conducted at the end of the study, all participants reported higher levels of positive emotions in comparison to their interview responses at the beginning of the study. Based on these interviews, it appears the boost in positive emotions resulted from garden based learning opportunities, active participation in nurturing life, and connection to others through shared and individual responsibilities in the garden (Suto, Smith, Damiano, & Channe, 2021). The presence of positive emotions is also biologically tied to the reduction of inflammation in the brain discussed
above. Are you starting to see the ongoing connection between the biological and psychological? Let’s keep going to see how the social lens ties in. The Social Lens Socially, gardening provides many opportunities for connection. This is especially true in community gardens, which foster a sense of belonging through the social connection network created. In this network, everyone plays a role that holds value in the success of the garden, which increases feelings of belong-
ing. Whether you’re there to water the plants, plant seeds, feed the chickens, or to just be present in the garden, you are connected in the network. As discussed above, this is not limited to connections between people, but to all living creatures in the garden— plants, animals, and insects are all important members of this network. The great part about this finding is that gardening caters to individuals’ own pacing with the type of connection they feel most comfortable with (Suto, Smith, Damiano, & Channe, 2021). Some people thrive off talking to other people, while others may experience discomfort with those social interactions and prefer to connect with animals. You get to set your own pace of social engagement. Whichever pace you choose, the healing effects will follow. Growing Your Social Connection Network From this biopsychosocial lens, we see that social connection is a healing force intrinsically tied to gardening in any setting. Social connection can be hard to come by at times, especially when Covid has a say in matters. If you’re feeling a need to connect or are interested in increasing coping resources to improve your mental health, consider getting to know your local gardens and adding them to your networks of support. Sources Ng, T. K. S., Gan, D. R. Y., Mahendran, R., Kua, E. H., & Ho, R. C.-M. (2021). Social connectedness as a mediator for horticultural therapy’s biological effect on community-dwelling older adults: Secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial. Social Science & Medicine, 284. Suto, M. J., Smith, S., Damiano, N., & Channel, S. (2021). Participation in community gardening: Sowing the seeds of well-being. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy / Revue Canadienne D’Ergothérapie, 88(2), 142–152.
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