Growing Green
A COMPANY WHO CARES
Bylands is conscious of the “footprint” it impacts on the environment. We carry environmentally conscious products for weed and pest management. Wherever possible we carry “Eco friendly products and recommend Integrated Pest Management practices to customers as alternatives.
As part of our pro-green initiatives most of the plants sold at our garden centre are grown by our own nursery right here in the valley. This translates to a significant reduction in the need to transport our products, while providing our customers with a healthier, hardier acclimatized plants for their gardens.
Bylands Garden Centre is surrounded by Bylands Nurseries, consequently, much of the practices Bylands Nurseries has incorporated are also practiced by Bylands Garden Centre. |
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Bylands Nurseries has historically realized the importance of being environmentally responsible and our proudest accomplishments are the practices we employ to reduce our impact on the environment.
We have invested in the latest drip irrigation technology and water recycling methods to reduce our total water consumption. Our greenhouses utilize the high efficiency heaters programmed to react to changes in local temperature changes.
Bylands was the first nursery in British Columbia to recycle water and today we have three recycling ponds that reduce our water consumption by one-third of our former consumption.
Bylands Nurseries voluntarily completed the British Columbia Environmental Farm Plan; a governmentally recommended risk assessment of agricultural land. By completing this Plan we have ensured that Bylands is being pro-active in identifying environmental opportunities and risks within our surroundings. The Environmental Farm Plan also helps us to reduce conflicts between agricultural and environmental interests all while making us better stewards of our lands.
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Over the past decade, Bylands Nurseries has created a community composting program that eliminates large amounts of organic waste from entering the local landfills by allowing members to dump their green waste on our property. |
The composted material is eventually added back to our fields and into our potting mix to:
- improve soil quality
- aid in aeration
- increase soil nutrients
- assist in water retention capabilities.
We have also employed an Integrated Pest Management Program, a pro-active approach to pest control. This effective and environmentally friendly philosophy significantly reduces and eliminates the use of pesticides through a three step process of:
(1) prevention, (2) observation (3) intervention.
Unfortunately, the current use of plastics is inevitable in our industry as plastic tags, pots and protective covers are used at nurseries across North America. However, at Bylands, we are able to reduce our plastic consumption by reusing our protective plastic for a second year prior to shipping it to a recycling plant. All other plastics used at Bylands are 100% recyclable and we ask you to please consider the environment when disposing of our pots and informative tags.
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