Does participating in community gardens promote sustainable lifestyles in urban settings? Design and protocol of the JArDinS study

Abstract

Background Despite growing evidence for the multiple health benefits of community gardening, longitudinal studies based on quantitative data are needed. Here we describe the protocol of JArDinS, a quasi-experimental study, aimed at assessing the impact of community garden participation (a natural experiment) in the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles. Methods Gardeners ( n = 80) starting gardening in a community garden in Montpellier (France) will be recruited. Volunteers with no experience in community gardening and matched for age range, gender, household income and household composition will be recruited in a control group ( n = 80). The sustainability of lifestyles in its social/health, environmental and economic dimensions will be assessed from a food supply diary (recording type, quantity and price of foods acquired in a 1-month period and the carbon impact of relevant food trips), a triaxial accelerometer (measuring physical activity) and online questionnaires on mental and social health, sensitivity to food waste, and connection with nature. Change of outcomes after 1 year will be compared between the natural experiment and the control groups. Discussion This study will provide information on the impact of participation in a community garden on the different dimensions of sustainability, based on a robust quasi-experimental design allowing causality evaluation. Trial registration The JArDinS study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03694782 . Date of registration: 3rd October 2018, retrospectively registered.

Improving lifestyles sustainability through community gardening: results and lessons learnt from the JArDinS quasi-experimental study

“…JArDinS is a quasi-experimental study conducted between 2018 and 2019. The design and protocol of the study have already been described in a previous paper [ 33 ]. A convenience sample of new community gardeners (herein referred to as “gardeners”) was established in 2018 (experiment group).…”

“…Household fruit and vegetables supply was the main outcome of the study. A total sample size of 160 participants (80 gardeners and 80 non gardeners) was previously evaluated to detect an increase of one portion of fruit and vegetables per day and per person in the gardeners group with 80% power at the 0.05 level of significance and a planned attrition rate of 30% [ 33 ].…”

“…Details about collection and assessment of all outcome variables of the JArDinS study have been summarized in a previous methodological paper [ 33 ]. To investigate the social/health, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability, we instructed participants to 1) complete a 1-month food supply diary and collect food receipts, 2) wear a hip-worn triaxial accelerometer (wGT3X-BT or wActiSleep-BT, Actigraph, Pensacola, FL, USA) for 9 consecutive days and 3) fill in an online questionnaire including self-reported body height and weight, and validated questionnaires on mental well-being, social health, sensitivity to food waste and connection with nature.…”

Promoting Urban Agriculture and Its Opportunities and Challenges—A Global Review

“…The highest record model was community gardens, followed by home gardens (Figure 3). The community garden is a piece of common land gardened collectively by peo who grow their produce on multiple individual plots [25,26]. The allotment garden is The community garden is a piece of common land gardened collectively by people who grow their produce on multiple individual plots [25,26].…”

“…The community garden is a piece of common land gardened collectively by peo who grow their produce on multiple individual plots [25,26]. The allotment garden is The community garden is a piece of common land gardened collectively by people who grow their produce on multiple individual plots [25,26]. The allotment garden is its sub-category, in which the plots of land are tended individually by plot holders [27].…”