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Category: Environment

  • Always Improving The Experience

  • Happy 50th Earth Day!

    These are some of the things that we have instigated at Coolings The Gardener’s Garden Centre, Rushmore Hill, as part of our mission to do our bit.

    Nursery

    Over 1 million plants are grown on our 4.5-acre nursery at Rushmore Hill every year. We grow over 80% of our own bedding, including over 6,000 hanging baskets. In addition to this the Hardy Nursery Team produce over 300 varieties of shrubs, 600 varieties of herbaceous perennials, 300 varieties of roses and many trees on site. The benefit of this is that we know the top-quality of our own plants and travel is negated! Where we source plants from outside, we endeavour to use local suppliers.

    Water

    We harvest water from our roofs, glasshouses, tunnels and irrigation and pipe it back to our two on-site reservoirs where it is stored until used again. These reservoirs can hold a huge 6.7 million litres of water (the equivalent of 6 full sized Olympic swimming pools). This means that we are less dependent on tap water as we are reusing water on site.

    We use drip irrigation and sub-irrigation extensively throughout our site. Our plants take up their water through capillary action, ensuring they only take up what they need. This also results in stronger and healthier plants with less need for chemical sprays.

    Green Waste

    We compost more that 2 shipping containers worth of our material (spent compost, prunings, dead plants and coffee shop vegetable waste) every year and use this to mulch our flowerbeds and incorporate it prior to planting. We also sell it to our customers as a low-cost alternative soil improver!

    Recycling

    Plastic and cardboard are bailed and recycled. It is collected from us and sent to be recycled and used. Over 20 tonnes of cardboard is recycled every year (the same weight as 10 Black Rhinos!), along with 2 domestic garages worth of glass and paper.

    Our coffee shops also use these facilities to reduce their waste and they recycle all glass bottles and tins used.

    Solar Heating

    Arthurs coffee shop has solar heating panels on the roof, which help to heat up the hot water for the bathrooms. This reduces the supply of hot water needed in Arthurs. You can see a read out of the roof temperature next to the ladies’ toilet door in Arthurs.

    Education

    We aim to encourage environmental awareness amongst our visitors and are vocal about what we do for the environment. We also love wildlife and promote its importance in the garden where we can.

    Coolings Green & Pleasant

    Our sister site at Main Road, Knockholt is one of the most environmentally friendly garden centres in the UK. These are some of the ways in which they reduce their environmental impact.

    • A biomass boiler burns wood waste material from green garden waste and provides heating.
    • Walls are insulated with straw bales, insulating the building.
    • Roof insulation is significantly thicker than industry standards, meaning there is less heating demand in the Winter and less need to cool the building in Summer.
    • Rainwater is recycled to be used for flushing of toilets and irrigation on site
    • Reclaimed timber has been used for the flooring which not only means it is used twice, it has less impact on the environment than concrete.

     

  • The Coolings Commitment to the Environment

    We are proud to announce that we won the Commitment to the Environment Award at this year’s Kent Excellence in Business Awards (KEiBA).

    As many of you know, Coolings Nurseries has been committed to the environment since opening in Knockholt in 1913. Our goal has always been to minimise our environmental impact, reduce road miles and increase our use of renewable resources.

    We are always seeking to innovate; we make use of both traditional and modern technologies in search of environmentally friendly solutions. With one of the largest selections of plants available in the UK, mostly all are grown on site, we are doing our best to reduce our carbon footprint, our team of horticulturists grow quality plants in our own nursery.

    We are very conscious of water consumption and conservation and have installed two on-site reservoirs, these hold the equivalent of six Olympic sized swimming pools worth of rainwater (approximately 1.3 million gallons), we installed pumps, pipes, gully’s and guttering on all our buildings, glasshouses and polythene tunnels to collect rainwater and run off from on-site irrigation, this is then pumped back into the reservoirs for reuse.

    We also use drip irrigation and sub irrigation extensively, so our plants take up their water requirement through a capillary action, using less water and only the water they need, which creates less dependent, stronger and healthier plants and means the site is less dependent on tap water.

    Single use plastic – Coolings, alongside the rest of the horticultural fraternity have been looking at sustainable alternatives to single use plastics in our industry. The black plant pots currently used by garden centres contain carbon black pigment, which hinders recycling processes, therefore local authorities have been unable to recycle these.

    In 2018 recyclable taupe pots were introduced, these use a carbon black pigment free polypropylene which solves the issue.  We are transferring from our black pots and will complete this move over to these new recyclable pots within 12 months. We are now lobbying our local council to accept the new pots for domestic recycling.
    We have also launched the first public plastic pot recycling scheme, placing two large containers for pot collection in the main car park, customers can return all their plastic plant pots and we are aiming
    to recycle over 20 tonnes per year.

    We aim to lead by example, and recycle over 90% of our on-site waste to ensure the bare minimum is sent to landfill. Last year, this included 20 tonnes of cardboard and two shipping containers worth of green waste. And plastic plant pots accounted for 14.4 tonnes of the 19 tonnes of plastic the business recycled in 2017.

    Reducing the ‘carbon footprint’ of our products means we source locally and organically wherever possible. Our retail partners are all expected to operate to the same standards when it comes to environmental impact – we like to work with companies who source responsibly and check for credentials such as Forest Stewardship Council certified wooden furniture, looking for goods that are sustainably produced, reclaimed and re-purposed wherever possible. We even supply the fruit and veg to Arthur’s, using our ‘plot to plate’ greenhouse as well as other local produce.

    Environmental awareness, sensory planting and encouraging habitat for wildlife is promoted in our community and schools, and we benefit from the support of our customers, who have embraced the schemes, as well as the support of the community.

    So thanks to your contributions we are now aiming to become the greenest garden centre in the UK.

    For a birds-eye view of our 14 acre site, production nursery and reservoirs see below…

  • Good Natured Gardening

    A garden is one of the first things that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘green’.  With an estimated 16 million gardens in the UK we certainly have plenty of ‘green’ spaces.  However, the way we care for our gardens is not always as kind to nature as it could be.

    As keen or amateur gardeners, we all enjoy our outdoor spaces and understand the benefits they bring towards clean living.  The Scotts Company range of products called ‘Origins’ which has been developed to help gardeners of all levels achieve results and see their gardens flourish in harmony with their surroundings.

    This range of gardening products contains naturally occurring ingredients and are designed to cover all gardening needs from lawns to the vegetable patch.

    The range includes:

    Origins Organic Plant Food (500ml) is certified organic and made with 100% natural ingredients. It supports beautiful plants and healthy fruit and vegetables. It is ideal for use on all flowering plants and edible crops.

    Origins Organic Lawn Food (60m2) provides nutrients to your lawn and is made with 100% natural ingredients. It is enriched with organic feed which will feed for up to 3 months for a naturally lush and green lawn.

    Origins Weed Control (750ml) is a fast-acting product which produces results in just one hour. It is ideal for flower beds, borders and vegetable patches. It contains acetic acid and allows replanting or seeding 24 hours after application.

    Origins Bug Control (750ml) manages garden pests including Greenfly, Blackfly, Whitefly, Scale Insects, Mealy Bugs, Red Spider Mites and other Mites. This product, containing rapeseed oil, is perfect for use on fruit and vegetables and allows same day spray and eat.

    Origins Slug Control (450g) reduces Slug and Snail damage on plants and edibles. The active ingredient, ferric phosphate, occurs naturally in soil.