Weed It and Reap: Home Gardening Motivations in the Greater Meadville Area
Persistent URL
Author(s)
Loch, Ava
Date Issued
April 30, 2024
Abstract
The food system in the United States has changed significantly over time as industrialization and globalization have changed the landscape of the economy. Though its significance has fluctuated, home gardening has remained an important part of the home economy. The motivations for gardening have evolved over time as historical contexts shifted. A few events that popularized gardening in the United States were the World Wars, particularly World War II, and recently the COVID-19 pandemic. This study seeks to understand broad motivators to home gardening in the 21st century, when fresh food is more accessible than ever through grocery stores and farmers markets. Why do people garden? Additionally, the research seeks to identify how these motivations may have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In person, semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from the Meadville area who maintain home gardens. Questions were directed but open-ended and focused on participants’ gardening activities, history, and results. Transcriptions of the interviews were used to categorize and quantify responses that identify patterns in motivations and draw conclusions. The results are significant since it is not well understood how home gardening motivations have been influenced by the coronavirus pandemic.
Major
Environmental Science and Sustainability
Honors
Environmental Science and Sustainability, 2024
First Reader(s)
Krone, Adrienne M.
Other Reader(s)
Swann-Quinn, Jesse
Department
Environmental Science and Sustainability
Type of Publication
Senior Project Paper
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Name
A. Loch Comp DSpace Version.pdf
Size
538.89 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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