Allotment Gardens (AG) in the days of the covid-19 pandemic. The case of “Żeromskiego” AG in Łask-Kolumna and “Wolinka” AG in Zduńska Wola (Poland)

Roman Szkup

doi:10.26881/jpgs.2020.4.06

Abstract

Family Allotment Gardens (AG) are a place of rest and recreation for residents of mainly large cities. The COVID-19 pandemic, which started in China in January 2020, launched a major crisis affecting various types of human activity, including tourism and hospitality, and limited travel opportunities. For many people, especially the poorer and professionally inactive ones (including retirees and pensioners), activities on plots of Family Allotment Gardens have become the only form of active recreation. On November 5, 2020, on the official website of the international organization Office International du Coin de Terre et des Jardins Familiaux, operating since 1926, representing national organizations and associations of gardeners from 14 European countries, the following information was published: “The pandemic has confirmed it: allotment gardens are more important than ever”. This article is an attempt to verify this thesis by answering the question: If and to what extent did the COVID-19 pandemic influence the behavior and recreation of allotment garden users? This was verified by a questionnaire survey conducted among users of two gardens located in the western part of the suburban area of Łódź. The analysis showed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the behavior and rest of allotment garden users; however, the impact in the case of the studied gardens was not as large as could be expected.

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic, which started in China in January 2020, initiated a major crisis affecting various types of human activity, including tourism (Niewiadomski, 2020) and hospitality (Napierała et al, 2020)
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of restrictions were introduced in the gardens under study
Contacts with the management of gardens were limited to a minimum, and the use of common parts of the gardens was subject to an obligation to maintain social distance and to use protective masks

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic, which started in China in January 2020, initiated a major crisis affecting various types of human activity, including tourism (Niewiadomski, 2020) and hospitality (Napierała et al, 2020). Allotment gardens play important social functions; they are the “green lungs of cities”, and for many city dwellers, a stay on a plot of land is the only opportunity to have direct contact with nature. It is a meeting place for close and distant families, fostering their integration. Especially the poorer and professionally inactive ones (including retirees and pensioners), activities carried out on plots in Family Allotment Gardens are the only way to rest actively (Matczak, Szkup, 2010; Szkup, 2013; Szkup, Pytel, 2015)

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Conclusion