School Gardens & Social Capital

Schools are inextricably tied to their surroundings, making it reasonable to assume that healthy communities and healthy schools go hand in hand. Schools in low-income communities face a number of challenges on the road to securing the resources students need to be successful, and can benefit from community partnerships intended to reach shared goals. No single action can solve the problems of poverty, insufficient health care, and unstable living conditions, but collaborative efforts may act as a tool for building social capital and addressing some of the difficulties associated with struggling communities.

school gardens may help students and communities address some of the issues they struggle with in growing healthy learning environments.

School gardens are becoming increasingly popular in urban areas. Advocates see these gardens as a learning opportunity for students, a source of sustenance for neighbors, and a means of building social capital that can serve as a catalyst to developing strong, unified communities capable of generating greater social supports. Detractors believe that school gardens divert limited resources away from more important needs such as instructional time, supplies, and facilities maintenance while perpetuating racial and ethnic stereotypes.

Schools are inextricably tied to their surroundings, making it reasonable to assume that healthy communities and healthy schools go hand in hand. Schools in low-income communities face a number of challenges on the road to securing the resources students need to be successful, and may benefit from community partnership intended to reach shared goals. No single action can solve the problems of poverty, insufficient health care, and unstable living conditions, but school gardens may help students and communities address some of the issues they struggle with in growing healthy learning environments. This paper will examine the relationship between school gardens and

References: