The modern United States has completely abandoned the idea of an agrarian society. We rely almost entirely on large industrial grocery stores to import our food from all around the globe. The idea of planting and completely sustaining your family from homegrown food seems insane and unrealistic. The emerging concept of community gardens has changed everything. Community gardens have many benefits from reducing carbon emissions, encouraging helpful pollinators, and creating much-needed green spaces.
What is a community garden? A community garden is a plot of land in a residential area that allows the people of that community to come together and grow their food or greenery. A shared garden allows each individual a plot of land to plant and cultivate. Each plot can be shared between families or kept for one individual. Members use the land to grow whatever plants they would like. Many choose to grow flowers such as coneflower or lavender to attract pollinators.
Boston Community Gardens, for example, is a program that offers the opportunity to purchase a garden plot and a selection of native plants that would be most successful in that environment. Trustees of Reservations, the organization that runs the Boston Community Garden program, focuses on conserving the natural lands of Massachusetts. They run fifty-six community gardens around the Boston Metro Area and provide a simple set of guidelines to follow that ensure the garden remains sustainable and clean.
People cannot use chemical fertilizers or pesticides when planting, setting community gardens apart from larger farm plots. Pesticides are known to cause rashes and burns when applied within reaching distance. But the effects go beyond the skin’s surface. Californians for Pesticide Reform lists the potential chronic health effects of ingesting these chemicals. The list includes damage to the brain and nervous system, cancer, and defects of the kidneys, liver, and lungs. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes that many pesticides have been linked to endocrine disruption, a process that either mimics a natural hormone or blocks the effects of a hormone. These studies have found that pesticides affect fertility and development, especially in its sensitive stages. Instead, it is encouraged to use compost as fertilizer. According to the EPA, composting adds organic matter to the soil, increasing its nutrients and acting as a natural fertilizer. Composting is also a good way to reduce waste and use natural resources instead of dumping them in landfills. Any styrofoam or plastic is also prohibited. If the material is not natural or biodegradable, it is not permitted. This keeps the community safe and encourages sustainable gardening.
Most community gardens, Boston Community Gardens included, host planting events often, with volunteer educators, on what to plant and how to plant it. Boston specifically hosts a “skill-building workshop.” Some upcoming events include a Tree and Shrub Pruning workshop, Culinary Herbs in the Garden, and a Gardeners Gathering event. Tending to a garden is much easier when there is guidance and community support. This is a great way to meet people in your community and gain relationships that go beyond the garden. Community members share food, exchange recipes, and have potlucks with their fresh produce. Not only do these foster relationships among neighbors, but they encourage a healthy lifestyle. According to the Mayo Clinic, gardening is proven to reduce stress, improve immune response, and increase oxygen levels. Enhancing the culture of a community is only one benefit of a community garden; the environmental impacts of this initiative also have considerable impacts.
According to the EPA, the agriculture business contributes to about ten percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. A United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) study found that 80 percent of energy from food production comes from transportation and processing. In another study by the Leopold Center for Agriculture, the average distance traveled by 16 different fruits and vegetables was over 25,000 miles. That’s almost 50,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions yearly. This concept of “food miles” has led to a reassessment of the importance of locally grown produce. In addition to the negative effects of transportation, the production of food using harsh fertilizers and pesticides causes pollution of nearby water sources and harms the surrounding ecosystems. For example, nitrous oxide is released through nitrogen fertilizers and soil disturbance. Nitrous oxide has a global warming potential of 310 times that of carbon dioxide over 100 years. This contributes to global warming, especially as urban areas become more reliant on industrially grown produce. Alternatively, community gardens encourage self-sustaining habits to reduce the carbon footprint of food.
Gardens also encourage green spaces. Urban areas are subject to the heat island effect. The EPA explains that heat islands are caused due to the absorption of heat by buildings and roads. Cities’ infrastructure absorbs heat at a much higher rate than natural landscapes and greenery. This creates an environment subject to ground-level ozone, causing unsafe air quality. Ground-level ozone is often referred to as smog, which causes long-lasting health impacts such as asthma and lung irritation. The EPA suggests that green spaces reflect heat and reduce the surface temperature of cities. Prioritizing green garden spaces is essential to the safety of the community.
The creation of a garden helps the surrounding ecosystem, supporting pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds flourish. The loss of pollinators in many urban areas is proving to be detrimental to human quality of life. According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, without these pollinators, seeds do not spread and ecosystems can not reproduce. This changes the biodiversity of a particular region and causes a cycle of endangerment and poor air quality. Green spaces are also important to the filtration and absorption of rainfall and river runoff. The USDA stresses the benefit of green spaces to urban communities that are subject to flooding, including neighborhoods here in Boston such as Dorchester, East Boston, Charlestown, and South Boston.
By working together to form this green space, everyone in the community benefits. It offers the opportunity for those who do not have the resources to be involved in a widespread eco-friendly project. Community gardens foster a unique opportunity to support local environmental efforts.
Sources:
Agriculture Victoria. (2024, November 29). Greenhouse Gas Cycles in Agriculture. Agriculture Victoria. https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/climate-and-weather/understanding-carbon-and-emissions/greenhouse-gas-cycles-in-agriculture
Environmental Protection Agency. (2024, December 19). Overview of Endocrine Disruption. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/endocrine-disruption/overview-endocrine-disruption
Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, February 14). Composting. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/composting#:~:text=Compost%20Enriches%20and%20Builds%20Healthy%20Soil&text=Conserves%20water%20and%20reduces%20water,higher%20yields%20of%20agricultural%20crops.
Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, January 16). Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions
Hill, H. (2008). Food Miles: Background and Marketing. ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture. https://attra.ncat.org/publication/food-miles-background-and-marketing/
Environmental Protection Agency. (2024, December 10). What are Heat Islands? EPA. https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/what-are-heat-islands
Mair, C. City life: Why are green spaces important? Natural History Museum. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/why-we-need-green-spaces-in-cities.html
Pesticides & Human Health. Californians for Pesticide Reform. (n.d.). https://www.pesticidereform.org/pesticides-human-health/#:~:text=Examples%20of%20acute%20health%20effects,disruption%20of%20the%20endocrine%20system.
US Department of Agriculture. Northwest Urban Green Spaces and Climate Change. USDA Climate Hub. https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/northwest/topic/northwest-urban-green-spaces-and-climate-change#:~:text=Urban%20green%20spaces%20may%20be,slow%20runoff%2C%20reducing%20flood%20risk.
Wimmer, L. (2022). Dig into the Benefits of Gardening. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/dig-into-the-benefits-of-gardening
Xerces Society. What’s at Stake? Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. https://www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/whats-at-stake