Community Gardens: Building community through Gardening
Planting and growing community.
A research proposal submitted to the Urban Studies and Planning Program
University of California at San Diego
Adrian Tamas
USP 187, Section A01
atamas@ucsd.edu
February 22nd, 2011
Abstract
The goal of this research paper was to analyze the effects of a community garden
on a college campus and the community as a whole. The questions asked was,
will the garden attract greater community participation and involvement? The
research's main focus was on the success of a community garden on a college
campus in bringing the Warren College population together, fostering community,
and increasing the level of resident involvement in the community as a whole and
its overall impact. Evidence was gathered through resident surveys, interviews, as
well as participant observation, as a Resident Advisor. Based on the evidence
gathered, the conclusion in this particular case study is that the garden had no
significant impact on resident interaction and community building, however, it
had success on the individual and group level, with a promising future for greater
community participation.
Key terms: community mobilization, empowerment, community involvement
Planting and Growing Community
In the past, people understood and valued their food more due to the fact that they were
directly involved in planting, growing and harvesting their fruits and vegetables. Everybody
focused on a specific crop and then traded with other people in the community in order to
acquire the necessary supplies to feed their family. This process of trading crops was
instrumental in keeping the community together and involved because in a way it created a
system of dependency. With the arrival of the industrial revolution and urbanization, people got
more and more disengaged with the process of growing their own food. (Twiss, et. al, 2003) New
machinery made it easy to cultivate immense amounts of lands, as well as grow and harvest it
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with very limited human capital. In these industrial nations, people became so disengaged with
growing their own food that they waste immense quantities monthly. Gone are the days when
they had to toil in the sun and only see the benefits months later. Purchasing food is
instantaneous, now. The dependency on the neighbor or others in the village is gone and replaced
by a dependency on fast food chain restaurants and chain grocery stores. In the western world
people do not know where o food is coming from, how fresh it is, or how hard their ancestors
had to work for the same things they now take for granted. However, in an effort to regain that
connection to the land and the food, community gardens have sprouted up around cities and
suburbs everywhere. (McClintock, 2009)
Community gardens serve many purposes, the main one of course being fresh vegetables
for consumption. However, the garden also creates opportunity for physical exercise, community
interaction, empowerment, and community building. (S. Wakefield, et. al, 2010) This study
focuses on the latter parts and emphasizes the community building aspect of a community
garden. The question asked is whether the garden will attract and facilitate greater resident
interaction. The initial hypothesis stated that the garden will facilitate community building and
greater resident interaction based on research conducted. The study focuses on Earl’s Garden, a
community garden located in Earl Warren College at the University of California San Diego.
The garden opened three months ago, which has an impact on the study conducted, therefore, the
project’s age must be taken into account while reviewing the findings. This research is important
and significant due to the fact that building community and resident interaction is of great
importance on a college campus. By analyzing the effects this particular garden has on this
particular college campus, we can better understand the needs of a college community. The study
also expands the limited information we have on the effects of community gardens on school
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grounds. (Ozer, 2007) In order to find out the impact Earl’s Garden has on the Warren
Community, interviews were conducted with the garden coordinator and surveys were sent out in
the community to the residents living there to see how the garden has impacted their life and
community up to this point. Along those methods of acquiring data, informal interviews with
various members of the community, and personal observations as a Resident Advisor in the
Warren Community were also taken into account.
Based on these observations, the garden had no great impact on the community as a
whole, on a macro level. However, success was seen on the individual and group level.
According to the survey conducted, a majority of residents know of the garden’s existence, and
what it is, but not many know details about the process of getting involved or the garden as a
whole. There are many misconceptions that the garden team can now address after reviewing the
survey results. For the purposes of this study, success will be measured in three different ways:
success on the individual level, success on the group level, and success on the community level.
The residents that did get involved with the garden, as well as different organizations on campus,
that volunteered to work in the garden as a group, acknowledge the positive aspect of the garden.
Success in this instance is measured based on the renewed interest of those participating in
taking care of the garden, and the enthusiasm with which they work.
Although there are few people involved with the garden at the moment, it has not played
a great role in facilitating greater resident interaction or community involvement. That might
take some time, due to the speed at which the project was completed and the age of the garden
thus far. As aforementioned, the garden has been open for about three months. Although, it has
not been extremely successful on at the community level, it is important to keep in mind the age
of the garden, and the fact that it does have potential to become a greater part of the community.
