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SGA Media Information
Greener Gardens - June 2008
Today, we are all becoming more aware of the environmental impact of our actions. The resources, materials and chemicals that we use throughout our daily lives affect both our health and the footprint that we leave on the world.
One business making a positive difference environmentally is Mornington Peninsula landscape design and construction company Ecoscapes, managed and staffed by the Archer family (and a handful of like-minded friends).
Ecoscapes has recently become the first business in Victoria to undergo and pass the Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) Environmentally Certified Landscape Industry Professionals (ECLIPs) program, and they couldn't be happier!
Aaron Archer from Ecoscapes explains: "We were already extremely environmentally conscious, the challenge is to make customers aware that we are fair-dinkum in a time where everyone from car companies to banks are shouting green".
"All our contemporary Australian landscapes that we have designed and constructed have a long-term sustainability focus". Ecoscapes have, over their six and a half year history, developed some incredible landscapes, with a strong emphasis on the amazing texture, form and colour of plants indigenous to the area in which they are working.
"We look not only at plant selection and on-going maintenance, but also the additional products we choose to employ in a landscape. For instance, we try to utilise as many found or reclaimed materials as we can, and avoid products that may have been sourced from un-sustainable origins" Archer said.
In that, and a number of other criteria, Ecoscapes and Sustainable Gardening Australia's ECLIPs program was a perfect fit.
Sustainable Gardening Australia launched the ECLIPs program in early 2008, the first of its kind anywhere in Australia, with generous funding from the Victorian Government Sustainability Fund.
Developed with the assistance of the Landscape Industry Association of Victoria (LIAV), the University of Melbourne, the Melbourne Zoo, the Royal Botanical Gardens and numerous councils, the ECLIPs program provides landscape industry professionals with the tools needed to become more sustainable, and homeowners, councils and businesses with the opportunity to find environmentally certified landscape professionals for all their design, construction and garden maintenance needs.
Mary Trigger, CEO of Sustainable Gardening Australia explains. "Like all of us, landscape professionals have had to adapt to meet the new pressures and requirements placed onto us by both our clients and regulatory bodies when it comes to the environment."
"But it's not all gloom and doom, there are huge opportunities for those among us, like Ecoscapes, who are able to incorporate sustainable practices into our everyday activities. Ian, Aaron, Naomi and all at Ecoscapes should be congratulated on their commitment to the environment, and SGA look forward to working with such a visionary business for a long time to come" Ms. Trigger said.
Sustainable Gardening Australia is a non-government, not for profit organisation dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the natural Australian environment by promoting the benefits of sustainable horticultural practices. SGA do this through community education programs, liaison with local and state governments, national events and through our SGA garden centre and landscape professionals' environmental certification programs.
For more information contact Mary Trigger on (03) 9850 8165 or email mary@sgaonline.org.au
Pictured at top are The Ecoscapes Team - Ben Broomfield, Aaron Archer, Ian Archer, Naomi Archer with SGA CEO Mary Trigger
Award-winning SGA Garden Centres - April 2008
Congratulations to the following SGA Certified and Subscribed nurseries for their recent successes in the 2008 National Yates Nursery and Garden Industry Awards:
NGI Environmental Award - Bulleen Art & Garden, VIC
For the second year, Bulleen Art & Garden has come to the fore for their environmental policies and initiatives. This year, these initiatives included supporting Sustainable Gardening Australia, developing a 'certified organic' section within the nursery, and promoting native plants and water-saving products as well as 'green' alternatives to pesticides and fertilisers. In their efforts to educate the community, Bulleen Art & Garden run weekly sustainable gardening classes and hold educational talks for the public. Staff and management also actively embrace the business' environmental outlook, and ride their bikes to work as part of the nursery's Bicycle Users Group. www.baag.com.au
Best Small Garden Centre - New Town Station Nursery, TAS
New Town Station Nursery is situated at the disused New Town railway station, four kilometres north of Hobart, customers to the nursery witness freight trains passing by several times per day. Apart from its uniqueness and ambiance however, the nursery also excels in providing superior plant life and customer service, and has a clear environmental focus. During the qualifying period, the nursery launched the Express Café - the first garden centre café in the Greater Hobart area. The nursery was described by the judges as 'ahead of their competitors' and as 'one of the best garden centres in Australia'. www.newtownstationnursery.com
Best Medium Garden Centre - Zanthorrea Nursery, WA
Zanthorrea is a family-owned garden centre located in the hills of Perth. Specialising in Australian natives, the business has more than 600 indigenous varieties. As an accredited garden centre, Zanthorrea guarantee customers that plants will be clean, healthy and 'hardened'. They have been providing customers with specialist advice and experience for 32 years. Winner of the 2006 Australasian Weed-wise Nursery award, the NGIA judges described this garden centre as 'utterly delightful' and 'immaculate', with 'absolutely faultless general plant lines'. Pictured here are the owners Alec and Jackie Hooper. www.zanthorrea.com
Sustainable Gardening Australia would like to congratulate these nurseries and their staff on such a great achievement. Well done everyone!
