts of community gardening, using Toronto, Ontario as a case study. According to community members and local service organizations, these gardens have a number of positive health benefits. However, few studies have explicitly focused on the health impacts of community gardens, and many of those did not ask community gardeners directly about their experiences in community gardening. This article sets out to fill this gap by describing the results of a community-based research project that collected data on the perceived health impacts of community gardening through participant observation, focus groups and in-depth interviews. 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 were also seen to promote social health and community cohesion. These benefits were set against a backdrop of insecure land tenure and access, bureaucratic resistance, concerns about soil contamination and a lack of awareness and understanding by community members and decision-makers. Results also highlight the need for ongoing resources to support gardens in these many roles.

Key words: community gardens; urban health; community-based research


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