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This conclusion is based on the individual and group success the garden managed to achieve thus
far. There also seems to be great confusion among residents about what the garden actually is.
Many residents still do not know that the garden is available to them and they can easily request
a plot that they can plant in. Once the garden is more established, and more visible to the
community, it will become an even greater asset. The garden staff needs to be more proactive in
integrating the garden in the community, through greater outreach and educational programming.
Why community gardens matter
Although, the focus of this research paper is on how successful a community garden is on
a college campus, and its benefits, it is also important to look at other research related to
community gardens in order to better understand the history and what they mean to different
areas which they serve. It is for that reason that the literature reviewed and used for this project
varies from gardens as a whole, to health benefits, be it exercise or eating healthier, as well as
community organizing and involvement literature that has no mention of gardens. Due to the fact
that this paper focuses on community empowerment, and involvement, it is important to look at
other aspects of community, not just gardens. Essential information can be extracted from these
sources in order to better understand communities, and different methods to successfully engage
them. The garden itself will not act as a magnet, but it is the sustained effort of the people
involved with its development, to engage and encourage participation, increase visibility and
foster community that will turn the garden into a hot spot. Therefore, the research resulting from
this paper will not only add to the minimal information on the effects of a community garden on
school grounds, but it will also aid the staff of Earl’s Garden in adjusting their practices in order
to improve the level of community participation and turn the garden into a social, well utilized
community space.
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Community gardens originated at the beginning of the 20th century, but they started
picking up momentum during the two world wars due in part to the massive amounts of food
required during war time. (Twiss et all, 2003) The United States had to feed itself, its troops, as
well as other allies that might have ran out of resources. Citizens that did not fight in the war,
were able to do their part by being resourceful, in creating, cultivating and sustaining gardens.
These gardens became not only a source of food but also a common goal, with a mutual
understanding that growing and sharing that food was critical during that time of war and it did
make a difference, even if it was a small one.
Today, community gardens are viewed as the future for sustainable living, due in part to
different environmental problems that our planet is facing and will face in the future, with
massive population growth and urbanization. (Hou, Johnson, Lawson, 2009) With increased
population, and expansions of cities and suburban areas, lands that were once used for growing
food are now being turned into houses, communities. In order to make up for the loss of food
growing land, communities should be developed with gardens in mind, a garden in each back or
front yard, possibly a big community garden somewhere in the middle of the community that
everybody can work at and help grow and sustain. (Flores, 2006) It would help create closer knit
communities as well as provide food, creating self-sustaining communities. In the past the
majority of the population lived in rural settings where gardens and small farms were abundant.
The population was mostly self-sustaining with families growing their own food. They would
then trade any surplus either for money or for produce that they might have had a shortage of.
This is what created communities and kept people in close proximity of each other. (Perkins, et.
al, 1996)
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People depended on their community, which in turn led to trust, that in turn lead to a
closer knit community where everybody would know everybody and the likelihood of theft,
cheating or any sort of crime became very slim. Small close knit communities see a smaller
crime rate due to the familiarity of the population in regards to each other. Nobody wants to be
the black sheep, nobody wants to be shunned, excluded or ignored by the people they grew up
with. Although a community garden cannot bring back the old days, or create that small knit
community, or village, it does empower citizens and it creates a community participation when
done right. (Heywood, et. al, 2004) When these communities become closer and people know
each other, the internal crime rate should go down. However, crime can still come into the
community from the outside.
