Gardening during COVID-19
Project Overview
In early 2020, as the first wave of COVID-19 swept the globe, there appeared to be a parallel increase in interest in gardening. Our team of researchers from Australia, Germany, and the US came together because of a shared interest in understanding why and how people were gardening during the pandemic. Earlier research had shown us how beneficial gardening could be for health, food security, and social connection. Now we wanted to know if and how gardening was able to deliver these and other benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo from La Mesa Verde.)
Research Questions
1.
What significance did gardening have for people as they coped with pandemic risks and challenges?
2.
How were gardeners changing the use and management of their gardens because of the pandemic?
3.
What barriers, needs, and sources of support did gardeners identify during the pandemic?
Key Findings
Gardens functioned as therapeutic places, where gardeners felt joy, connection to nature, and freedom from pandemic stressors.
Many pandemic gardeners valued gardens as a social space where they could safely connect with family, friends, neighbors, and other gardeners.
Because of food supply chain disruptions, growing food took on greater significance as gardeners hoped to become more self-sufficient and help feed others.
Team Members
Dr. Alessandro Ossola
UC Davis
Dr. Jonathan Kingsley
Swinburne University of Technology
Dr. Monika Egerer
Technical University of Munich
Summer Cortez
UC Davis
Dr. Brenda Lin
Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Dr. Lucy Diekmann
University of California Cooperative Extension
Dr. Pauline Marsh
University of Tasmania
Featured Publications
