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Continued from Greenable.
For as long as any of us can remember, the grass has always been greener at Longwood Gardens—and no wonder. This world-renowned horticultural gem was a gift to the community maintained to this day by the same principals of sustainability that were its foundation in the first place.
Green credentials: Longwood Gardens’ green values have always been ahead of the curve. “Our commitment to conservation and sustainability was initiated from a business perspective as having a triple bottom-line effect,” says Longwood Gardens’ director, Paul Redman. “What we’re doing will have a positive impact on the environment, our financial statements and on our guests.”
Green innovation: The organization’s recycling and composting efforts have ballooned in the wake of an energy audit a few years ago.
Bragging rights: Through these renewed efforts, 37 tons of paper, 16 tons of corrugated cardboard and more than 11,000 plant pots and trays have been recycled in the past five years. As for composting, “anything with carbon in it doesn’t leave the property,” Redman says. Longwood’s onsite composting facility collected 10,000 cubic yards of environmental and food debris, transforming it into $85,000 worth of finished material, ultimately saving the organization almost $190,000 in costs and fees. And having a completely self-contained water management system doesn’t hurt, either.
Green dream: “We view the whole world as a garden,” Redman says. “If we initiate ways to care for our microcosm here at Longwood, it becomes reflective for how we should all take care of our global garden.”
To learn more, visit longwoodgardens.org.
