As spring unfolds in Dongying City, China, vitality and warmth fill every corner. From neglected corners in urban neighborhoods to pastoral farms on the city outskirts, "shared vegetable gardens" have quickly grown popular, offering residents a chance to pursue their pastoral dreams and enjoy a slower pace of life.
In Anning Community, Dongcheng Sub-district, Dongying Economic and Technological Development Zone, greening dead concerns overgrown with weeds have been transformed into "shared vegetable gardens". The community provides seeds and tools uniformly. The harvested vegetables are shared among residents, with surplus produce delivered free of charge to empty-nest elderly and low-income families. For three years running, more than 60 households have joined volunteer teams to carefully tend the gardens, yielding bountiful harvests year after year.
In a "shared farm" in Guangrao County, Dongying City, an endless stream of citizens come to claim their own plots of land. Leveraging the holiday boom in cultural and tourism consumption, Guangrao is advancing the construction of multiple shared farms and gardens, while developing diverse facilities such as parent-child play areas and camping zones.
These "shared vegetable gardens" serve as the best "outdoor classrooms". Through sowing seeds, children understand that "every grain comes from hard work". Elderly residents gain a sense of belonging through farm work, while office workers find a peaceful "refuge for the soul".
These small plots satisfy not just the demand for healthy living but also enrich residents' daily lives. Nowadays, various parts of Dongying are making use of idle corners to develop "shared vegetable gardens", turning these small plots into people's livelihood projects that carry pastoral dreams and injecting new vitality into rural revitalization.