The Benefit of Community Gardens

A purple cauliflower grows large and colorful!

Gardens are a green space that serve many purposes. They can be a source of food, a gathering space for the community, a place that tells stories, and so much more. Urban cities are known to be hotter and have worse air quality than their less urban counterparts. Santa Monica is so close to the ocean. If, as residents, you want to be outside and don’t want to fight for parking and a spot on the sand, your nearest green space is a great option.

The City currently has seven community gardens – Main Street, Marine Park, Park Drive, Ishihara Park, Euclid Park, Reed Park, and soon 19th Street community farm.

Each community garden is unique, but all help improve the quality of life in the community. Gardens improve food security through local food production. They increase positive mental well-being by reducing stress, and physical well-being by increasing mobility. Gardens help improve air quality and combat carbon emissions through carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is the action of absorbing and storing CO2 from the atmosphere. Not only do plants hold CO2, but so does the soil. Gardens also provide a cooling effects in places with lots of concrete and roads like major cities.

In addition to these human benefits, the gardens provide critical habitat for pollinating insects, which are vital for food production. Pollination helps plants reproduce and this gives us our fruits and vegetables! Gardens that have pollinator plants also provide a home!

For a chance to check out the beauty of Santa Monica’s community gardens and events in celebration of 50 years of community gardens in your city, check out our events at santamonica.gov/events

By Elizabeth Armstead