“To me, it's just natural to be in the garden”: A multi-site investigation of new community gardener motivation using Self-Determination Theory
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: We compare interviews with 30 new community gardeners in Denver, Colorado and Montpellier, France, using Self-determination theory, a general theory of motivation, to determine how new community gardeners may or may not have felt motivated based on psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Relatedness as a motivational feature carried through the interview data at both sites. Participants’ success or failure to relate to other gardeners was a major influence for how autonomous and competent as a community gardener they expressed feeling. As the evidence grows that community gardening is beneficial for health and wellbeing, our findings are critical to understanding how community gardening could serve as a health promotion strategy. With the presence of ongoing, friendly support from others, more individuals may adhere to this socially connective, nature-based practice.
Source: Wellbeing Space and Society
Institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier, Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems: social and nutritional sciences, Michigan State University, A.T. Still University, Wayne State University
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,450
OpenAlex ID: W4281760918