Why is Gardening Good for You? Benefits of Gardening for all Age Groups
Given the many benefits of gardening, it’s not surprising why many people consider gardening as their favorite hobby. Indeed, gardening is a fulfilling activity. Sure, it requires a lot of dedication and patience, but after seeing the results of your hard work, you will feel great pride in your creation. You will realize in the end that all your efforts are truly worth it.
If you need more reasons why you should take up gardening now, then take a look at the many benefits of gardening below.
Benefits of Gardening for Children
1. Encourage Kids to Eat Healthily
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If you teach your kids to grow their own vegetables at a young age, they will develop a keen interest in eating these veggies. This is one of the many benefits of gardening with toddlers. So many parents would often have a hard time getting their kids to eat healthy in this day and age where fast foods are easy to access. But if you get them to join you in gardening, it won’t be that hard to convince them to eat healthy produce. In fact, they will get excited whenever you harvest the veggies and fruits you have planted with them.
2. Develop All their Senses
Gardening is an activity that will engage all senses. This activity allows kids to feel the texture of seeds, soil, petals, flowers, etc. Furthermore, gardening will also allow them to develop their sense of smell. While in the garden with you, they will recognize the different scents of flowers in the surrounding. The colorful petals and leaves also develop their sense of seeing or vision, which is important at a young age.
3. Teach Kids to be Patient and Responsible
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Any gardener knows that gardening is an activity that requires a lot of patience. This is especially true if you are growing veggies from seeds. It requires utmost attention and care. Thus, gardening with kids will teach them the importance of being responsible and patient. They will learn that before they can reap something, they need to work really hard and be patient about it.
4. Nurture their Social Skills
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Gardening is one of those activities that can teach kids to be more sociable. The social benefits of gardening are among the reasons why many schools around the world would include gardening in the curriculum. With gardening, kids will learn to work together in groups and help each other in taking care of their crops. It is also a great opportunity for you and your little ones to bond together. Spending more time with your kids can make them become more sociable when they grow up. It will develop their self-esteem and could help improve their academic performance as well.
Benefits of Gardening for Students
1. Teach Students About Plants
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One of the benefits of gardening is that it is an educational activity. It teaches students about a wide range of topics that they may not be able to learn during classroom discussions. They will learn about the plant’s life cycle, changing of the seasons, weather, and many more. Furthermore, gardening can help kids develop their skills in literacy and numeracy. That’s because they will be counting plants, measuring fertilizer, and more. It also develops their ability to comprehend and follow instructions.
2. Provides a Fun and Moderate Form of Exercise
Gardening is a fun way to get the students to exercise and improve their physical fitness. Some of the tasks that students have to do in the garden are digging the soil, raking, and watering the plants. Even though these are only moderate activities, they require the use of the upper and lower body muscles. As a matter of fact, gardening is said to burn about 250 to 500 calories per hour. Of course, this will depend on the type of gardening activity that you do.
3. Build The Students Self Confidence
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Teachers recognize the importance of confidence in a child’s ability to learn and perform well in school. One of the benefits of gardening for children in school is that it helps to develop their self-confidence. The act of tending to the plants and making sure that it grows and produces food requires a lot of hard work and patience. But once these plants grow successfully, the feeling of satisfaction that the student will feel is priceless. This will give them enough confidence to face difficulties in their future endeavors.
4. Improves Focus and Memory
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One of the benefits of gardening for students is that it helps to improve their focus and memory. Furthermore, gardening can also develop a child’s cognitive abilities and social skills. In fact, some of those who suffer from a cognitive impairment would use gardening as a therapeutic treatment. The activities involved in gardening can help to rehabilitate the patient’s motor and speech abilities. In the school setting, improving the student’s ability to focus and memorize can help improve academic performance.
Benefits of Gardening for Seniors
1. Reduce the Risk of Dementia
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One of the biggest benefits of gardening for seniors is that it helps to minimize the risk of developing dementia. According to research, engaging in all forms of physical activities, including gardening may help to lower dementia risk. That’s because gardening is a type of activity that requires physical demands and critical thinking. Both activities can help to reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
2. Relieves Stress and Prevents Depression
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Gardening is a stress-relieving activity that may help to prevent depression. The gardening therapy for depression is very important for seniors who tend to get depressed easily since most of them live alone. Just like exercise, the activities involved in gardening will release endorphins in the body. This is the hormone that’s responsible for the emotional benefits of gardening. When this hormone is released, you’ll feel happier and relaxed, which fights off the feeling of depression. In addition, gardening outdoors under direct sunlight can help to improve your mood because of the Vitamin D that comes from the sun.
3. Improves Immune System
When you’re in your senior years, you are more prone to different kinds of illnesses. Thus, it’s very important that you improve your immune system. One of the benefits of gardening for seniors is that it allows them to absorb a sufficient amount of Vitamin D coming from the sun. Vitamin D can help to improve the body’s ability to absorb calcium, which helps keep the bones strong. Having enough Vitamin D in your body can also help make your immune system healthy.
4. Strengthens Muscle
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Gardening would require you to perform different activities that will involve your muscles. It could be pushing a heavy wheelbarrow, pulling weeds, raking soil, and many more. All these activities can help to strengthen your muscles, which is very important if you’re aging. Spending a few hours each week in your garden should be enough to give you the exercise that you need.
Benefits of Gardening for the Environment
1. Reduce the Use of Air Conditioning System
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Air conditioners use a lot of energy to function. It consumes tons of electricity, which releases pollution that could harm the environment. By planting plants and trees, you could minimize the use of the air conditioning system. Trees, shrubs, and all those plants that you grow in your garden can help to block off the sunlight, which keeps your surrounding cooler. Since you no longer need to use the air conditioning system more often, you can help reduce the use of fossil fuels.
2. Replenish the Nutrients In Soil
Topsoils are a result of leaf litter and some other organic materials that will be produced when you build a garden. Decaying plants, especially during annual vegetation, will produce organic matters that will provide nutrients to the soil. This will prepare the soil for next season’s growth. Since the soil is rich in nutrients, you can minimize the use of fertilizers, which is beneficial for the environment.
3. Prevents Soil Erosion
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One of the biggest environmental benefits of gardening is that it helps prevent soil erosion. The roots of the plants that you grow in your garden can help in binding soils together. This will make the soil less likely to be washed off during heavy rain. Furthermore, this also helps to prevent a devastating landslide from happening. Topsoils are more likely to get affected by the movement of water during rain and these are the soils that you need for gardening since they contain organic matter that provide nutrients to the soil.
Final Thoughts
Overall, gardening is good for everyone, whether you’re a child, a senior citizen, or a student. But the biggest benefit of gardening has something to do with improving our overall health. As mentioned above, it can help improve our immune system and make us relaxed when we feel stressed. With all these benefits, it’s about time that people should consider gardening as an investment for health instead of merely a hobby or chore.