The village days and small communities are over. The industrial revolution brought
massive migration to the cities where jobs were awaiting those eager to start a new life in the
concrete jungle, and led to a rapidly urbanizing world. Today, according United Nations, World
Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision (2007), almost half the world lives in an urban area,
which means that food consumed by these populations is grown elsewhere. In industrialized,
western countries, this breaks the bond between framer and its food that used to be there in the
past. With no bond, or any idea of the effort involved in growing the food, people start becoming
dependent on major corporations to supply their daily nutrients. Left in the hand of big
corporations, whose goal is to increase profit for its investments, the food is biologically and
chemically altered, in order to increase productivity and profits. These alterations might not be as
safe or as healthy sometimes, but with big corporations controlling the majority of our food
supply, the population has little to no alternative. No bond between people and their food also
leads to wastefulness. A person that grows their own food is more careful with their food and
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their portions. Wasting it is not an option. The demand for food in urban areas creates other
problems, besides wastefulness. It creates the need for massive growth, and massive amounts of
land. (Ketzmann, McKnight, 1997) Chemicals are also used because it is cheaper and everything
is profit driven. These products then might cause health problems due to the different pesticides
and chemicals used. Community gardens offer an alternative to these chemically infested
products. Gardening is relaxing, healthy and it brings a sense of pride on top of providing
organically grown fresh produce. (Kauker, 2010)
Community gardens bring back the pride in growing food personally and being connected
with the land and the food itself. The produce then becomes more than just something to fill a
stomach, it becomes part of the lifestyle. Gardens also increase community involvement and
connectedness by bringing people together for a common goal; growing food and sharing with
their neighbors. They also empower people to take control of their food supply. Community
gardens also promote a healthier lifestyle because they encourage the consumption of fresh
produce, and provide an opportunity for physical activity that comes from gardening and taking
care of the plants until the actual fruit or vegetable is produced. (Ozer, 2007) Gardening helps
slow down life through practicing patience, in this crazy fast paced, multi-tasking society.
Emily Ozer writes on the subject of community gardens used on school campuses. She
talks about the future attention these gardens will receive due to the obesity problem in the
United States. “There are now estimated to be more than 2,000 school gardens in the state of
California being used for academic instruction in subjects including science, math, nutrition,
environmental studies, and health.” (Ozer, 2007) Although, the gardens referred to in this article
are usually in K-12 educational institutions, they play a role in community gardens on college
campuses. The educational aspect of a community garden still applies except in this setting, there
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is no curriculum. On a college campus the learning happens on students' own accord. However,
community gardens on a high school campus would increase interest and get students involved
with growing their own food. When these high school students transition into college they can
bring these gardening habits to college. It is because of this that community gardens on high
school campuses should be greatly encouraged, not only because of the positive impact they may
have on high school students, but also due to the potential of continued and increased interest in
community garden development on college campuses, and after college.
“Gardens are seen as democratic locales uniting diverse groups in efforts at self-help, and
locations for teaching skills, “civic-mindedness,” and gardening as a way to reintroduce nature to
urban areas.” (Milburn and Vail, 2010). According to Milburn and Vail, gardens also serve the
purpose of creating citizens involved with their community, creating “civic-mindedness”, and a
more well-rounded, involved citizenry. Involvement with a community garden could serve as a
catalyst for involvement in other local or national organizations, making for a more educated,
more involved public in terms of different local or national issues. Applying this to the topic at
hand, a more involved youth, in particular college level educated youth, in national issues and
elections could be beneficial for the country as a whole. It was the youth and grassroots
movements across the country that managed to elect Barak Obama to the presidency, therefore
making history in 2008. Community gardens themselves start from grassroots movements and
community organizing, (Ozer, 2007), which in turn can lead to other movements because they
bring together people with similar believes, or goals. This is also confirmed by Milburn and Vail
in their article, where they state that “Research has shown that community gardens have the
potential to provide social, political, and environmental benefits to direct participants and the
surrounding community.” (Milburn and Vail, 2010)
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Community gardens provide different benefits, from healthier lifestyles, to community
participation and greater resident participation in other local or national issues as a result of
initial involvement with a local movement, such as the creation or participation in a community
garden. Again, dealing with the topic at hand, these benefits are welcomed on a college campus,
due to the fact that it creates a more involved and aware student body. Initiative and personal
involvement are both very important characteristics of a successful college student, in that it
leads a person to get the most out of their college education.
Interviews, surveys, observation
The data intended to be used for research paper, has been gathered from interviews with
the garden coordinator, newspaper article in which the garden coordinator, along with other
inters have been interviewed, a garden survey sent out to the residents of Warren College, as well
as participant observations as a Resident Advisor and informal interviews with other Resident
Advisor and residents of the community.
