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Helping out on a community garden is more than just good for the environment, it's also helping the gardeners themselves. That's what new research is finding. It can boost mental and social well-being, as well as save plants. Catherine Howell has been working on community gardens in England for 15 years. It's part of the Charity Gaia Foundation's Seed Sovereignty Program that stores and shares seeds to promote biodiversity. And she noticed it wasn't just the plants that were thriving, but also the people themselves. Each session would start with a mental health check-in, and she found that by the end of the course, some of those scores had risen by 6 percent. While the sample size was small, it's backed up by multiple scientific studies. Researchers in Canada published a study in December showing that community seed saving boosts health and well-being. Across the pond, studies from the Michigan State University and University of Colorado Boulder show similar results. Community gardening boosts mood and creates positive social environments. With the health care system getting increasingly overloaded, researchers say community gardening could even be a good way to fight back against some diseases.