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8/3/2019 Community Gardens: Lessons Learned From California Healthy Cities and Communities
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/community-gardens-lessons-learned-from-california-healthy-cities-and-communities 1/5
F I E L D A C T I O N R E P O R T
C o m m u n i t y G a r d e n s : L e s s o n s L e a r n e d F r o mC a l i f o r n i a H e a l t h y C i t i e s a n d C o m m u n i t i e s
Joan Twiss, MA, Joy Dickinson, BS, CHES, Shirley Duma, MA, Tanya Kieinman, BA, Heather Paulsen, MS,
Liz Rilveria. MPA
Community gardens enhance nutr it ion and physical act ivity
and promote the role of public heaith in improving quality of l i fe.
Opportunities to organize around other issues and build social
capital also emerge through community gardens.
California Healthy Cities and Communities (CHCC) promotes
an inclusionary and systems approach to improving community
health. CHCC ha s funded community-based nutrit ion and physi-
cal activity programs in several cit ies. Successful community gar-
dens were developed by many cit ies incorporating local leader-
ship and resources, volunteers and community partners, and
skil ls-building opp ortunit ies for part icipants.
Through community garden init iatives, cit ies have enacted poli-
cies for interim land and complimentary w ater use, improved ac-
cess to produce, elevated public consciousness about publichealth, created culturally appropriate educat ional and training
mater ials, and strengthened community building skil ls.
THE COMMUNITY GARDEN IS
exceplional in its ability Lo ad -
dress an an-ay of public health
and livability issues across the
lifespaii.' Community gardens
began al the turn of the 20(h cen-
tuiy and had a renaissance during
iho wo rld wars in response lo
food shortages.'^ Today, commu-
nity gartlciLs appe al to newly ar-
rived immigraiiLs. w ho use them
to help maintain cultural tradi-
tions, and to tliose eomniiUed to
sustainabiiiiy and lo personal and
iamily health. Populations witb
heallh disparities, who do iiol al-
ways have acecss to nutntious-
tbod outlets (e.g., grocery stores,
farmers' markets) ow ing to lim-
ited financial and community re-
s and inconvenient trans-
portation .systems, can usually ac-
eess these gaixlens, since they
often arc located within neighbor-
hoods and on [Hiblie propeity.
Community gardens build and
nurture commiuiity capacity,
which Mayer defines as "the sum
total of commitment, resources,
and skills that a commu nity can
mobilize and deploy to address
community problems and
strengUien com mu nity assets."
Strong community capacity in-creases the ei'iectiveness and
quality of community health in-
terventions.
Publie hea lth professionals
often lament the (act that much
of their work is out of the pub lic
e y e . Com mimity gardens are a
tangible way to demonstrate pub-
lie health efforts through orga-
nized comm iinity-eentered activi-
ties that link many disciplines.
Professionals outside of main-
stream pu blic he alth often be-
eome new allies as a result of
their involvemenL Community
gardening fosters neighborhood
ownei"ship and eivie pride, whieh
in turn buil d a constituent base
lor a broader policy agenda.
Sinee 1988. California Healthy
Cities and Communities (CHCC)
ha.s supported over 65 com mun i-
ti( s wi th developing, im plement-i n g , and eva luating programs.
policies, and plans that addres
the environ men tal, social, and
economic determinants of he
Consistent with the Healthy C
and Communities M odel, CH
program participation require
convening and ongoing supp
a broad-based co llaborative, i
duding the public, nonprofit,
ness, and resident sectors; de
opment of a work plan with
eommunity-dtiven priointies a
strategies; and the commitmethe municipality, demonstrate
a council resolution and the d
cation of staff time and othe r
sou rce s,'' Several cities have
tablished community gardens
often building on past healthy
eommunity initiatives.
In general, participating C
fornia Healthy Cities (Table 1
that established eommunity g
dens responded to a request
proposals to improve commu
nutrit ion and physical activit
to enhanee food .seeurity. Ea
city's j^proach is unique to i
cireumstanees. Funding is pr
vided through grants from C
(a program o f the Center for
Civie Partnerships/Public He
Institute) {'lable 2). Significan
technical assistance is also p r
vided to loeal coordinators a
collaboratives by Ci ICC staf
its partners.
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TABLE 1-Demographics of Cities That Received G rants From
California Healthy Cities and Communities for Community Garden
Programs
City (County) Population'
Berkeley
(Alameda)
Escondido
(San Diego)
Loma Linda
(San Bernardino)
Oceanside
(San Diego)
San Bernardino
(Ssn Bernardino)
West Hollywood
(LosArsgeles)
California
^Based on 2000 census data.
