How Community Gardening Can Ease Climate Change Concerns

Every day we are bombarded with news about a world in crisis. Alongside constant reminders of wars, economic recessions and social unrest come news about natural disasters AND extreme weather – whether prolonged droughts, unexpected heatwaves and forest fires, or devastating floods and landslides.

It is possible that our growing awareness of climate problems may be due to excessive reporting of negative news in a media-driven, hyper-globalized world. But what’s happening to our environment also seems unprecedented. Global sea levels have risen two and a half times faster between 2006 and 2016 there were more of them than in almost the entire 20th century, and climate-related disasters has tripled in the last three decades.

Many people are becoming understandably concerned. This is especially true for juvenile people, who have their whole lives ahead of them on a planet inherited from those who have, by and gigantic, failed to look after it. A 2020 YouGov poll found that 70% of people aged 18–24 we were concerned about the environment.

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This article is part of Quarter Lifeseries about the issues that affect us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of starting a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet, or simply making friends as adults, the articles in this series explore the questions and provide answers as we navigate this turbulent time in life.

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Worry can become a problem when it becomes overwhelming and prevents you from leading a normal life. Studies showed that climate anxiety (worry about climate change and its impact on the planet, future disasters, and the future of humanity) can lead to shortness of breath, destitute physical health, and interfere with social relationships or functioning at school or work.

Growing awareness of this emerging mental health issue has led to some suggestions for how to deal with climate anxiety. We can take action by recycling more, buying goods with less packaging, or reducing consumption and waste. No matter how petite they seem, such actions can promote conversation and awareness and lead to more significant lifestyle changes.

Still, some people may find it hard to cope with their emotions, especially juvenile people, who, as research shows, less control over your feelingsTrying to reduce your carbon footprint can also seem too insignificant to convince yourself that it will actually make a difference.

One potentially more engaging and effective way to address climate anxiety is through community gardening, an activity in which people come together to gather and tend to plants and crops on designated plots of land.

In 2018, the Woodland Trust (the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity) launched the UK The First Forest of the Young in Derbyshire. The project involved engaging schools, scout groups and other juvenile people to cultivate the area, resulting in the planting of 250,000 trees.

Juvenile volunteers who took part in the project said the activities had helped them “a lot” to reduce their anxiety about climate change.

Together in this

Community gardening is beneficial because it allows people to directly address climate issues while doing good for the environment. For example, the act of planting makes a physical difference. Growing flowers that attract bees can make you feel like you’ve done something good for the ecosystem.

Gardening – whether it involves digging, sowing or harvesting – is inherently good for your physical and mental health. Tests he even compared getting your hands sullied in the garden to a natural antidepressant. Contact with a soil bacterium called Mycobacterium vaccae can trigger the release of serotonin, while gardening leads to an raise in dopamine in the brain (both of which are linked to feelings of happiness).

Community gardening also requires collaborative planning and cooperation. Working toward common goals can foster a sense of community.

A sense of deep connection can develop not only with others but with nature as a whole. Research among Singaporeans suggests that people who garden frequently are more likely to identify with nature and take care of it.

Immersed in nature

Getting involved in community gardening also encourages people to spend more time in nature. Even something as elementary as this has several health benefits.

In 1982, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries introduced the therapeutic practice of “shinrin-yoku,” a Japanese ritual of forest bathing or immersion in the presence of trees. It has since become part of Japan’s public health program. It was developed in response to a significant raise in Anxiety and stress related illness caused by rapid urbanization and long working hours.

Wood, plants, and some fruits and vegetables secrete necessary oils—commonly called phytoncides—as a natural defense against germs and insects. Inhaling phytoncides seems to improve ability the immune system to function. And tests from the University of Chiba in Japan proved that spending just 30 minutes in the company of trees causes a decrease in cortisol (stress hormone) levels, heart rate and blood pressure.

Community gardening can be an effective way to deal with climate anxiety. It’s fun and engaging, it allows people to feel like they have a direct impact on the environment, and it has many physical health benefits.

In this way, people can maintain the hearty concern about climate change that is necessary to take positive steps to protect our planet, without succumbing to climate anxiety.