Welcome to Module 1: “What is an Intercultural Community Garden?” This module introduces you to the fundamental concepts of intercultural community gardens and their role in fostering social connections and cultural exchange in today’s increasingly multicultural societies. These gardens provide spaces where individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds can come together, promoting inclusion and mutual understanding through shared gardening activities.
In addition to understanding what defines an intercultural garden, this module will encourage reflection on what culture means and how it can impact a gardening group. You will explore key terms such as interculture and multiculture, as well as other related concepts, while examining why it is becoming increasingly important to rethink how we, as a society, approach living and interacting in multicultural environments.
The module will also delve into the reasons behind migration and displacement, raising awareness of the challenges faced by refugees and migrants. This deeper understanding will help participants appreciate the complexity of these issues and reflect on how their own (or growing) community gardens can address and engage with this topic meaningfully.
Through these insights, the module aims to equip you with the tools to create gardens that not only serve as productive spaces but also as platforms for intercultural dialogue, social inclusion, and positive societal change.
In this lesson, we explore what defines an intercultural community garden and why these spaces are so valuable. We will discuss how such gardens foster social connections, cultural exchange, and community building through shared gardening activities. Additionally, we will look at the inherent intercultural potential of every community garden, regardless of its official designation, and learn from existing successful projects.
‘Cultural diversity is as necessary a source of exchange, innovation and creativity for humanity as biodiversity is for nature.’ – UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, Article 1 Source
Intercultural community gardens are spaces where people from different backgrounds work together to create new social connections through shared gardening activities. They offer the opportunity to exchange cultural values, traditions and agricultural practices and thus promote mutual understanding. These gardens combine environmental sustainability with social inclusion and allow participants to actively participate in their new community while learning environmental and practical skills.
There is not one general definition of what an intercultural community garden is.
“Community and intercultural gardens bring together people from all sectors of society, including the local population, migrants and refugees. These gardens are often part of community projects and provide an opportunity to promote the social inclusion of migrants and refugees. Intercultural gardens provide a safe environment in which these people can interact.” learning.ugain.eu/summary-report/?lang=de
“Within the concept of the Intercultural Garden, intercultural learning, international understanding and inclusion are central. Since the 1990s intercultural gardens have enriched many countries that migrants travel to. Natives and immigrants of distinct social milieus and lifestyles encounter each other in the intercultural gardens. During the joint cultivation of land in the middle of a town new connections and affiliations are developed.” gardeniser.eu/en/e-learning/intercultural-garden
Common characteristics of intercultural gardens
Community gardens are unique meeting places that bring together people from different cultural backgrounds. Culture is a multi-layered concept that is not exclusively defined by origin from another country. In fact, for example, a gardener from Namibia and a gardener from Europe may be culturally closer than a European gardener and a European hedge fund manager. This shows that cultural similarities and differences are manifold and not always obvious.
Intercultural gardens are about recognising cultural differences as an opportunity. These gardens offer the opportunity to cultivate not only plants but also intercultural awareness and sensitivity by gardening together. They create a platform for exchange and learning from different cultures, enriching both the garden and the neighbourhood as a whole.
Whether officially designated as an intercultural garden or not, such gardens make an important contribution to social inclusion and cultural exchange. They are places where everyday life is shared and the coexistence of different cultures can be experienced, making them valuable learning fields for all those involved.
Aim: This exercise helps a garden group to recognise and appreciate the cultural diversity present in their project – from educational backgrounds and professions to personalities, religions and age groups.
Materials:
Procedure:
Follow-up: The results of the exercise can be documented and re-evaluated at regular intervals to continuously improve and expand the integration of diversity.
This exercise not only promotes awareness of the existing cultural diversity within the garden group, but also the appreciation of each individual and the utilisation of this diversity as a strength for the collaborative project.
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The objective of the Gardeniser Academy project is to support the development of community gardens in Europe by offering online training contents tailored to the needs and expectations of gardeners all over Europe.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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