Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
33 results(1 / 2)
The Effect of Gardening Activities Applied to Older People in a Nursing Home on Psychological Wellness and Depression: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Study
2026Kabakci, Uğur, Şengür · Public Health Nursing · Ordu, Türkiye
A single-blind randomized controlled trial with 46 older people in a nursing home in Türkiye tested the effect of gardening activities on psychological wellness and depression.
ElderlyHealthDose-response efficacy of horticultural therapy for geriatric depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
2026· Frontiers in Public Health · Global (systematic review)
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials examining the dose-response efficacy of horticultural therapy for geriatric depression.
ElderlyHealthModelo de Emprendimiento Colaborativo para Adultos Mayores en el Ecuador
2026Wilmer Gustavo Gualotuña Pachacama, Viviana Alexandra Brito Moya, Xiomara Gabriela Zambrano Quimbiulco, Patricia Estefania Aguaiza Loja · Revista Conectividad · Ecuador
This study proposes and validates a collaborative entrepreneurship model to promote social inclusion and integral well-being for older adults in Pichincha province, Ecuador. Through a survey of 2,941 older adults and a pilot experience with 40 participants in Cutuglagua, activities for developing and marketing urban garden kits were implemented. Results showed visible improvements in strengthening social networks, increasing self-esteem, developing entrepreneurial competencies, and a greater perception of older adults regarding social activities.
ElderlyCommunityWelfareEconomicsCultivando inquietudes nos mantenemos vitales: una experiencia de participación de personas con deficiencia visual grave en un huerto urbano
2026N. Bueno Pulido · RED Visual Revista Especializada en Discapacidad Visual · Global
This 2026 study describes an activity for older adults with severe visual impairment or blindness, affiliated with ONCE, who moved from rural areas to cities and experience loneliness. Recognizing their nostalgia for rural life and gardening, the project connected them with community urban gardens managed by neighborhood and environmental associations. The activity, part of the "Somos vitales" initiative, involved three sessions focused on active collaboration, interaction, and sharing, aiming to revitalize participants and foster new connections.
CommunityElderlyHealthWelfareSafety in a person-centred, garden-based art therapy group for people with dementia
2025Jenny Clarke, A Crosbie, K Green · International Journal of Art Therapy · Global
This practice paper describes an ongoing, weekly garden-based art therapy group for people with dementia, facilitated in a community garden. Using a person-centred approach, the facilitators explored factors contributing to psychological safety, drawing on client feedback, artwork, and observations. Findings indicated that the non-clinical garden setting provided calming effects, inspiration, and focus, while the person-centred approach fostered expression, communication, and feelings of value and success, despite some challenges inherent to the outdoor environment.
CommunityHealthElderlyEnhancing the Well-Being of Older Adults and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities Through an Intergenerational Community Garden: Participatory Action Research
2025Diane Keen · Global Qualitative Nursing Research · Global
This participatory action research explored ways to enhance the well-being of four young adults with developmental disabilities and five older adults through intergenerational interaction in a community garden. Using semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and field notes, the study identified five themes of well-being: engagement, positive relationships, accomplishment, meaning and purpose, and positive emotion. The research found that enlisting the wisdom of older adults enhanced the well-being of both young adults with developmental disabilities and the older adults themselves.
CommunityHealthWelfareElderlyRooftop Garden, A Way for Food and Nutrition Security for The Semi-Urban City of Pabna, Bangladesh
2025Taslima Arzu, Md. Ariful Kabir Sujan, S.M. Symon Bappy, Rupam Mitra, Suparna Das Toma, Vulon Prosad · Plant Science Archives · Bangladesh
This study surveyed 62 household and rooftop garden owners in Pabna City, Bangladesh, to examine the benefits of rooftop gardening. Findings indicate that rooftop gardens reduced household waste by an average of 887.1g and met 41% of fertilizer demand by using biodegradable waste. Participants reported improved psychological well-being (83.9%) and increased vigor (77.4%), with anxiety and depression reduced or neutral. Rooftop gardening generated an average yearly income of 14,750 BDT, with a net income of 1293.5 BDT, and provided 387.5 kg of fruits and vegetables for household consumption, proving to be a profitable activity.
DIYCompostElderlyHealthOlder Persons and Horticultural Therapy Practice
2024Karen Haas, Sharon P. Simson, Nancy C. Stevenson · · Global
Horticulture is a leisure pursuit for hundreds of thousands of older adults who enjoy tending flower and vegetable gardens or indoor plant collections. For an increasing number of older adults, gardening is an essential therapeutic activity that helps in maintaining health, aids in rehabilitation from chronic diseases and impairments, or slows the effects of dementia.
