Understanding the Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations Associated with Community Gardening to Improve Environmental Public Health Prevention and Intervention

Monica D. Ramirez-Andreotta, Abigail Tapper, Diamond Clough, Jennifer S. Carrera and Shana Sandhaus
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Monica D. Ramirez-Andreotta: Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Abigail Tapper: Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Diamond Clough: New York Medical College, School of Medicine, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
Jennifer S. Carrera: Department of Sociology and Environmental Science & Policy Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Shana Sandhaus: Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Considering that community members continue to garden in and near environments impacted by pollutants known to negatively impact human health, this paper seeks to characterize the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of a gardener and elucidate their perception of soil quality and environmental responsibility, awareness of past land use, and gardening behavior. Via semi-structured interviews with community gardeners in the Boston area ( N = 17), multifactorial motivations associated with gardening as well as ongoing environmental health challenges were reported. Gardeners are knowledgeable about their garden’s historical past and are concerned with soil quality, theft, trash maintenance, animal waste, and loss of produce from foraging animals. Study findings directly inform the field of environmental health exposure assessments by reporting gardening duration, activities that can lead to incidental soil ingestion, and consumption patterns of locally grown produce. This information combined with an understanding of a gardener’s intrinsic and extrinsic motivations can be used to develop urban agricultural infrastructure and management strategies, educational programming, and place-based environmental public health interventions.

Keywords: urban gardening; intrinsic motivations; extrinsic motivations; environmental health; soil quality; exposure assessments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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