Campus gardens can provide opportunities for experiential learning and enhanced physical and mental health; however, they require substantial commitments of time, money, and effort. This formative evaluation explored the perspectives of a university population on the establishment of a campus garden prior to its implementation. Phase 1 involved an electronic survey of the entire population at a small university (N=1300). Phase 2 consisted of 11 in-depth interviews with survey respondents who were interested in furthering the dialogue. The majority (85%) of the 415 individuals who responded to the survey and all interviewees supported the idea of a campus garden. Compared to a shared/community garden or rental plot, participants preferred a low-maintenance forest garden. Food production was secondary to protection of the natural environment and providing a space for rest and reflection. Participants’ sense of community, combined with knowledge of the university’s history, mission, and values, reflected a strong sense of place, a key component of social sustainability. Perhaps it is time to consider alternate options to traditional community gardens on university campuses. This research suggests that forest gardens, with their low-maintenance approach to food production and their potential to promote social sustainability through an enhanced sense of place, may be a good place to start.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Ridgeway, N., Matthews, J., (2025), "Campus gardens: Food production or sense of place?", HSSCommons: (DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v2i1.23)

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1. food
2. formative evaluation
3. nutrition
4. qualitative
5. survey
6. sustainability
7. university

Original publication: Ridgeway, Natalee; Matthews, June. "Campus gardens: Food production or sense of place?." Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation, vol. 2, no. 1, 2015, pp. 99-118. DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v2i1.23. This material has been re-published in an unmodified form on the Canadian HSS Commons with the permission of Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation. Copyright © the author(s). Work published in CFS/RCÉA prior to and including Vol. 8, No. 3 (2021) is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY license. Work published in Vol. 8, No. 4 (2021) and after is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. For details, see creativecommons.org/licenses/.