ElderlyHealthCommunityA quasi-experimental study to assess the impact of green gardens on elderly anxiety: A socio-ecological perspective
2024Somayeh Gholami, Shahpar Geravandi, Farahnaz Rostami · Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment · Iran
This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of green gardens on the mental well-being of elderly individuals in eldercare facilities in Kermanshah city, western Iran. Eighty participants were purposively sampled and divided into an experimental group (n=40) and a control group (n=40). Using pre-test/post-test measures with the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory, the experimental group showed statistically significant reductions in cognitive (p < .01), arousal (p < .01), and somatic (p < .01) anxiety after green garden initiatives, while the control group showed no significant changes.
HealthElderlyCommunityCultivating Change: Empowering Communities Among Elderly Through Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Smart Urban Farming
2024Nasreen Khan, Anusuyah Subbarao, Shereen Khan, Aysa Siddika · Journal of Human Earth and Future · Malaysia
This research investigated whether the adoption of smart urban farming (SUF) enhances the social and economic well-being (SEW) of senior citizens, involving 130 elderly participants from Klang Valley, Malaysia. Survey data was analyzed using SPSS. The study revealed that while Social Entrepreneurship alone may not be enough to encourage elderly adoption of SUF, combining it with social innovation significantly increases adoption. It also indicated that SUF adoption enhances the elderly's SEW.
ElderlyCommunityEconomicsWelfareEffectiveness of horticultural therapy in aged people with depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2023· Frontiers in Public Health · Global (systematic review)
A systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizing randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of horticultural therapy for older people with depression.
ElderlyHealthIs Urban Agriculture Sustaining the Urban Poor? A Study of Grandmother Headed Households (GHHs) in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
2023Chipo Hungwe · Journal of Women & Aging · Zimbabwe (Bulawayo)
A qualitative case study based on interviews with 19 older women heading grandmother-headed households in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Urban agriculture did not reduce food insecurity or social exclusion for these participants. The barriers reported were difficulty obtaining land to cultivate, health problems associated with ageing, and the physically demanding nature of the farming work itself. The author concludes that social assistance, rather than reliance on urban agriculture as a livelihood strategy for elderly-headed households, is what these households need.
ElderlyWelfareEconomicsHorticultural therapy for general health in the older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2022Wang, Z., Zhang, Y., Lu, S., Tan, L., Guo, W., Lown, M., Hu, X., Liu, J. · PLOS ONE · Global
A meta-analysis synthesizing RCTs and cohort studies on horticultural therapy, a form of social prescribing, for adults over 60. It indicates horticultural therapy can benefit older adults' general physical and mental health.
ElderlyHealthWelfareA szociális farmok helyzete és elméleti keretei
2022István Bazsik · Studia Mundi - Economica · Hungary
A study examined the situation and theoretical frameworks of social farms in Hungary. The social farm system in the country is in its infancy, with fewer than 50 farms, many of which are not necessarily farms. Initiatives often focus exclusively on specific target groups and prioritize social functions over agricultural production, which limits successful inclusion and integration.
WelfareHealthCommunityFood educationElderlyHorticultural Therapy Reduces Biomarkers of Immunosenescence and Inflammaging in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Feasibility Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
2021Wong G.C.L., Ng T.K.S., Lee J.L., Lim P.Y., Larbi A. · The Journals of Gerontology: Series A · Singapore
A feasibility pilot RCT with 59 community-dwelling older adults in Singapore found that a horticultural therapy program was associated with reduced biomarkers of T-cell exhaustion and inflammaging.
ElderlyHealthNature Experiences of Older People for Active Ageing: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Co-Design of Community Gardens
2021Marco Boffi, Linda Pola, Natalia Fumagalli, Elisabetta Fermani, Giulio Senes, Paolo Inghilleri · Frontiers in Psychology · Global
This study presents an interdisciplinary co-design method for community gardens, applying attention restoration theory (ART) to understand older people's experiences in natural environments. Six focus group meetings with older people in Milan, Italy, informed the co-design of a restorative area in an Ortica district community garden. Results classified participants' main needs into ART factors: "compatibility" (multifunctional garden), "fascination" (contact with nature), and "being away" (escape from nursing homes), with the designed garden incorporating biophilic principles to address these needs.
ElderlyCommunityHealthReview: Potensi Pengembangan Pertanian Perkotaan oleh Lanjut Usia untuk Mendukung Ketahanan Pangan
2021Reni Nurjasmi · Jurnal Ilmiah Respati · Global
This review examines the potential of urban agriculture by the elderly to support food security. While urban agriculture could produce 180 million tons of food globally per year, representing 10% of total global food production, it is currently insufficient to meet urban food needs, with urban food supply still heavily reliant on rural areas and imports. With an increasing urban elderly population, empowering seniors through urban agriculture technologies like vertical farming is proposed as an opportunity for food security.