SGA - Finalist in the Premier's Sustainability Awards 2008 - April 2008
The non profit organisation Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) proves that size is no obstacle to helping the environment. The organisation was advised today that it is a finalist in the prestigious Premier's Sustainability Awards for 2008.
SGA received the accolade for its many programs that educate home gardeners, landscapers and the horticultural industry in more sustainable gardening practices.
Click here for more detailed information.
Ground-up Gardening - March 2008
Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) launches its first home gardener workshop series -'Ground-up Gardening' - at Burnley Horticultural College, University of Melbourne, in late April/early May 2008.
‘Ground-up Gardening’ is a series of five gardening workshops that together provide a holistic approach to sustainable gardening. Each workshop identifies the natural connections between individual elements in a sustainable garden from its design and development through to its ongoing maintenance and seasonal adaptations.
Click here for more detailed information.
SGA's Patrons - March 2008
SGA has attracted a number of passionate supporters throughout its history, none more so than its three state patrons, well-known television gardening identities Jane Edmanson (at top), Josh Byrne and Sophie Thomson.
An enthusiastic supporter of the Garden Centre Certification programme, Victorian SGA patron Jane Edmanson says that 'SGA's Garden Centre Certification is a terrific way for garden centres and nurseries to provide easily understood information and alternatives to their customers, and will assist gardeners in identifying products and practices that will significantly reduce the impact of gardening on our environment'.
This is seconded by Western Australian patron Josh Byrne, a passionate 'green gardener', environmental scientist and supporter of SGA.
'How we garden makes a big difference to the health of our local environment,' Josh says. 'Water conservation, creating wildlife habitat and reducing nutrient pollution is just the beginning. We can also grow our own food, switch to organics and tackle the spread of environmental weeds. Sustainable Gardening Australia is taking the lead to increase this awareness and should be congratulated.'
SGA's newest patron, South Australian Sophie Thompson, echoes these sentiments. 'Sustainable Gardening Australia is working to change the way Australians garden to ensure that we are working with the environment, rather than against it. By developing a sustainable garden, we can actually make our gardening experience easier and more enjoyable, as well as contributing to our local environment and leaving a legacy for future generations.'
CEO of Sustainable Gardening Australia, Mary Trigger, says 'SGA is absolutely delighted that such esteemed gardening identities recognise that Australian gardeners care about the health of our environment and support SGA as a leading provider of advice, inspiration and credibility in sustainable gardening practice.'
SGA's Newly Certified Sustainable Garden Centres - December 2007
Victoria
Linton's Garden & Home
Linton's Garden & Home is one of Australia's most established and recognised nurseries. Situated on Nepean Highway, Mt Eliza, Linton's is the largest garden centre on the Mornington Peninsula. Priding itself on its vast range of plants, furniture and gifts, and its long history of excellence in customer service, Linton's will inspire gardeners and home lovers alike. Stocking a great range of indigenous and native plants, low environmental impact products, water efficient irrigation and much more, Linton's Garden and Home is a great destination for environmentally conscience gardeners on the Peninsula.
