Work

Building community capitals through stakeholder engagement in a pollinator garden of a regional Australian university: A Business School initiative

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This qualitative study aims to gain deeper insights into stakeholder engagement within a pollinator garden project at a regional Australian university , initiated by its Business School, and to explore its contributions to community capitals and environmental sustainability. Interviews with volunteers around a ‘Planting Day’ inform the emerging themes on stakeholder engagement contributing to the wider community. As the major finding, our university pollinator garden makes seven ‘contributions’ – natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial, and built – to the local community in regional Australia. These contributions jointly build the emerging ‘town and gown’ model. It adds to community development theory and can guide discussions with organisational practitioners leading grassroots initiatives to enhance organisational citizenship behaviour. In conclusion, by bridging ‘town and gown’, a pollinator garden at a regional university can connect the local community to the global world. • Regional Australian Business School builds pollinator garden on university campus. • Pollinator garden contributes to seven capitals and environmental sustainability. • Seven community capitals contribute to ‘town and gown’ relationships. • The ‘town and gown’ model adds to community development theory. • Pollinator garden at regional university connects local community to global world.

Source: Journal of Rural Studies

DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2026.104009

Authors: Lucia Wuersch, Alain Neher, Felicity Small

Institution: Charles Sturt University

Language: English

Topic: Service-Learning and Community Engagement

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Life on land

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,090