Engagement in sustainable horticulture is associated with greater perceived health benefits amongst gardeners

Abstract

Gardens are unique ecosystems with the potential to deliver an array of important environmental and health benefits, particularly for urban populations. A large body of research has established that contact with nature and activities within green spaces (including gardening) are beneficial for our physical, mental and social health. An adjacent body of research has explored whether and how pro-environmental behaviours are also linked to positive outcomes for human health and wellbeing. But published research has not yet established whether pro-environmental behaviour in the context of gardening (“sustainable horticulture”) further increases the health and wellbeing benefits that gardeners derive. This paper uses evidence from a nationally representative UK survey (n=2086) conducted in August 2021 to explore this question. We used multiple regression analysis to quantitatively demonstrate that a positive association between gardening more sustainably and perceived health benefits from gardening exists at the population level amongst UK adults. This finding implies the possibility that promoting environmentally-minded gardening techniques may lead to an increase in the health and wellbeing benefits that gardeners can derive from their actions. The paper puts forth a range of potential mechanisms that could explain the identified positive association between sustainable gardening and perceived health benefits and identifies related policy implications.