The Community Benefits of Garden In A Box
Welcome to the third post in our series, where we delve into the findings of the 2024 Garden In A Box Impact Analysis.
We confirmed that Garden In A Box, Resource Central’s annual waterwise program, leads to substantial water savings, but how does the community benefit from replacing thirsty turf grass with waterwise plants, and what drives them to participate in the program?
To understand the full impact of Garden In A Box, Resource Central surveyed nearly 3,000 people (63% are program participants) about their landscape preferences, knowledge, and opinions on the program.
How People Learn About Garden In A Box
Resource Central’s partnership with local water providers and direct communication are the top two sources for learning about the program. In a close third, people are inspired by neighbors and friends who have a Garden In A Box:
- City/water provider bill insert: 21%
- Resource Central emails or communication: 20%
- Word of mouth: 18%
A Positive Buzz About Garden In A Box
We asked both program participants and non-program participants interest in participating:
- 99% Recommend the Garden In A Box program
- 96% Would consider participating in the future
Garden In A Box Aligns with Landscape Values
When asked to rank the importance of their landscape on a scale of 1-100, the average answer for all respondents was 79%, with the top three responses being:
- Water efficiency: 84%
- Creating habitat for pollinators: 69%
- Low maintenance landscaping: 53%
Participants Praise the Program
- “A benefit of Garden In A Box is that it gets people in conversation about saving water and planting pollinator habitat and that effect has a positive impact on an ecosystem.” -Andrea Montoya of Pollinator Advocate Program
- “A great thing about Garden In A Box is it gets people talking about saving water and creating pollinator habitats, which positively impacts ecosystems.”
- “I love this program and how easy it makes creating a novice xeriscape garden so that anyone can do it!”
The benefits of Garden In A Box extend far beyond water savings. By fostering community engagement and aligning with shared values for supporting pollinators and creating curb appeal, the program helps create vibrant, sustainable neighborhoods.
Stay tuned for our final post, where we’ll summarize key takeaways of 2024 Garden In A Box Impact Analysis and look ahead to the future of waterwise landscaping.
Previous posts in this series:
