Gardening is a gateway to sustainable living – Grow It Local Impact Report 2023

The results of Australia’s biggest annual survey of home food gardeners are in! This year’s Grow It Local 2023 Impact Report reveals home growers across Australia are embracing sustainable living by reducing food waste, planting pollinator-friendly gardens, conserving water and growing food without chemicals.

Here at Grow It Local, we do our best to be responsible to nature, people and the communities in which we live.

An important part of our mission is measuring the collective positive impact we are achieving as a community of local growers across Australia.

That’s why, for the past three years, we’ve run a giant survey of home food gardeners across the nation. It’s the biggest ongoing annual survey of Australian home food gardeners.

This year, a record 1,448 gardeners took part, answering 55 questions about their gardening habits.

Grow It Local co-founder Paul West said this year’s survey results prove growing even just a small amount of your own food has powerful positive benefits that stretch well beyond your own patch.

“Engaging in growing your own food at home is an incredible habit, that has cascading benefits reaching far beyond the garden. We know that gardeners experience positive health and wellbeing outcomes, greater connection to community and increased connection and care for the environment,” Paul said.

This survey has now been analysed by a third-party social market research firm, to quantify and qualify the positive impacts we are achieving together.

Below are some of the 2023 Impact Report key highlights. You can also download the full report here.

Growing food is an important way to start living more sustainably

At the time of the survey, almost 30,000 Australian growers were registered on our free Grow It Local platform, with collectively almost 1 million square meters under food cultivation in backyards, balconies, verges, community gardens and windowsills across the country.

And the small actions of each of these growers is adding up to big change for our planet.

Three out of four surveyed Australian gardeners (76%) reported that growing food is a gateway to other sustainability actions for them.

Even more gardeners — 84% — said that gardening is an important way for them to live more sustainably at home and in their wider lives.

Some of the key sustainability actions and behaviours reported by home food growers included:

• Planting pollinator-friendly plant varieties in their garden (85% of respondents).
• Conserving as much water as possible (74% of respondents).
• Using organic products and natural methods to manage pests (74% of respondents).
• Growing plants that are native to the local areas (60% of respondents).
• Choosing to reuse by upcycling and buying vintage or secondhand items (71% of respondents).
• Planting trees to help cool their home and neighbourhood (58% of respondents).

“It’s easy to underestimate the collective impact of people growing their own food at home,” Paul said.

“But when we look at the data, we clearly see that as a cohort, gardeners are powerful agents for positive change and impact.”

Home gardening reduces food waste and prevents tonnes of carbon emissions

The 2023 Impact Report also shows massive food waste reductions among Australian gardeners.

Grow It Local members are actively composting 24,581kgs of food waste each week, which represents a carbon equivalent saving of 5,879 tonnes per year, which would other have been emitted into the atmosphere.

Local growers are also more likely to buy ‘wonky’ produce, and almost 9 out of 10 gardeners will only pick what’s needed from the garden, helping further reduce good waste.

“Around the world, governments and organisations like the United Nations have recognised the desperate need to address the amount of food waste that is going to landfill,” Paul said.

“Home food growing is a powerful behaviour-change that addresses the issue from the grassroots level.”

Home gardeners eat better and feel happier and healthier

The Impact Report confirmed that gardening has a positive impact on both communities and individual health.

A majority of gardeners — 93% — said gardening was good for relaxation and positively improved their mental health.

That was backed up by the 92% of gardeners who said they feel happier when in their garden.

Meanwhile, 85% of gardeners reported that they eat a more healthy diet because of growing their own food.

“Edible gardening is a simple, accessible action that has clear physical and mental wellbeing benefits,” Paul said.

And so, it’s clearer than ever that edible gardeners are making our world a better place, one patch at a time.

Help us grow our impact

And now, we’re ready to scale up our impact and help educate, inspire and support growers all over the world! 

Grow It Local is currently crowdfunding with Swarmer to raise funds evolve our digital platform and introduce more products to help more people learn how to grow healthy, naturally delicious food at home. 

And we’d love to invite you to grow with us, by becoming a Grow It Local shareholder.

Head to Swarmer’s website for all the info on how to express your interest in investing in Grow It Local, from as little as $250.

* Always consider the CSF risk warning and the offer document before investing.