Interviewing the garden coordinator was imperative, due to the fact that she was
involved in every step of the process thus far, on top of being in charge of the whole project and
working towards its success. The interview provided details on everything garden related. It shed
light on the process necessary to create the garden in the first place, how the garden works, plot
division, who can plot and what the process is. It also provided information on what the garden
staff has done up to this point in order to increase participation in the community and create
interest. This information is imperative in order to assess and see if more can be done to further
the garden’s success or if everything has been done for that purpose and nothing else can be
implemented. The interview also provided insight into the different types of success the garden
has accomplished. Although, the garden was not able to completely engage the community as a
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whole, it has become a known part of the community and a great resources for those who made
the effort to learn more about it and get involved either by volunteering at the garden or taking
care of their own plot.
The writer’s observation as a resident and a Resident Advisor, RA, was also used in
assessing the success of Earl’s Garden in increasing community participation and sustained
interest. Through the RA position, the writer managed direct access to residents, through daily
interaction, as well as gathering information from other RAs and their informal discussions with
their residents. Informal interviews have been conducted with various residents, and although
there is no paper trail involved, these informal interviews are essential because it increases the
level of honesty by no placing the interviewee in the spot light and making it formal, where they
might think they should lie in order to produce the assumed intended response. These random
samples were used to get an overall idea of the community’s perception of the garden before the
surveys were sent out for more detailed answers.
The resident survey/interview is made up of a set of questions about Earl's Garden on the
Warren Campus and it was administered through SurevyMonkey.com. Half of it focused on yes
or no questions while the other half will have questions that will allow residents to give their
input in relation to the garden, their opinions on what the garden can do to improve community
involvement if it they do not think the garden does enough in that regard. Some of the yes or no
questions asked for further explanation of the answer, for example “why or why not?”, which
gave greater insight than just the yes or no answer. The survey questions will provide me with
information about what the garden means to the community, how many of the Warren residents
actually know of its existence or who can plant in Earl's Garden. Talking to residents casually, I
noticed a lot of confusion about the garden. The survey will also show us what we need to
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change in order to make the garden more visible and provide better opportunities for residents to
plant in the garden, be it their own plot or taking care of the plants in the community plot. The
survey was extremely helpful in figuring out how the garden is seen by the community.
The website used also provides a survey analysis which makes analyzing the data easier.
The survey link was sent through email and posted on facebook, encouraging residents in
particular to fill it out. Settings were changed so that a participant can see the results of the
survey as a whole after they completed their own, and see where the rest of the people polled
stand on different questions asked. The majority of the people have heard of the garden and
know where it is located, however the few that do not, specified that they are not residents of
Warren College. This problem can be avoided in the future by making sure that only current
residents take the survey. However, by having the survey online, it is difficult to monitor who
takes it. A solution for this would be to have the survey administered in person and asking
students if they are current residents before proceeding with the rest of the questions. The online
survey has its own benefits however, in that it allows the person taking the survey to be more
open and honest, due to the anonymity involved in the process. There are pros and cons with
both solutions, and the best solution could probably be to do administer both versions and
compare the results.
The interview, survey and direct participant observations as well as informal interviews
have served the purpose in order to provide greater understanding on the garden’s place and role
in the community, how it came into existence and where it might go in the future. All the data
collected through these different means, will be analyzed and explained in the following
paragraphs, and will hopefully provide greater insight on the topic of the creation and
maintenance of a community garden on a college campus.
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Earl’s Garden, a case study
“The mission of Earl’s Garden is to serve as a peaceful site where visitors and volunteers
can connect with nature and grow food alongside one another.” (Baltmanas, 2011) This is the
mission statement of Earl’s Garden taken from their website. Although, the mission statement
does not include any mention of community building and enhancement, it does refer to growing
“food alongside one another,” which is in effect, community development and involvement. A
community garden’s goal does not have to be to build community necessarily, yet community
involvement and interaction is the direct result of the community garden’s existence.
Lee-Anne S. Milburn and Brooke Adams Vail talk about the four seeds of success in their
article, Sowing the Seeds of Success, Cultivating a future for community gardens. The four seeds
of success are secure land tenure, sustained interest, community development and appropriate
design. (Milburn and Vail, 2010) These topics are important in this research paper, with a greater
focus on sustained interest and community development due to the fact that they seem to be most
important to the topic of successful community gardens on a college campus. Since its opening,
Earl’s Garden has had a problem with sustaining interested or community development.
