‘Making a Positive Environmental Impact’: Exploring the Role of Volunteering at a Campus Community Garden

Promoting sustainability in higher education is a social and environmental imperative. This paper explores how and why volunteering at a campus community garden (CCG) can serve as a unique context for promoting sustainability. Twenty-five undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 27, who had volunteered at a campus garden, participated in individual semi-structured interviews. A majority of participants identified as female (80%) and Asian American (52%). Using reflexive thematic analysis, we first found students were motivated to volunteer for personal and academic reasons as well as to learn more about gardening. Childhood gardening experiences influenced participants’ re-engagement as adults. Second, building social connections and spending time in nature, especially when living in an urban area, sustained students’ engagement in the garden, whereas time constraints and physical tasks made it challenging to volunteer. Finally, the findings suggest that volunteering promoted pro-environmental behaviors. Students felt that their volunteer work allowed them to make a positive environmental impact. Participants also gained new environmental knowledge and skills, which encouraged them to adopt environmentally friendly lifestyle changes, advocate for environmental and social justice issues, and reflect on how they might integrate pro-environmental behaviors into their future careers.