Limited or null effectElderlyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPositive aging benefits of home and community gardening activities: Older adults report enhanced self-esteem, productive endeavours, social engagement and exercise
2020Scott T.L., Masser B.M., Pachana N.A. · SAGE Open Medicine, 8:2050312120901732 · Australia
A study of older Australians examining links between home and community gardening and psychosocial and physical well-being. Older gardeners reported greater self-esteem, sense of productive endeavour, social engagement and exercise, associated with more positive attitudes to ageing. It shows allotments and gardening groups can protect older adults from isolation and support positive ageing.
ElderlyHealthWelfareCommunityIs greenery associated with mental health among residents of aged care facilities? A systematic search and narrative review
2020Alison Carver, Alanna Lorenzon, Jenny Veitch, Ashley Macleod, Takemi Sugiyama · Aging & Mental Health · Global
A narrative review that searched six databases through 2017 and identified nine studies on exposure to greenery — gardens and green space — and mental health among residents of aged care facilities. Seven of the nine reported favourable associations between garden use and outcomes such as quality of life, but most relied on observations by staff and family rather than validated mental health instruments. One study found a reduction in depression linked to garden participation, while another found no change in physiological stress. The authors conclude that more robust evidence based on valid and reliable mental health measures is needed.
ElderlyWelfareHealthRevitalization of (Post-) Soviet Neighbourhood with Nature-Based Solutions
2020A. V. Shchur, Nadzeya Lobikava, Volha Lobikava · Acta horticulturae et regiotecturae · Belarus (Mogilev)
Research on the Jubilejny district in Mogilev, Belarus, a former Soviet microdistrict, revealed that population ageing is the main threat to these areas. Residents expressed dissatisfaction with uncertain housing situations, inappropriate parking options, and a lack of opportunities to spend leisure time outside. The study proposes short-term improvements such as leisure activities within public spaces and regeneration of green spaces, alongside long-term designs for a community garden and other nature-based solutions.
CommunityElderlyPolicyTranslating Urban Walkability Initiatives for Older Adults in Rural and Under-Resourced Communities
2019Alexandra Klann, Linh Gia Vu, Mollie Ewing, Mark Fenton, Rachele Pojednic · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Global
This review examines best practices from urban initiatives to increase walkability for older adults, focusing on their implementation in rural, resource-limited communities. The literature review revealed that simple, built environment approaches such as microscale and pop-up infrastructure, municipal parks, and community gardens can increase physical activity in urban neighborhoods for older adults. These strategies suggest great potential for rural communities.
CommunityHealthElderlyCultivating urban landscapes: horticulture
2019Simone Betti · U-PAD Unimc - Open Digital Publications (University of Macerata) · Global
Urban horticulture, traditionally a marginal activity for the elderly, is gaining popularity in post-modern society for educational, rehabilitation, or hobby purposes. This growing interest in urban gardening, manifesting in various forms globally and locally, addresses needs beyond food production, often promoting social inclusion and the restoration of urban green areas. Gardens serve as spaces for reconnecting with nature, stress relief, social interaction for the elderly, outdoor classrooms for children, and therapeutic support in healthcare facilities.
Food educationWelfareElderlyCommunityHealthEffects of Horticultural Therapy on Asian Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
2018· International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Singapore
A waitlist-control randomized controlled trial recruiting 59 older adults (29 horticultural therapy, 30 waitlist control) to investigate improvements in mental well-being and modulation of biomarker levels.
ElderlyHealthCommunity Garden Programme: The Volunteers’ Satisfaction
2018Leelanayagi Ramalingam, Juwaidah Sharifuddin, Zainal Abidin Mohamed, Fazlin Ali · International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences · Malaysia
This paper aimed to identify volunteer satisfaction with the Community Garden Programme in Malaysia. A survey of 375 volunteers, using items adapted from Omoto and Snyder (1995), indicated that the majority were satisfied. Elderly males were found to be significantly satisfied with the program.
CommunityWelfareElderlyStudy on Community Gardens for Village Development Projects
2017Jeong Nara, Myeongil Jeong, Seung-Won Han, Jaesoon Kim · Journal of people, plants, and environment · Global
This study was conducted to provide basic data for the construction of a community garden in a village. The research showed that residents have a high intention to use community gardens for rest, strolls, exercise, and appreciation, with older respondents showing higher frequency of use. Garden efficiency is enhanced when located within a 20-minute walk (1km), and it is desirable to design the space to reflect community characteristics and introduce needed facilities.
CommunityHealthElderly