According to the survey results, the main problem is community outreach and publicity. The
majority of people surveyed have heard about the garden, with fewer knowing what exactly it is,
and even fewer knowing specifics about the garden or how to get involved, or who to contact. In
the free response parts of the surveys residents mention publicity as a way to motivate them to
consider future involvement with the garden. A lot of them mention contact information, or
possibly a garden blog. The garden does have an email account, as well as a blog, however, the
majority of the Warren population has not been exposed to this information. The findings are
based on the writer’s participant observations as a Resident Advisor at Warren College as well as
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a resident himself. Informal interviews have also been conducted with different members of the
community, some of the most important ones being the Resident Advisors living and working in
the building adjacent to Earl’s Garden itself. The interview with the garden coordinator as well
as the survey results are helpful in determining the success of Earl’s Garden.
Secure land tenure is one of the seeds of success described by Milburn and Vail, and
Earl’s Garden has been set up, and worked on over the summer. The irrigation system was
installed, the land terraced and divided into plots and a fence was also installed surrounding the
garden. According to Jessica Baltmanas, the garden coordinator the process of acquiring the land
has been relatively quick especially since the land belong to the department of Housing and
Dining at UC San Diego. She explained how the garden started from talks with the Residential
Dean, Claire Palmer, through Jessica’s job as an EcoNaut, while trying to work on different ideas
to make Warren College more green. They both shared the idea and the vision for a garden, and
according to Jessica, the space was there, which made the process easier, having a space before
planning a garden. The process started in September of 2009 and by that following summer all
approvals necessary have been received and actual work no transforming the patch of land
covered in ivy into an actual garden. Meetings over the summer with the risk management
department made the process incredibly difficult, on top of the manual labor necessary to
transform the space into a garden. The garden was completed by the start of the new year with
most of the work being done by Jessica and other volunteers.
One of the misconceptions found in the survey results was that the Warren College
Student Council was involved with the creation of the garden, or that student fees have been used
in the creation of the garden. As aforementioned, the garden came into existence through the
cooperation of Jessica Baltmanas and Claire Palmer in an effort to make the Warren Campus
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more green. After the initial idea, Baltmanas contacted the Sustainable Food Project at UC San
Diego where she was directed to different grants and funding opportunities. After receiving
approval from the Warren Residential Life office, the Housing and Dining Office, and the
University, She applied for funding from the Green Initiative Fund in order to bring the garden
into existence. It was a time consuming process and difficult at times but due to her dedication to
the cause, Jessica Baltmanas managed to bring the garden into existence.
Although, the garden was almost finished by the start of the school year, the opening of
the garden did not happen until about the middle of fall quarter, due to approval from the
Residential Dean of Warren College, as well as the absence of a garden staff. The amount of
work necessary was too much for the garden coordinator on her own. The garden had a
successful opening with people participating in arts and crafts, enjoying organic produce and
helping out in the design of the garden logo by submitting ideas or using the provided supplies to
create a small model of the logo itself. However, after the opening and the planting, little
participation was observed.
The limited participation can be attributed to a couple of things, based on observations,
informal interviews, and resident surveys, it was found that although the opening of the garden
seemed successful, the majority of the community still had no idea what the garden was or that it
was available to the residents living in the community in order to plant. The garden is located in
a central part of the Warren College Campus, with a great majority of the students living there,
passing by multiple times a day. This might explain the almost unanimous answer to the survey
question that asked if residents have heard of Earl’s Garden. A smaller number of the students
that said they have heard of it, were able to explain what the garden is, or what they believe its
role is in the community.
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The majority of residents polled, agreed unanimously that the process of getting involved
with the garden and volunteering is not clear and simple enough and when asked what would
make them more interested in getting involved most of the residents stated that more information
on what the garden is, what it does, and how to go about volunteering or owning their own plot,
would be a great incentive. However, the survey also showed that gardening is not for
everybody, with some students stating that nothing would increase their interest in the garden.
The following survey results are interesting when comparing the two questions side by
side.
The majority of residents do believe that a community garden on a college campus could
possibly foster greater community interaction, with a little under a third being unsure and only
about a tenth of the people polled saying no to the question. The following questions asks if the
residents have seen greater community interaction since the garden opened, and here half of the
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people polled responded with a no, with the other side being unsure. Nobody could confidently
say the garden has fostered greater community interaction since it opened. The survey is still
online and residents can still fill it out for the benefit of the garden staff, however, for the
purpose of this research paper, these are the final numbers to be used.