Dave from Linton's reports that they are in the process of developing a low water use native and indigenous display garden at the site, to act as an inspirational selling tool for customers after a sustainable garden alternative, and we can't wait to see it!
Congratulations to Michael Linton and his staff.
Going Going Green
Going Going Green is an optimistic, innovative and exuberant large inner city nursery in Melbourne. Congratulations to Rob and all his committed staff on successfully completing all SGA requirements to becoming a certified sustainable garden centre. The removal of invasive plants was a challenge as the local council is only now working on their weed pamphlet. Going Going Green is committed to making sustainable gardening a familiar practice for all their customers. Manager Nick proudly displays their new sign in the photograph here.
Mt Evelyn Garden Centre
Karen and Matt (pictured here) out at the beautiful Mt. Evelyn Garden Centre. A large nursery, set in the picturesque Yarra Ranges, Mt Evelyn Garden Centre has both a retail and wholesale component (which supplies 50%+ of plants to the retail nursery), and has a very strong environmental focus. Water efficient irrigation is a big focus here, with any nursery run-off diverted into an adjacent dam, and utilised to irrigate display gardens.
Mt. Evelyn is also trialling an environmentally responsible "Bio Pot" in the wholesale nursery with a view to incorporating this into the retail nursery at a later date. The Bio Pots, made from sturdy, biodegradable bamboo is currently being tested on-site, and we eagerly await the results of their sturdiness testing. With their minimal use of chemicals, wide range of indigenous and non-weedy native species, great resource usage and a swag of passionate staff, Mt. Evelyn Garden Centre is a worthy and welcome addition to the SGA stable!
Green N Grow Benalla
Christine and Jim Carter established Green 'n' Grow over 20 years ago and is now regarded as one of north east Victoria's premier nurseries. Chris is extremely enthusiastic about sustainable gardening. All the staff are fully trained and extremely keen and supportive of the SGA program and ethos. Their water recycling and water saving techniques utilised at their site are extremely efficient. Lawn alternatives are being stocked in response to the drought. Chris has an excellent display of indigenous tube stock. A local native plant from "Green N Grow" is received by all new Australian Citizens at their local Ceremony.
Rivers Garden & Home
Steve Touzel and the team out at Rivers Garden& Home have undergone some seriously sustainable renovations, commencing with the installation of a 23,500 litre rainwater tank in March 2007. This tank currently waters about one third of the garden centre, not a bad effort when you consider the size of the plant holdings out there, with all the stormwater from the carpark and shop roof diverted into a large feature pond.
Over 40 environmental or potential weeds have been removed from sale since the commencement of Rivers involvement with Sustainable Gardening Australia. In addition to this, Steve has developed a great weed information stand, located centrally in the nursery. This is a great initiative, and while some consumers may find this a little confronting, overall the reaction has been extremely positive. Weed info stand also provides local council weed lists, sustainable gardening tips, and locally native plant information.
As well as telling people what not to plant, Rivers Garden and Home is also in the process of stocking a range of indigenous plants of local provenance only, an extremely positive and unusual step for a large-scale nursery.
Stables Secret Garden
Located in a leafy pocket of Yarraville, just out of the Melbourne CBD, Stables Secret Garden is a boutique inner city garden centre and gallery. Deidre and Peter (pictured here) have a strong emphasis on indigenous and non-invasive native species, garden art, water sensitive plant selection and much more. One of their great initiatives involves collecting used coffee grounds from the adjacent café, and using this as an effective and sustainable compost.
Deidre states that more and more customers are looking for alternatives to the traditional cottage style garden, and are turning to native and indigenous plants as are more sustainable option. Stables Secret Garden is a great addition to the program, and a great space to spend a couple of lazy weekend hours. Well done to Deidre, Peter, Darren and the team at Stables on your achievements!
Western Australia
Garden Affair
"Courtney and Fletcher Babb's hard work and commitment to more environmentally friendly gardening practices has been finally recognised, encouraged and rewarded.
