Wellesley Institute

Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

Home Publications Seeds, Soil, And Stores: A Pilot Study Of Community Gardening In Southeast Toronto

Sarah Wakefield

Seeds, Soil, And Stores: A Pilot Study Of Community Gardening In Southeast Toronto

Seeds, Soils and Stories
Principal Organization: University of Toronto, Department of Geography
Partner Organization: Ryerson University, School of Nutrition
Principal Investigator: Sarah Wakefield

Researchers set out to gather systematic data on the benefits and challenges of community gardens in Southeast Toronto. Researchers held 10 focus groups, and interviewed garden coordinators and community members. The main benefit of community gardens is greater access to fresh foods. The gardens also benefit the broader health of the community by providing a place for social interaction and a source of neighbourhood pride. Garden users were all concerned about access to the gardens in the face of growing development. The researchers are attempting to provide garden users with the research results so they can make the argument for community gardens to local developers and decision makers.

Seeds, Soil, And Stores: A Pilot Study Of Commuity Gardening In Southeast Toronto

Download Seeds, Soil, And Stores: A Pilot Study Of Commuity Gardening In Southeast Toronto

Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.