Intergenerational gardening is good. It is the art of older people passing gardening skills onto younger generations. And its younger generations sharing their reality with older generations. 

Whilst this often occurs within families,  people don’t need to be related to enjoy gardening together. Half the fun are the stories and banter shared as you garden. Remember gardening with your nan and pop and the sometimes unbelievable stories they told?

Research shows that when older and younger generations garden together physical and mental well-being improves.  Seniors have a means to remain physically and mentally active ensuring their knowledge is not lost. Furthermore, they build deeper relationships with the younger generation. In addition grandparents pass on cultural knowledge to the younger generations, especially in families that have immigrated.  They often introduce children to a wide range of fruits and vegetables.

For the younger generation, gardening with grandparents can introduce a creative outlet for non-technology based skills. Moreover,  they’re actively doing something that has a positive impact on greening the world. 

The benefits of intergenerational gardening include:

  • An increased interest in gardening in the younger generation.
  • Relationships between elders and the younger generation help to counteract negative stereotypes.
  • Improvements in physical and mental well-being and life satisfaction in our seniors.
  • A safe environment for cultural and life experience conversations.
  • An exploration of skills, such as reading, math, science, geography.
  • and life lessons, such as responsibility, accountability, life/death, and patience.

Not everything that grows in a garden is a plant. Gardening is just one of the many common activities where information from one generation to another can be passed on.  Learning opportunities happen on both sides – young and old. Intergenerational Gardening is good!