In recent years, sustainability has become a primary focus for public gardens around the world. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s Sustainability Division has a decades-long history of promoting sustainable solutions.
The Sustainability Division, known as the EarthWays Center, celebrates its 25th anniversary with the Garden in 2025. But the EarthWays Center has a history dating back to the late 1980s.
The EarthWays Center has undergone many phases and transitions over the past quarter century with the Garden. Yet, from that start, it has been a beacon for sustainable efforts that the St. Louis community has looked toward for guidance.
The Origin of the EarthWays Center
Before the EarthWays Center became a division of the Missouri Botanical Garden, the name EarthWays had already established itself in the sustainable education space through support of several community organizations, including the Garden.
This work began in 1990 to help host the 20th Anniversary of National Earth Day celebration in St. Louis.
Strong public interest in environmental action throughout the 1990s accelerated energy efficiency, recycling, renewable energy, and green building practices. It was from this culture of eco-mindedness that the initial EarthWays Center evolved.
Out of these collaborative relationships, in 1992, the concept for an EarthWays Home was born.
The EarthWays Home
The question is no longer whether we must change to meet challenges of global environmental issues, or even when. The question is how.
– From “EarthWays Home: An Environmental Education Center” in the April 1992 Missouri Waste Control Coalition Newsletter
The inspiration for the EarthWays Home came from a dollhouse, if you can believe it.
In the 1990s, the initial EarthWays nonprofit shared office space with MERP (Missouri Energy Resources Project), a program that provided innovative energy and recycling education resources to schools throughout Missouri. One successful teaching program of MERP was the Energy-Efficient Dollhouse program. EarthWays saw the possibility to demonstrate sustainability at the scale of a real home and brought those principles to life.
From 1992-1994, the initial EarthWays organization extensively renovated an 1885 house to demonstrate cutting-edge resource conservation. This was remarkable work, that incorporated research-led efforts of sustainable building design and operations.
After a two-year, half-million dollar upgrade, the EarthWays Home, located at 3617 Grandel Square, opened for public tours and classes. For several years, MERP who had inspired the house, used the EarthWays Home as a field trip location for students to see the possibilities of energy-efficiency first-hand.
The EarthWays Home at Grandel Square served as a real-life example of sustainable solutions. 
The EarthWays Home was a popular field trip destination for school children learning about sustainability. 
Guests of the EarthWays Home enjoy the green spaces incorporated throughout the home. 
Solar panels provide energy at the old EarthWays Home. 
Murals at the EarthWays Home depict the different sources of energy. 
A rooftop garden on display at the EarthWays Home. 
People enjoy the greenspace in the courtyard of the EarthWays Home.
The New Garden Division for a New Millenium
After a few years, the initial EarthWays organization had closed, but the EarthWays Home was still available. MERP staff stepped up to manage things.
In 2000, the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Board of Trustees and Dr. Peter H. Raven, president of the Garden at the time, created the Gateway Center for Resource Efficiency as the newest division of the Garden. This new division integrated MERP’s programs and staff, while headquarters remained at the EarthWays Home, with a new name, the Gateway Center for Resource Efficiency.
“Becoming part of the Garden is an exciting opportunity to enhance each other’s strengths and to be a catalyst for increasing resource efficiency within schools, businesses, and community organizations,” said Deborah Chollet Frank, director of the Gateway Center in 2000.
The EarthWays Home was promoted as one of the Garden’s Family of Attractions. It engaged tens of thousands of adults and youth, businesses, and municipalities with green living ideas and practices through tours, classes, summer camp, partnerships with many other organizations, and events.
Later the Garden dropped the name Gateway Center for Resource Efficiency. It is now known simply as the EarthWays Center.
The origin of the Green Living Festival
The Garden’s annual Green Living Festival began as a street fest at the EarthWays Home in 2001.
The purpose of the event was to showcase sustainable businesses, demonstrate new energy efficient ideas, and give more people the opportunity to see the EarthWays Home.
A vendor discusses the “Villager Sun Oven” with a festival attendee. 2001.. 
Mini-solar-powered vehicle designed and built by Mizzou students and faculty on display in 2001. 
Jean Ponzi, Green Resources Specialist, talks to media at the first Fall Energy Festival in 2001. 
A family paints a Metro Bus in 2005. 
A city bus highlights energy efficient ideas in 2005. 
A city bus highlights energy efficient ideas in 2005.
Over the years, the festival has taken on many names and has grown to be a signature event of the Missouri Botanical Garden. In 2025, the Green Living Festival will host 50 exhibitors, demonstrations, workshops, and more.
2025 Green Living Festival
Celebrate 25 years of sustainable solutions with the Garden and discover new ways to live greener on Saturday, June 7.
The EarthWays Center Moves and Grows At the Garden
In 2011, having outgrown the EarthWays Home, the staff moved to the Garden’s Commerce Bank Education Center. This new space allowed the passionate program leaders to expand their reach in the community.
“The move strengthens the Garden’s commitment to showcasing how one’s choices and behaviors impact the environment and plant conservation,” said Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, president of the Garden at the time.
Today, the EarthWays Center team leads 55 programs and projects around the St. Louis and Midwest regions.
The Garden’s Sustainability Divisions works in schools and colleges, with businesses and local governments, and with homeowners. They provide training and certification for emerging and established professionals. Our Green Resources Info Service is a trusted source of sustainability guidance for the public.
The Garden’s Green Resources Info Service is at your service, to answer any question about living sustainably! Email us at greenresources@mobot.org or call 314-577-0246.
How the EarthWays Center Supports community sustainability
Along with leading many programs, the EarthWays Center partners with several other community programs to promote a sustainable vision for St. Louis.
- The Missouri Gateway Green Building Council is an independent non-profit originally launched by and based within the EarthWays Center. They work through professional members to integrate sustainability across the building industry sector, with a special mentoring focus on Green Schools.
- Programs affiliated with the Deer Creek Watershed Alliance and Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District’s MSD Project Clear draw on the skills of EarthWays Center staff. This partnership offers grants to area property owners for rainscaping projects that protect water quality and reduce stormwater impacts.
- The Garden-led initiative BiodiverseCity St. Louis is a hub of communication and collaboration for a growing network of organizations engaged in conservation advocacy and action.
How the EarthWays Center Supports Sustainability at the Garden
Demonstrating that we implement the same solutions we recommend to others, the EarthWays Center staff helps our Garden colleagues “walk the Green walk”. We do so by innovating around sustainability concerns, notably working with the Facilities division to implement green building certifications, tracking energy and resource use, and more. The EarthWays Center leads the Garden’s long-serving Green Team and our Zero Waste Ambassador event volunteers.
“Sustainable thinking applied in skillful practice is key to achieving global-to-local Garden goals. Having a Garden team of sustainability specialists provides internal project guidance and puts our mission into action through community programs and partnerships.”
-Glenda Abney, Vice President of Sustainability and the EarthWays Center
Examples of internal collaborations include working with the Garden’s Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development and the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House, addressing environmental concerns through research, education, and citizen science activity. A new Native Plant Working Group, led by the staff of Shaw Nature Reserve and the EarthWays Center, has mobilized Garden co-workers in peer-to-peer native plant learning and projects.
Our EarthWays Center team is inspired by plants and motivated by knowing our internal efforts and community programs provide cleaner air, water, and soil, which are essential building blocks for plant conservation. We’re grateful for 25 years of phenomenal community partnerships and service to and from the Garden. We’re ready for the Sustainable Solutions yet to come.
Jean Ponzi | Green Resources Specialist EarthWays Center
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