ABSTRACT
Community gardens in the Australian island state of Tasmania are widespread and well-established, and are the ideal sites for examining thenexus between urban agroecology and public health. Four case studies of gardens, established across urban and peri-urban sites, are presented to demonstrate the various ways that the concepts and principles of contemporary agroecology and public health coalesce in complementary ways. The Chapter starts with an overview of public health principles and therapeutic landscape theory, followed by an explanation of community gardening. Four Tasmanian sites are profiled, followed by an analysis and reflection on how place-based modes of community care can impact on broader public health aims, such as positive risk taking and addressing health inequities, and have implications for urban agroecology. Improved understanding of the nexus between community gardening and the principles and aims of public health allows us to better understand the significance of agroecology and its potential contribution to improvements in human health and wellbeing.
