Urban agriculture Mooieweg in Arnhem. Photo Mellany van Bommel Communal vegetable garden, food forest, urban agriculture. All are examples of green initiatives launched and managed by residents that are of particular value to volunteers and visitors. Such places, however, have even further reaching value, a study conducted by Mellany van Bommel (Health and Society) reveals.
Van Bommel sought to better understand the impact of green citizen initiatives, particularly those that relate to a physical spot. ‘I wanted to know what participating in such an initiative means to the volunteers who work there. What meaning and value does such a spot, which they visit weekly or even daily, hold for them’, Van Bommel says.
She studied ten different citizen initiatives in the Arnhem and Nijmegen region by presenting the volunteers with propositions on, for example, their emotional attachment to the place they volunteer at and by interviewing them. This study showed that people feel highly committed and at home with the initiatives. Van Bommel: ‘People develop an individual and collective identity, and the place encourages participants to achieve personal goals and do what they consider valuable.’
Meetings
The interviews also showed that volunteers value meeting others during their work. Van Bommel: ‘Some volunteers like to come to these spots to meet similar-minded people, while others indicated they enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds. In both cases, the volunteers value meeting others, albeit from different perspectives.’
Moreover, the interviews revealed that the initiatives also serve a social purpose. Volunteers gain fulfilment from the fact that the places at which they work are meaningful to others. ‘For the neighbourhood and its residents or other groups they wish to support. For example, it can be made a nice place for a stroll, or because the vegetable garden yields go towards the food bank or because local primary school children learn about the origins of food. Volunteers are proud of their initiatives.’
Meaningful
Van Bommel argues that Municipal administrations, urban planners, and designers must become more aware of the value of such initiatives. ‘We know how green citizen initiatives affect human wellbeing, climate resilience and biodiversity. Studies such as these illuminate what they mean for people and how they contribute to the city.’