Race/Ethnicity,' %
Median
Household In come ;
102743 White, 55.3 44485
Asian/Pacific Islander, 16.4
African American, 13.3
Hispanic/Latino, 9.7
Native American. 0.3
Otiier, 0.6
133559 White, 51.9 42567
Hispanic/Latino, 38.7
Asian/Pacific Islander, 4.6
African American,2.0
Native American, 0.6
Other, 0.1
18681 White, 47.1 38204
Asian/Pacific Islander, 24.5
Hispanic/Latino,16.3
African American, 7.0
Native American, 0.3
Other, 0.2
161029 White.53.6 463 01
Hispanic/Latino,30.2
Asian/Pacificlslander, 6.6
African American,5.9
Native American, 0.4
Other,0.1
1854 01 Hispanic/Latino, 47.5 31140
W h i te , 2 8 . 9
African American. 16.0
Asian/Pacific Isiander, 4.4
Native American, 0.6
Other. 0.2
3571 6 White,81.4 38914
Hispanic/Latino,8.8
Asian/Pacific islander, 3.8
African American, 2.9
Native American, 0.2
Ottier, 0.2
33871548 White, 46.7
Hispanic/Latino, 32.4
Asian/Pacific Islander, 10.9
African American, 6.7
Native American, 1.0
Other, 16.8 47493
KEY ELEMENTS FOR
SUCCESS
While each city's approach
was unique, the following key
elements were integral to their
efforts: commitment of local
leadership and staffing, involve-
ment of volunteers and commu-
nity partners, and availahility of
skill-building opportunities tor
participants.
Local Leadership andStaffing
A city's comm itment of staff, fi-
nancial, and in-kitid resources is
critical to the success of coniinu-iiit}' gardens. City councils in each
of 2 cities purchased land valued
at $70 DOO or more for gardens,
one using funds from tlie Com-
munity Development Block Grant,
the other using mcmey fr-oni the
city's general fijiid. Botli provide
stafTitig on an ongoing basis.
Volunteers andCommunity
Partners
The partidpation and support
of diverse community' members
help a community garden to
thnve. These members include
residents, pailncr institutions
(e.g., schools, county health de-
paitments. universities), and vol-
unteers (e.g.. businesses, civic as-
sociations). The inclusivcness of
gardens allows individuals and
groups to contribute theii' knowl-
edge, skills, and experience. The
business commimity contrtbutes
tools and lends equipment Resi-
dents and volunteei"S oiten iden-
tify innovative strategies to lever-
age resources, such as the
intertm use of property and voi-
unteer stipends as an alternative
to hiring stall'.
Skill-Building Opportunities
Gardening workshops provide
opportunities for residents, staff,and vokinteei s of all ages to de-
velop skills in leadership, com
nity oi-ganizing, cuitural comp
tency, and program planning
plementation, and evaluation
Leadership development is e
hanced through experiential
learning, wbicb includes inte
erational and peer-to-peer me
toring and train-the-trainer m
els. Volunteers and staff lead
workshops, oi^anize taste-tes
events, facilitate discussions, a
cate for tbe garden, and deve
culturally a ppropriate resourc
(e.g., training mater ials, cook-
books, new sletters. Web sites
These ongoing, interactive lea
ing opportunities help to sust
momentum for the garden.
RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
Commtuiity improvements
sulting fi-om gardening efforts
range from knowledge and sk
enhancement to behaviora! a
systems cbange. CalifoiTiia
Healthy Cities with communitgardens have experienced a w
variety of results (Table 2). Fo
stance, the city of West Holly-
wood complemented its schoo
gardening program with nutri
and physical activity educatio
Self-reported survey results de
onstrated that partidpants (n=
338) increased the numbe r of
physical activity ses.sions from
to 5.2 times per week (6%) an
increased consumption ol' frui
and vegetables From 3.44 to 3
servings per day (1O"/o). In th
city of San Bemarciino. tlie nu
ber of students tbat began gar
dening at bome after partidpa
in the school gaixfening progra
increased from 62 to75 (20%
The city of Berkeley passe
the Berkeley Food anti Nutrit
Policy, which supports small-s
sustainable agriculture (e.g.,c
munity gardens, local Iknns).
