Missouri Botanical Garden has been tracking and supporting plastic pot recycling issues and options for many years. This spring, we regret to report that public plastic pot recycling will not resume. Wasn’t Plastic Pot Recycling “suspended” for 2020-21? Why is it being ended now? The collection program did not re-start as usual in spring 2020,…
Tag: EarthWays Center
Green Living Festival | Sustainable — Useful — Fun! for 20 Years
We celebrate Earth Day every April 22. On a chilly September day in 2001, an Energy Festival in mid-town St. Louis anchored the other side of the year. One “green” event in spring, one in fall. For a while, that was it! On June 2, 3, and 4, 2021, the Green Living Festival carries this…
Efficiency + Comfort = Good Investment!
Our city home was built over three eras. The original four rooms have sheltered families since about 1870 — that’s one hundred and fifty years! A kitchen and indoor bathroom were added sometime between then and the 1940s, when a new two-story wing was constructed. Property records tell us the first occupant, a Dutch tulip…
Storm Drains are for Rain
This year, many of us have been cooped up at home and are looking for new and interesting ways to get outside and help our communities. One Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) project, coordinated by the EarthWays Center, is providing scouts, families, municipalities, and just about anyone in the area with just such an…
St. Louis Teachers Leading on Sustainability
Leading on research in plant biology, ecology, conservation, and preservation is what the Missouri Botanical Garden is best known for. Less well known is the impact the Garden is having in the St. Louis community. Many teams at the Garden work in partnership with organizations around the St. Louis region to support initiatives around native…
Keep Green and Carry On
The Garden’s Sustainability Staff Maintain Significant Achievements During COVID-19 Despite the current pandemic, the EarthWays Center has been resilient as ever when sharing sustainable solutions with the St. Louis region. All programs and projects continued, and staff learned many new systems to maintain virtual contact while working remotely. This period of remote work has allowed the Garden’s sustainability division to…
Preventing Food Waste at Home
As many of us stay at home in an effort to practice social distancing due to COVID-19, the only trip out of the house is to the grocery store. A priority for many is how to make the food in the kitchen stretch as far as possible before the next trip to the store. Learning…
Go Solar with Grow Solar STL
As we look to the future, solar power is one of the most promising energy sources. It’s efficient, it’s renewable, and St. Louis gets more than enough sunlight to be an ideal location. Perhaps the most significant downside of solar power is the cost of installation, which tends to be higher than other energy options….
The Garden Events Green Team
Zero Waste Ambassador volunteers help reduce the “waste line” of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s signature events. You can join this movement as a volunteer. It’s educational, impactful, shady and fun! Signature events like Japanese Festival and Best of Missouri Market are among the most popular activities at the Missouri Botanical Garden, offering thousands of visitors…
Grow a Reusable Bag Habit This Earth Day
Reusable bags are beautiful, functional, and a really impactful way to help halt plastic pollution. So why don’t we all use ‘em? The EarthWays Center staff poses this question whenever we educate companies, classes, or visitors about recycling. The #1 answer we hear is: I can’t remember to take my bags when I go to…
Journey to the Galápagos | Part 2
“I believe it is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown.” -Sir Ernest Shackleton We all have our version of the unknown; the uncomfortable ignorance that lies just beyond our comfort zones. As kids, most dream of becoming explorers but few dare to take that leap; to reach out to all…
Journey to the Galápagos | Part 1
“I believe it is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown.” Sir Ernest Shackleton We all have our version of the unknown; the uncomfortable ignorance that lies just beyond our comfort zones. As kids, most dream of becoming explorers but few dare to take that leap; to reach out to all…