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Five insights about birds in San Francisco's community gardens

A community garden in the heart of a city can be an oasis—an island of greenery where people can escape the sounds of traffic, sink their hands into the earth, and connect with the natural world. These spaces can be especially important in lower-income neighborhoods, where historical and ongoing discrimination means people have less access to greenspace and all its benefits: and in particular.

Many previous studies have found that lower-income neighborhoods have less biodiversity and more "pest" species like pigeons and sparrows, leading people to experience lower-quality interactions with nature.

However, a study published in , shows this is not always the case—at least not in community gardens.

Researchers worked in 20 community gardens in high- and low-income neighborhoods in the city of San Francisco. Focusing on people's interactions with birds, they counted birds and surveyed people to explore where people came into contact with species they cared about, as well as where there were greater numbers of species and birds overall.

The researchers found people are having meaningful experiences with nature in community gardens across widely different neighborhoods, even when other types of nearby greenspace are lacking.

Five things the team learned about birds in community gardens:

1. Although birds do sometimes eat garden plants, gardeners felt positively toward birds overall. Gardeners liked birds for many different reasons—they enjoyed seeing and hearing them, felt they played an important role in the ecosystem, and felt that they were beneficial to the garden.
2. Many gardeners wished to see more birds in the gardens. One gardener shared, "I love birds and I hope the garden provides a refuge for them," and another remarked, "Seeing more birds would make me feel like I'm doing a good job as a gardener and steward because I'd be able to create a welcoming environment for them."
3. Attitudes toward birds differed based on the species. Some species, like the vibrant Anna's Hummingbird, were quite popular, with people appreciating their colorful, iridescent appearance and role in pollinating gardens. Others, like the American Crow, were more controversial—while gardeners noted their intelligence, they also called them noisy and aggressive.
4. Despite previous research suggesting otherwise, there were no differences in the number of species or the number of birds overall between gardens in low- and high-income neighborhoods.
5. In addition, gardeners were not more likely to encounter species that they felt positively about, like Anna's Hummingbirds, in high-income neighborhoods.

While unexpected, these findings were encouraging, suggesting community gardens could provide an opportunity for people in both low- and high-income neighborhoods in San Francisco to have positive experiences with nature.

Community gardens could act as win-win spaces for people and biodiversity in the city, creating habitat, access to nature and the mental and physical health benefits it provides, food security, and community.

If you want to create a garden that attracts birds, there are a few simple steps you can follow:

• Plant crops that flower and fruit at different times throughout the year so that you are providing birds with a consistent food source.
• Include plants with a variety of different shapes and sizes, which will give birds a diversity of opportunities for sheltering and foraging.
• Incorporate non-crop vegetation, such as trees, hedgerows, and native pollinator gardens, all of which attract birds.
• Get in touch with a to learn more about the best plants for birds in a given area. You can also check out these bird-friendly gardening resources from and the .

Urban community gardens are valuable resources for people and birds in cities. The gardeners' words revealed just how special they are: "The garden reconnects us to what is important: growing nourishing food and connecting with the natural world around us."