Cultivating health: Community gardening as a public health ...

1 I Cultivating health : Community gardening as a public health intervention A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of public health Wellington School of Medicine and health Sciences University of Otago, New Zealand Margaret Earle June 2011 ii Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua Care for the land, care for the people, go forward We must cultivate our garden (Voltaire in Candide, 1759) iii Abstract Internationally and locally, interest in Community gardening is growing. It is being seen as part of the solution to address local, national and global challenges that range from poor nutrition and food insecurity to environmental sustainability and cultural revitalisation.

2 Community gardening covers a variety of horticultural activities that either have a Community component or are located on public land. In the New Zealand context, this includes allotments, communal gardening , marae gardens, shared gardening on private land and Community -based initiatives to encourage home gardening . In the last few years, the New Zealand health sector has begun to identify gardening as a possible way to help reduce the high prevalence of avoidable chronic conditions among communities with poor health . The research for this thesis found there is a diversity of Community gardening initiatives in Auckland and Wellington.

3 The data also identified revivals in M ori gardening and in home gardening integral to the current interest in Community gardening in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research involved qualitative interviews with 35 Community garden coordinators and stakeholders in the Auckland and Wellington regions and observations of Community gardening working bees and meetings. It found that one of the purposes and benefits of Community gardening initiatives is reconnecting people with how food is grown and produced. Interviewees highlighted that to be successful a Community garden requires active Community involvement, time, passion, a suitable site and adequate resources.

4 In the interviews, stakeholders and garden coordinators talked about a wide variety of health benefits for the individuals, households and wh nau involved and also for the communities in which garden initiatives are located. These benefits covered all four domains of Te Whare Tapa Wh model of health . They included improved iv nutrition and access to fruit and vegetables, increased physical activity, stronger communities and enhanced mental and spiritual health . Community gardening attracts a variety of people for a diversity of reasons and has the potential to create inclusive spaces. There are, however, some areas for caution.

5 Creating Community gardens is not always easy. Their establishment and maintenance requires hard work, their success is not guaranteed and expectations may exceed what is possible. The findings also suggest that to change lifestyle risk factors, garden initiatives need to be part of a comprehensive approach that may include learning about how to prepare food or changing the local food environment. In addition, gardens will only be successful in reducing inequalities if attention is paid to factors such how resources are distributed, cultural competency and preferences, and ensuring effective Community involvement. These findings assist in building the picture of the potential of Community gardening as a public health intervention.

6 The analysis in this thesis suggests that Community gardening can assist in improving health outcomes and addressing health inequalities through establishing links with food and food production, increasing availability of healthy food options and creating a place and activity focused on nutritious foods. v Preface My initial interest in studying Community gardens came from working in health policy. I noticed that international publications were suggesting Community gardens as a potential solution in topics as broad as healthy urban environments, prisoner health and the health of rural communities. As a keen gardener who had rented an allotment on the Wellington Town Belt and been a member of a Community garden in Doncaster, Melbourne, I was interested to find out more about how Community gardening could improve the health of urban communities.

7 Preparing this thesis has been an enjoyable journey and I would like to thank the many people who made this possible. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge those who shared their ideas and experiences about Community gardening , particularly the garden coordinators and stakeholders who agreed to be interviewed for the research. Their willingness to talk frankly about their experiences made it easy to gain a real sense of what is happening with Community gardening in Auckland and Wellington. I want as well to thank my supervisors, Geoff Fougere and Robin Kearns, who adeptly guided me through the journey of developing the research and writing the thesis.

8 Also, the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities for providing a scholarship. Thanks also to my family for their support and perseverance. Graham, Alice, Tom and Mike have been patient, encouraging and helped me in many practical ways. I have also appreciated the practical and technical support provided by friends and other family members. In particular, my thanks to Anne for being my wheels in Auckland, Louisa for transcribing some of the interviews and Katie for her assistance with Table of contents ABSTRACT .. III PREFACE .. V TABLE OF CONTENTS .. VI LIST OF TABLES .. IX LIST OF FIGURES .. X CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION: Community gardening AS AN EMERGING health INTERVENTION.

9 1 health CHALLENGES FACING AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND .. 2 GROWING INTEREST IN Community gardening .. 3 OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH APPROACH .. 5 OVERVIEW OF THESIS .. 7 CHAPTER 2: THE DEVELOPMENT OF Community gardening ..11 WHAT IS Community gardening ? ..11 AN INTERNATIONAL HISTORY OF Community gardening ..13 A HISTORY OF Community gardening IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND ..16 M ori gardening ..17 gardening on public land in Auckland and Wellington ..20 RECENT INTEREST IN Community gardening ..21 CREATING A SUCCESSFUL Community GARDEN ..25 SUMMARY ..27 CHAPTER 3:IMPROVING health IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND ..28 PERSISTENT health INEQUALITIES AND HIGH RATES OF CHRONIC CONDITIONS.

10 28 PROTECTING AND PROMOTING M ORI health ..30 ADDRESSING LIFESTYLE RISK FACTORS FOR CHRONIC CONDITIONS ..31 ADDRESSING THE WIDER DETERMINANTS OF health ..34 ADDRESSING health INEQUALITIES ..36 Inequalities affect everyone s health ..37 Tools to address health inequalities ..40 THE health BENEFITS OF Community gardening ..41 Improved nutrition and access to fruit and vegetables ..41 Increased physical activity ..43 Strengthened communities ..44 Enhanced mental and spiritual health ..47 Community GARDENS AS A public health INTERVENTION ..48 SUMMARY ..50 CHAPTER 4: DEVELOPING THE RESEARCH APPROACH ..51 DEVELOPING THE RESEARCH QUESTION.