Although the garden has not managed to involve the community as a whole so far, it is
still a great addition to the Warren Community according to the survey results. When asked how
important the participant believes the garden to be to the Warren community as a whole, on a
scale of one through five, with one being not important and five being very important, the
majority of the residents responding rated the garden a three or higher on the importance scale.
The overwhelming majority of those people responded yes to the follow-up question which
asked “Regardless of your involvement, do you approve of the garden being the only one of its
kind in Warren College? Yes or No?” with some people supporting expansions to other areas of
the UC San Diego campus. These answers prove that the garden has great potential in its
community involvement, and with more community outreach and education, greater participation
is extremely possible.
The following pictures show the garden’s temporary logo as well as the irrigation system.
Some pictures show participants on planting day.
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Top left: participants working in the garden . Top Right: Jessica Baltmanas,
garden coordinator. Bottom: Irrigation system, Earl’s Garden
Walking through the Warren Apartment Complex, the garden looks successful, and it is if
we just look at it as a garden. Based on the interview with the garden coordinator, three different
levels of success have been identified for the garden, four including the aesthetic the garden adds
to the Warren College campus. Looking at the garden as a community hot spot, that is supposed
to involve the residents, create community and increase resident interactions, its success is
limited, in this regard. It seems that the garden is just there, people pass by every day on their
way to class without really stopping to acknowledge its existence. The garden was created by
small dedicated group of students, and it has been planted and cared for by the same small
dedicated group of students. On the individual, personal level, the garden has been extremely
successful. According to Baltmanas, the people that have contacted her, volunteered or own a
plot in the garden, are extremely pleased with it. Therefore, success on the individual level
cannot be contested. Baltmanas states that she would “Measure the level of success internally,
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and people always have a really good time at the garden. Because it is a very peaceful place, a
great place where people go, sit sometimes to relax. That was part of the vision of it.”
Another measure of success can be seen on the group level. Different fraternities,
sororities and Warren organizations either have volunteered multiple times, or expressed interest
in volunteering at the garden. Alpha Epsilon Delta, Alpha Epsilon Phi, the Board of Union of
Jewish Students have volunteered and will again, and the Warren Association of Volunteer
Enthusiasts, or WAVE, is planning an event in conjunction with the garden. Baltmanas believes
that the reason these groups return is because they found a peaceful place to work together,
where time slows down and people experience a renewed connection to the Earth.
Jessica Baltmanas also shared that Earl’s Garden is looked at as an example, and many
different groups and organizations on campus are looking at the process in which it was created
and the success it had so far in order to use it as a model for new gardens across campus. One of
these groups is the staff of Geisel Library, who expressed interest in touring the garden in order
to learn more in the process of maybe creating a community garden somewhere near the library.
Success therefore, can be measured in many different ways. On the individual, the group, and the
community level, as well as outside group inspiration as well. The garden serves as a model for
future community garden developments on actual Housing and Dining and University grounds.
Individual and group success, promises future community level success, with enough outreach
and education. It is also important to keep in mind that Earl’s Garden has only been open for
three months, and just like the plants it houses, it needs time and energy in order to grow to its
full potential.
The garden might not have increased resident interaction or community participation due
to the fact that the Warren community already had great involvement and participation. It is
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important to consider this option, because if that is the case, the effects of the garden might not
be as obvious as they would have been if the Warren Community was nonexistent. Future study
of the garden is important to see how it developed and integrated in the Warren Community after
it had a little time to grow. Residents might expect immediate results, but this is a garden, and
like the plants in it, it does not grow over night. Gardening takes time. Why would the creation
of a community garden and its absorbance into the community be any different.
Food for Thought
Earl’s Garden in Warren College has been a great addition to the college campus. There
is no doubt that the garden beautifies the campus with the different shades of green that it
contains. A stranger walking through the campus might be surprised that there is a garden in the
middle of it and probably ask more about it. However, the Warren population seems to be
apathetic to garden, with students walking by on their way to and from class. A limited number
of people have planted in the garden and use it on a regular basis but the majority of the student
population still does not know exactly why the garden is there or what role it serves. Some
people interviewed believed that the garden’s purpose was to provide fresh produce to Earl’s
Place and Market, located in the complex as well. When they found out that anybody could plant
there, they were pleasantly surprised, however, showed no interest in planting in there
themselves. Survey results show that greater outreach to the community, and education is
necessary to increase interest. The great majority of residents do not know enough about the
garden or how to find more information in order to get involved.