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TABLE 2-C hara cteri stics of Community Garden Programs Funded by California Healthy Cities and Comm unities (CHCC)
Lead D epartment CHCC Sup port, $
Berkeley Public Health 1 3 4 0 0 0
(over 5 years)
Escondido
Loma Unda
Oceartside
San B ernardino
West Hollywood
Community
Development
Biock Grant
(CDBG)
City M anager
Housing and
Neighbortiood
Sen/ices
Public Services
Human Services
7 5 0 0 0
(over 3 yeafs)
3 8 0 0 0
(over 2 years)
7 5 0 0 0
(over 3 years)
25000
(ovef 1 year)
7 5 0 0 0
(over 3 years}
FundingS ources'' Priority Populat ion
Network
DHS
Network
FFA
Network
FA, Netw ork, TCWF Y oitt i, ethnically diverse
Ethnically diverse
Ethnically diverse
Ethnically diverse
Youth, intergenerational,
ethnically diverse
Vouth, inter^enetational,
ethnically diverse
Results
Established 1 school garden and 1 day care center garden; supporte
existing school gardens; provided supplies to 3000 gardeners; opene
a Farmer's M arket in West B erkeley; p rovided nutrition or physical ac
education (or both) to 1800 residents; passed the Berkeley Food and
N utrition Policy.
Established 2 gardens with 228 garden plots involving 600 gardeners
opened a greenhouse to support year-round gardening; passed the
"Adopt-A-Lot" policy to encourage the interim use of vacant land for
gardens: app roved a no cost water policy for gardens on city property
Established 1 garden with 52 plots inv olving over 40 gardeners. Incr
average consumption of fruit s and vegetables amcng 35% of gardene
from 3 to 3.71 servings per day.
Established 2 gardens involving 85 households; started 2 school
gardens involving 115 student gardeners; added 10 plots to agarden serving seniors. Of the 228 residents receiving nutrition
education, 86 % indicated an intent to improve eating habits.
Established 3 school gardens involving 127 students; increased the
number of students gardening at home by 20% ; app roved the Vacant
B eautification Program that allow s public use of priv ate land and
city-owned vacant lots to establish gardens or pocket parks.
Established 5 school gardens involving 46 0 students; designated 2 p
at 2 community gardens for school use; started contamer gardening
programs at 3 schools; increased weekly physical activity sessions fro
to 5.2 times per week and increased consumption of fruits and veget
from 3.44 to 3.78 servings per day among 338 students participating
gardening and educational w orkshops.
"F A^ Foo dE orA li; N etw ork " California N utrition Network for HealthyActive Families, California Department of Health Services;TCW E= The California W ellness Foundation; OHS -Preventativ e Health
Health Services Block Grant, California Department of Health Sen/ices.
addition, the city of Hscondido
approved the "Adopt-A-Lot" pol-
icy, which allows for the interim
use ol public and private prop-
erty for community benefit This
policy provides a special no-feedty permit and an expedited land
use approval pr"oce.ss that allows
normal /-oning regulations and re-
qiiiremenLs (e.g., those concern -
ing parking) to b e waived. The
policy con tributes to city beau titl-
cation, decreases code violations.
and increases space Ibr commu-
nity gardens.
While each city experienced a
vai"i(,'ly of results, there wert' sev-
eral common lessons learned aboutthe importance of the following:
• ongoing ti"aining. mentoring,
and leadership development for
gardeners and staff;
• building on successful
community-based programs
through partnei^ships:• public awarene.ss of the ben-
efits of communiiy gardens; and
• experiential work (e.g., classes
in gardening, exercise, or cook-
ing), which often led to municipal
codes and administrative policies.
LOOKING AHEAD
Educating Stakeholders
Informing decisionmakers
about the benefits of eommunitygardens ean be time-ititensive.
Changes in leadershif) can slow
momentum. Communicating the
benefits beyontf the traditional
leadership to the community at
large can mitigate those chal-
lenges, heip build a broad-basedconstituency, and provide long-
tenn, consistent support of com-
riiiinity gai"dening as a norm.
Publications, electronic networks,
and convenings can support
learning across communities.
Integrating Community
Gardens Into Development
VVhik; the benefits of comm u-
nity gardens are many, land and
housing shortages may competefor gaixlening space. Because
community gaixlens are flex
in their design (e.g., containe
on patios and rooftops as op
to gi'ound planting), they can
incorporated har-moniously
new sti^uclures or into existincilities (e.g.. school c ampuses
parks, community centers).
Supporting Research
The deai'th of data on the
itive impacts of community
dens hinders the ability to m
a convincing ai"gument whe
sources (e.g., funding, land,
water) aie at stake. Anecdot
evidence abounds, but impo
outcomes such as the physicbeneiits of gardening and co
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