Community Gardening as an Agent for Change
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Author
Lane, Kathryn
Date
2009
Degree
Master of Arts in Earth Literacy
Abstract
Social disorganization takes on many forms and its consequences are distressing.
Community gardens have the ability to transform crime, changing negative vacant lots
into positive green spaces, which uplift the spirits of community members and encourage
inter-ethnic group and intergenerational socialization. In addition, community gardens
serve as a way to reunite members of their communities back to the Earth. It is through
this building of new relationships that community members become empowered to
improve their situations. It is my belief that community gardens are incomparable in
their ability to heal a variety of social issues. Perhaps, one of the greatest gifts of a
community garden is its ability to add stability to communities that have high levels of
social disorganization.
My goal in presenting this work is to provide a source for future use and to show
that community gardens can be an agent for change. It is my belief that there is a
correlation between community gardening and a reduction in the rate of social
disorganization and that a reduction in the rate of social disorganization will in turn lead
to a decrease in crime rates and community destabilization. It is my conviction that as
one of millions of species living on Earth, humans need the Earth. In addition, I further
believe that by becoming one with the Earth humans can cure not only their own ills, be
they social, psychological, or physical in nature, but that we can also heal the damage that
we have, and continue to cause the Earth.