How Gardening Helps the Environment 🌳

There’s nothing we love more than getting our hands dirty, feeling the sunshine on our faces and spending time tending to our gardens. But alongside all the mental and physical benefits that gardening gives us, it’s also a hobby that has a positive impact on the world around it. Read on to find out how gardening helps the environment:

Biodiversity

One of the most important things gardening does for the world is promote biodiversity. By planting a range of seeds and plants, your garden can transform into a vibrant, welcoming habitat for local insects, birds and other wildlife.

From acting as food sources to providing shelter – a thriving garden ecosystem is incredibly important to supporting the natural world.

Air Quality

Plants act as nature’s air purifiers. Through photosynthesis, they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into the atmosphere. This has a massive positive effect on the environment. Not only does it improve the quality of the air we breathe, but by absorbing carbon, plants help reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That’s quite an achievement for a couple of planters and trees!

Soil Health

Composting and mulching isn’t necessarily our favourite gardening task – but the soil loves it. These tasks increase the soil's nutrient content and keep it healthy, meaning that it can support more resilient plant growth.

With English weather being traditionally unpredictable, it’s important that the plants we grow can sustain all kinds of weather. If the soil is healthy, there’s less chance of the plant being killed by an out-of-season rainfall!

Managing Heat

As well as providing a welcoming, calm space to rest, work and connection, our community gardens are even more important as temperatures continue to rise.

Green spaces like gardens and parks provide some much needed shade on a hot day. What’s more, when the atmosphere heats up, plants will often undergo a process called transpiration and release excess water into the air from their leaves. This process cools the plants and makes a more comfortable, cooler environment for nearby wildlife (and humans!)

Make a difference

Inspired to do your bit for the environment and get stuck into some gardening? Bloom Sheffield is a low-pressure community for women to learn and share skills, meet new people and be involved in a positive, nature-based activity. Join us at one of our Gather and Grow sessions to do something good for the world around you – and feel great about yourself in the process!

Thank you so much to Bridie Wilkinson, who wrote this wonderful blog post for us and to Helena Dolby, who photographed it.