In order to increase resident participation it is important to educate the population on the
importance of growing fresh food, and to also really emphasize the convenience of having a
garden right outside their doors. Advertising and education are an important part of any new
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project’s success. More advertising, outreach and educational programs are scheduled in the
future for the garden since it is fairly new, however, for the purpose of this research paper, the
results of those efforts cannot be included due to time constraints. The question asked by in this
project was what the effect of a community garden on a college campus was in regards to
increased participation, empowerment and community development.
In that regards, the garden has shown little impact on community development or resident
participation. The garden did however, succeed on the individual level, with the limited number
or residents involved, as well as on the group level with different organizations volunteering and
helping out with removing weeds and cleaning up the area. These groups returned on many
occasions, therefore the ability to maintain interest, testifies for the garden’s success in that
regard. If greater participation and community interaction, is sought, outreach and education to
the greater Warren Community, along with a lot more advertising and publicizing contact
information, is imperative. Another suggestion for future studies is to extend the time period of
the case study, which was a limitation in this particular instance. If little time is permitted, it is
suggested that future studies focus on already established gardens in order to avoid some of the
problems with this research project.
In the end, Earl’s Garden fulfilled its purpose of being a community garden, used by
members of the community, although it did not increase interest or participation in the majority
of the community. This can be solved by time, outreach and publicity, according to survey
results, that asked residents what would make them more interested in getting involved with the
garden. The garden is used as an example for future community garden developments at UC San
Diego and its future, based on survey results seems to be promising.
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Bibliography:
1. Community Gardens: Lessons Learned From California Healthy Cities and Communities
Joan Twiss, MA, Joy Dickinson, BS, CHES, Shirley Duma, MA, Tanya Kleinman, BA, Heather
Paulsen, MS and Liz Rilveria, MPA
2.E. J. Ozer
The Effects of School Gardens on Students and Schools: Conceptualization and Considerations
for Maximizing Healthy Development
Health Educ Behav, December 1, 2007; 34(6): 846 - 863.
3. N. McClintock
Why farm the city? Theorizing urban agriculture through a lens of metabolic rift
Cambridge J Regions Econ Soc, July 1, 2010; 3(2): 191 - 207.
4. Lee-Anne S. Milburn and Brooke Adams Vail
Sowing the Seeds of Success: Cultivating a future for Community Gardens
Landscape Jrnl., January 1, 2010; 29(1): 71 - 89.
5. S. Wakefield, F. Yeudall, C. Taron, J. Reynolds, and A. Skinner
Growing urban health: Community gardening in South-East Toronto
Health Promot. Int., June 1, 2007; 22(2): 92 - 101.
6. Douglas D. Perkins, Barbara B. Brown, Ralph B. Taylor,
The Ecology of Empowerment: Predicting Participation in Community Organizations
Journal of Social Issues, Volume 52, Issue 1, pages 85-110, Spring 1996
7. Frances Heywood, Pete Wilde, Mandy Wilson, Danny Burns
What Works in Assessing Community Participation, Published by Policy Press, July 21, 2004
8. John P. Ketzmann, John L. McKnight
Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a
Community's Assets, Published by ACTA Publications, 1 edition (March 1997)
9. Jeffrey Hou, Julie M. Johnson, Laura J. Lawson
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Greening Cities, Growing Communities: Learning from Seattle's Urban Community Gardens
(Land and Community Design Case Studies), Published by University of Washington Press (July
15, 2009)
10. Heather Coburn Flores
Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a
Community, Published by Chelsea Green, 1st Edition (October 1st, 2006)
11. United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision (2007)
12. Kauker, Justin - “Students Inaugurate ‘Earl’s Garden’” The Guardian, UCSD, November 8th,
2010
13. Baltmanas, Jessica “Earl’s Garden,” Retrieved February 22nd, 2011 from
http://earlsgardenucsd.blogspot.com/
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Appendix – Survey Results
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Garden Coordinator (Jessica Baltmanas) interview notes:
Econaut position was brand new
Meeting with Claire about ideas to make warren more green, to represent warren college
Idea of the garden really stuck, went on a tour. Lived by there, area seemed alive.
Sustainable food project at UCSD, directed for funding, asked approval from housing, then
university approval, then approval process, got funding from green initiative fund.
