Reflections on Gardening, Volunteerism, and Wellbeing in Rural Oklahoma

Abstract

Common sense and research both support the idea that gardening and volunteerism are good for personal wellbeing but neither body of knowledge has a strong rationale for why these activities are good for us. Using an open-ended survey and follow-up interviews, this phenomenological study set in rural Oklahoma investigated the lived experiences of local volunteer gardeners and explored how gardening and volunteering affect the wellbeing of these individuals. The resulting thematic analysis agrees in many ways with current findings, however, a new theme emerged – personal relationships and gardening – which is worthy of further study to determine how this combination may contribute to improved wellbeing. The authors propose integrating one element of these findings – intergenerational relationships and gardening – with children in local primary schools. Gardening with local older adult mentor gardeners can provide students with a means to alleviate anxiety and improve attention with nature, as well as develop and maintain personal wellbeing through meaningful relationships with older adult mentors, all of which should help improve classroom climate and student learning.