As permaculturists, we can help to educate people about some very important things in a community garden such as learning the importance of healthy soil and its role in nature, composting, helping pollinators, spending time outdoors when many of us now work and live our lives almost entirely indoors, and working together as a team. These experiences have the potential for some people to transform their outlook from being consumers to being producers and being a part of nature by participating in those processes.
And, let’s not forget that gardening can be a great way to reduce stress, get some exercise and eat some truly fresh, truly local, and truly nutrient dense foods, which are getting increasingly difficult to find in supermarkets today.
We can “be the change we wish to see” just by being good stewards of the soil underneath our feet and helping others to do the same. 1