Shaped it, over summer, dug, took out the ivy. November 2009 started.
Meetings, not a lot of paperwork, but a lot of meetings over summer for risk management .
Idea met with enthusiasm, summer was difficult meeting with construction and planning person
who had no experience.
A really special place, it has a lot to grow. It’s still very new. I don’t think students are very
excited about it, a few but not many. Has a lot of potential, proud it exists but not very proud of
where it is at this point. A lot more outreach.
Volunteer groups, reaching out to help. Geisel staff touring to start a garden at Geisel. Struggle
of survival, within garden, with rabbits and weeds and watering. Four months since it opened.
Future goals and expectations. I learned I can’t do it by myself. Until people are truly
enthusiastic to help it’s not going anywhere. Meet biweekly with interns, present the garden to
other people. Special to have that land there. A lot of people gleaning about the space, it could
help a lot of people in getting land approval. In terms of programming, need to learn from other
gardens.
People email asking to volunteer or own a plot, but after a lot of them don’t follow through.
People don’t really connect to the soil anymore, but it’s really important. There’s so much to be
learned just by gardening, no instant gratification. Measure level of success internally, and
people always have a really good time at the garden. A very peaceful place, a great place, people
go out there and sit sometimes to relax. That was part of the vision of it. It needs to feel more
inclusive for people, they don’t realize it’s accessible to everyone. Need to make it appear as
inclusive. That is the way to measure success, by the inclusiveness.
Big harvest of radishes, cover crops just to fix the soil and make it better. A weed is harmful and
not wanted. A lot more education needs to occur. Signage is necessary so people know what’s
there.
Alpha Epsilon Delta – volunteered and will again
Board of Union of Jewish Students
Event coming up with WAVE
Alpha Epsilon Phi, Grand Opening Day in November which was a joint RA program and about
25 people showed up, planted a lot, and painted the Earl’s Garden sign.
About 20 plots, about 17 of them are used. Top has lettuce, carrots.
3 plots rented out by residents, 3 plots are control plots for an intern doing research on the effects
of microbes for the garden.
Unity plot. Seven different orgs to plant there. (on the blog) Another plot given to an
organization. Plant more trees, an intern is working on a native plant garden.
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A native garden – consists of plants that are native to San Diego. Very low water plants. White
sage, rosemary, lavender.
Guerilla Gardening – a free for all plot.
Exposure at a student org faire. Tabling event and giving out seed bombs.
Hesitant to give to student orgs because it wouldn’t be equal opportunity. Could rotate it per
quarter.
You can’t judge how big it is by its space. Permaculture principles, to use all the space as best as
possible. Clover planted on the pathways, have 20 plots, grow everywhere. A lot of room to
grow, so much to do in that garden. If more people want to garden we can rotate the plots per
quarter.
Garden behind the che café. Earl’s has open arms.
If people have no experience, they can get help from garden team.
It’s great if they’re beginners because then they have that much more to learn. Very valuable to
provide that information. UCSD has an agricultural void, through education and first-hand
experience. Part of the garden is to fill the void and to provide that education for students and to
keep them connected to the soil. Fill the educational agricultural void. Gardening brings up
memories for people. Incredible place to reflect and at the same time laboring over something
that will give results in the future. Where past, present and future meet.
Cultural, everybody can connect, everybody needs to grow food. Bonding experience.
It has helped built community for the people that have come to the garden. It’s going to be a lot
of work to include all of warren. It is successful because of what happens there, to better the
warren community.
Measure the success by how good the event was. Providing people with volunteer opportunities.
Go home inspired, and makes it rewarding. “I believe in it, I believe it can keep bringing people
together and unite the people that come there” Not just a two dimensional thing, something
deeper than just gardening happens there, conversations had and experiences with the soil.
Provide seeds, don’t have to pay for anything, just a smile and great attitude.
It’s important that UCSD has a garden on housing grounds. It’s going to take a while to develop
fully, but it’s very flexible. It takes time for everything to come together. Can’t put a time on it,
things take time. It has to be accepted and be absorbed into warren college.
A form of nature, a way to fulfill that human desire through planting. The project is really
important, a lot of people are looking at it for future gardens throughout UCSD. This is like a
child, waiting for it to grow and to have its own children around UCSD. Space is important.
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