Community Gardens in Vancouver: An exploration of communication, food sovereignty, and activism

This research project used Claire Nettle’s analysis of community gardening, using social movement theory to assess whether Vancouver community gardens may be places of activism, in particular in raising understanding of and sympathy with the food sovereignty movement. Organizers of five community gardens were interviewed about their garden’s communication practices. The findings were to be similar to some of what Nettle found in her research. Community gardens are mixed spaces where some practices can be called activist, and others not. All of the gardens struggle with the issues that many volunteer-based organizations face. All of the gardens were seen by participants as public spaces which can not be isolated from the larger community, whether it is the neighbours or various visitors. This suggests that community gardens in Vancouver can be places where people practice acts that would support the food sovereignty movement in Canada