Build a Garden, Build a Community

By: Shawna Coronado

June is an excellent time to be outside greening your property with better environmental practices and building gardens. It is also a great time to get to know your neighbors and build community!
If you improve the environment of your neighborhood, you improve the relationships within the community. The simple effort of planting a tree together can build and improve your emotional connections and sense of responsibility to your neighbors. According to the website of The Landscape and Human Health Laboratory (further information on their studies can be found at www.lhhl.uiuc.edu), When the spaces next to residences are green, they are both more attractive and more comfortable, drawing people to them. Such settings support frequent, friendly interaction among neighbors--the foundation of neighborhood social ties. These ties are the heart of a neighborhood's strength, encouraging neighbors to help and protect each other.  more.....