Norfolk Botanical Garden is becoming greener and it’s not just because we’re expanding our collection of plants. Yes, we are totally obsessed with plants, but we’re talking about “greening up” our business and cultural practices. We have become acutely aware that our world is facing a multifaceted environmental crisis that includes climate change and overwhelming pollution, especially from the overuse of single-use plastics. We feel so strongly about using our platform to address larger environmental issues that environmental stewardship and action are part of our core mission as well as our No. 1 strategic goal.
We’re concentrating on three areas:
* Better land stewardship
* Waste reduction
* Energy conservation
Most folks align the act of gardening with being beneficial for the environment, especially if you plant native plants, go easy on the chemicals and opt for more environmentally friendly solutions to pest and disease issues. However, we must be cognizant of how our actions impact the wider environment. At the botanical garden, practicing the best horticultural techniques and reducing our chemical footprint are standard procedures. We are also focusing on water-wise gardening, teaching people to grow their own food, planting more native plants to support our local ecosystem, managing invasive plants and expanding regenerative processes like composting. Our composting program includes kitchen scraps from offices and our café. Composting is a natural regenerative process that puts nutrients back into the soil. Just collecting your fruit and vegetable scraps can divert a significant amount of waste from ending up in a landfill. This past May, we collected nearly 400 pounds of scraps from our café. We’ll use this future compost to naturally enrich our gardens.
Speaking of reducing waste entering our landfills, we banned the sale and use of bottled water and single-use plastics on our campus. According to National Geographic, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans every year. These plastics can take hundreds of years to break down, and the resulting micro-particles cause their own set of environmental issues. By encouraging guests to refill their own bottles at water stations around campus, we have diverted well over 200,000 plastic water bottles from entering local landfills. With only an estimated 9% of plastic being recycled, it was obvious that we needed to switch all our vending machine offerings to aluminum cans and/or glass bottles.
An underappreciated global benefit associated with the reduction and ultimate elimination of single-use plastics is energy savings. Producing bottled water takes more than 2,000 times the energy needed to produce tap water. By now, everyone should be aware that increasing greenhouse gases emitted by energy use has contributed to global warming and climate change. Making the switch to green energy solutions is a step toward slowing the impacts of a changing climate. In 2018, the botanical garden added its first solar array featuring 120 solar panels generating 53,651 kilowatt hours of energy to power our propagation greenhouse. The garden is also powered by 100% renewable energy through the Dominion Energy Green Power Program.
Individual choice is a powerful tool. As Rachel Carson wrote in “Silent Spring,” “The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery, not over nature but of ourselves.” Imagine if half or even a third of the global population — that’s 7.8 billion people — saw themselves as part of nature and not just in charge of nature. What a massive difference that could make in bettering our world.
Theresa Augustin is director of environmental engagement and outreach at Norfolk Botanical Garden.
Art exhibit
Norfolk Botanical Garden is hosting the art exhibition “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea” through Oct. 31. Art is one of the most compelling (and fun!) ways to evoke thought, engage curiosity and raise awareness. Learn more about “Washed Ashore” here: https://norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/washed-ashore-2021/
Learn more about the garden’s environmental stewardship here: www.nbgGreen.org
