Community Gardens Aid in Building Strong Communities
Gardening is one of those activities that is great for a person with a green thumb and those who want a fun and exciting hobby to pass the time; but that doesn’t mean you have to toil away alone at it. Gardening is a great way to meet new people and create a fantastic way to spend time and see positive results.
Communities all across the United States have developed gardens that are run and maintained by volunteers. They can be a small garden in an apartment complex or a large garden in a public park, size doesn’t matter, it’s all about the message they send. A community garden’s message is different from community to community but ultimately renowned scholar, Marshal McLuhan, said it best; “The medium is the message,” and in this case that medium is gardening. Gardening can help guide at-risk youth stay out of trouble, provide seniors with a hobby that keeps them active, and help teenagers and adults become teachers and learn in a practical hands-on environment all while building a positive centerpiece that communities can take pride in.
While scholars sit and debate that famous quote, that’s not what this article is about. We want to put the focus on how community gardens aid in building strong communities and how a greenhouse kit can help those gardens operate year round. Community gardens are an excellent addition to any community.
A community garden provides a place for hands-on education for people of all ages and helps to establish leaders and teachers. Community gardens are often found, but not limited to, lower income neighborhoods where children may be at a higher risk for dangerous behaviors. In the garden they can learn not only horticulture skills but life skills including healthy nutritional habits, teamwork, responsibility and finally practical skills; as they can be taught cooking skills using the fresh produce being grown in the garden.
While some states have a year round outdoor growing season that is not true for all the states and that is where a greenhouse kit becomes so valuable. If at-risk youth are able to continue maintaining the garden inside even a small hobby greenhouse, they will continue to learn and help them avoid those high-risk situations that they may otherwise find themselves in.
Greenhouse kits are often very affordable and are a great way to increase the attractiveness of the garden and the surrounding community. A hobby greenhouse kit is a great focal point for the garden and can help increase the sense of pride and accomplishment of the volunteers who have worked hard to create a welcome and inviting place for anyone to enjoy.
There is also the secondary benefit of the produce that is grown in community gardens. Often that produce is sold at local markets to help raise funds for new projects in the garden, or it is used to teach the garden volunteers how to cook and utilize fresh produce, or donated to local shelters to help feed those in need. A community garden not only provides an entertaining hobby to those who participate in it but often times helps those in need by helping them to establish new skills or through the donation of produce grown. Adding a greenhouse kit to the mix will help to ensure that the pride, skills and donations can continue to grow, learn and contribute every month of the year.
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