Birds Felt Louder | Pauline Marsh

2021 Conference Recording | Free for Members.

Summary: Gardens have long been considered as refuges, into which we retreat to escape struggles and challenges. Using results from an online survey, distributed internationally to countries that were experiencing lockdown measures between June to August 2020, we examined the characteristics and functions of the garden refuge during the COVID-19 gardening boom. We asked people why they decided to garden this year, how did this time change the way they valued the garden, and the impact of COVID-19 on gardening in general. Analysis of answers to these questions, from over 3700 participants across the globe, revealed many interesting findings. One of these was the ways in which gardens became emotional and sensory refuges, and how non-material components of gardening helped people to manage life during this time. People felt a greater attunement to the natural world and increased sense of nature connection, and the benefits for wellbeing were numerous. We conclude that emotional and sensory aspects of gardening have an important function in assisting people to manage life during hard times, and an important role in enabling wellbeing post-COVID-19 also.