India’s IT-capital Bangalore is experiencing rapid urbanization causing diminishing greenery and biodiversity. Urbanization contributes to disconnecting humans from nature, further contributing to environmental degradation, since connecting with nature is crucial for fostering pro-environmental behaviour and stewardship which is required for urban resilience. The city’s long legacy of home gardening has been threatened by the city growth, however, Bangaloreans are finding new ways of engaging in gardening. This study gives an inside perspective of how and why middle class Bangaloreans choose to engage in gardening, building on interviews with 24 terrace and community gardeners, and identification of 6 community garden initiatives. The terrace gardening movement emerged during the 1990s, and have now spread to engage several thousands of citizens, growing on their rooftops across the city, however, community gardening is a ‘new’ phenomenon. The motivations expressed by gardeners are, in this study, categorised in motivational drivers and direct benefits. Motivational drivers affect the gardener’s desire to engage and these drivers are identified as memories, cultural values and beliefs, experiences of urbanization, perception of risk and external influence. Direct benefits are the benefits they get from gardening, identified as material, psychological and social benefits. The main motivations stated were the benefits of healthy food and connecting with nature. Terrace gardeners have a strong network and the main platform for interaction is social media, and many community gardeners are also part of that forum, where experiences and knowledge are shared. Gardeners use natural and organic practices and many have a desire to preserve traditional species and methods. This indicates that urban gardening is a way of stewardship of urban (agro)biodiversity and thus requires increased attention, for overcoming challenges related to management and lack of perseverance, and for contributing to city resilience through human and nature connections through gardening. / FOR 2432