Gardens are very valuable for people and nature. They provide healthy vegetables; they are places to encounter nature and for recreation; and they provide essential habitats for plants and animals. Despite the increasing recognition of the social and ecological importance, and the considerable proportion of urban green spaces in the city area, there are still many gaps in our knowledge about urban gardens.

With the research project Better Gardens we want to explore how gardeners manage their gardens and which factors influence their decisions. Furthermore we want to investigate what effects different management practices have on soil quality, biodiversity and the quality of life of gardeners.

The study is being conducted by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL. The project takes place from January 2015 to December 2017 in the three cities of Bern, Lausanne and Zurich.

BetterGardens is supported by the Swiss Family Gardens Association. The research project is financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation.