Eco-social Work in Action: A Place for Community Gardens
Abstract
In this paper, the authors theorise on eco-social work, an emerging descriptor for practices located at the intersection of social work and eco-justice. It presents a collaborative auto-ethnographic study undertaken by three social work academics that addressed the question: In what ways can community gardens be sites for eco-social work practice? The question was premised on the idea that community gardens are often recognised as sites for practising sustainability. An action learning research framework guided a process in and with three different community gardens. Specifically, this paper highlights practices that suggest community gardens are spaces for social work practice including: resistance to the dominant discourses of hyper-capitalism and consumerism; the building of trust and cooperation in relationships; and the development of egalitarian relationships between people and, ultimately, all elements of the natural realm. The findings suggest that community gardens can be spaces for practising eco-social work.
RAS ID
29508
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
2018
Faculty
Faculty of Regional Professional Studies
School
School of Arts and Humanities
Copyright
subscription content
Publisher
Routledge
Recommended Citation
Bailey, S., Hendrick, A., & Palmer, M. (2018). Eco-social Work in Action: A Place for Community Gardens. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2017.1384032
Comments
Bailey, S., Hendrick, A., & Palmer, M. (2018). Eco-social Work in Action: A Place for Community Gardens. Australian Social Work, 71(1), 98-110. doi:10.1080/0312407X.2017.1384032
Available here.