Community gardening underpins collective and relational values for urban nature

Understanding how people perceive nature is essential for aligning greenspace provision with everyday needs, well-being and environmental preferences. Such perceptions are heterogeneous, shaped by gender, socioeconomic context and how people engage with informal greenspaces. Community gardens and other resident-led spaces remain comparatively underexplored as sites of relational value in lower-income urban contexts yet offer hands-on interactions that differ markedly from formal parks and private gardens. These dynamics are especially relevant in rapidly urbanising lower-income cities, where community gardens, often operating on vacant land, are among the few accessible, resident-managed greenspaces. In Accra, Ghana, such gardens provide everyday engagement with biodiversity across neighbourhoods of varying income. We used Q-methodology, which identifies shared viewpoints through structured sorting of statements and images, to capture diverse perceptions of urban nature. Sixty participants sorted items representing Nature's Contributions to People and biodiversity-health pathways, comparing community garden members and non-members across contrasting neighbourhoods. Four viewpoints emerged: nature as a practical and spiritual resource; nature as a source of comfort and protection; selective engagement shaped by safety and predictability; and nature as a social and cultural space. Participants expressed least preference for certain animal biodiversity and allergenic risks, while consistently preferring accessible medicinal plants and private gardens. Perceptions centred on comfort, familiarity and social connection rather than ecologically beneficial species, shaped by everyday environments, safety concerns and conditions of encounter. Community garden membership was associated with more relational, multifunctional understandings of nature, while neighbourhood conditions and gender also shaped preferences. These insights are vital for urban planning, where residents’ preferences can align with or challenge ecological priorities.