05/15/2026
🌱 **Can gardening be a mental health tool?** A 2022 commentary published in Preventive Medicine Reports says we should be asking that question, especially in lower-income parts of the world.
Studies from wealthier regions have long recognized the therapeutic benefits of gardening, including improvements in sleep, hope, happiness, and reductions in depression, stress, and anxiety. But this phenomenon is not well established in low- and middle-income countries.
These areas face a rising burden of mental health challenges driven by forced migration, domestic violence, chronic illness, caregiving stress, and food and water insecurity which are all compounded by under-resourced mental health systems.
Addressing this will require low-threshold, culturally relevant mental health interventions and gardening could be one of them. Participating in gardening may possess psychotherapeutic elements, improve mental well-being, and even help prevent mental health problems across all ages.
The takeaway? A practice already common in many of these communities may be an untapped resource for mental health support. 🌿
Here is one of our Anchor Boxes and SPC Rubber Ducky visiting the Crawford County Community Garden in Bucyrus