Their award winning garden centre Garden Affair was recently audited and certified as a Certified Sustainable Garden Centre by SGA's WA auditor Bec Millar. Garden Affair's beautiful range of plants and shrubs are all sold with advice on how to garden sustainably.
"More and more customers are seeking and responding to our advice" said Courtney. Fletcher is pictured here.
Ardess Nursery - Albany
Rob Horler (pictured here with SGA's James Robilliard) and his enthusiastic team immediately embraced the opportunity to be part of the move towards sustainability in our Industry.
Ardess Nursery is the retail arm of Albany Tree Farm which have been specialising in growing plants and trees indigenous to the Albany region for many years. It was logical for the production nursery to offer of their rare and beautiful south west plants to members of the public too..... hence Ardess Nursery was established.
Ardess Nursery not only offers beautiful WA plants but now stocks a comprehensive range of specially selected gardening products. With a focus on organic based soil treatments and chemicals, most products that Ardess sells are rated as having a low impact on the environment.
Their customers receive guidance and advice on the right products and sustainable gardening techniques from Ardess's trained staff. Ardess Nursery is leading the way in Albany in linking home gardening practices to the health of the broader environment.
Denmark Nursery & Florist
Denmark gardeners have been the winners of the sea change decision by Peter Dean (pictured here) to move to Denmark. Already a highly respected and award winning garden designer/ horticulturist, Peter purchased the acclaimed Denmark Nursery & Florist earlier this year. Recognising Denmark's compatibility with all things sustainable, Peter was keen to lead the way for local residents to not only live sustainably but to garden sustainably too.
By combining their love of beautiful gardens with the needs of the environment, Denmark Nursery offers a unique shopping experience. Having completed over 8 hrs of SGA training, all members of Denmark Nursery's staff are now passing on knowledge and giving sustainable advice to their nursery' growing number of customers. Being certified as a Sustainable Garden Centre, Denmark Nursery & Florist are definitely in tune with their customers and in tune with their local environment.
Guildford Town Garden
Joanne Harris (pictured here with SGA's James Robilliard) and her dedicated team have also met all the requirements contained within SGA's code of practice manual.
Guildford Town Garden Centre now confirms their position amid Perth's most prestigious and well respected garden centres in WA.
Having been a foundation member in WA of NGIA's Garden Centre Accreditation scheme, a high profile Waterwise Garden Centre and now an SGA Certified Sustainable Garden Centre, Guildford Town Garden Centre joins a group of gardens centre committed to offering their customers the very best of professional advice in a number of areas which now includes sustainable gardening principles and practice.
Congratulations to Joanne and the team at Guildford Town. SGA looks forward to working with you in reconnecting people to the natural environment through gardening.
Bulleen Art & Garden wins National Award - November 20, 2007
A Victorian garden nursery has beaten nurseries around Australia to win the annual Australian CAWS 'Weed Wise' retail nursery of 2007 Award.
Melbourne's Bulleen Art and Garden won the nomination of the Victorian 'Weed Wise' retail nursery, and has gone on to successfully win the Australian award from the Council of Australasian Weed Societies (CAWS).
It is the second major award for the nursery this year. It recently won the National Nursery & Garden Industry Australia Community and Environment Award.
CAWS President John Virtue said the National Awards created awareness of invasive garden plants and recognised retail nurseries that removed invasive garden plants from sale, supported appropriate labeling schemes and educated customers.
"Bulleen is a Sustainable Gardening Australia accredited nursery. It regularly updates its internal weed species lists to reflect the latest research," Dr. Virtue said.
"The lists are used by all plant buyers, and are accessible to all staff and customers via their website, together with the nursery's environmental and weed policies," he said.
The President of the Weed Society of Victoria Ken Young said Bulleen's nursery staff and the nursery's owners saw themselves as part of the local community and environment.
"They take an active role in weed control and other local environmental issues. Over the last twelve years they have participated in an ongoing revegetation project of parkland adjacent to the nursery, and over the last four years have contributed to the weed management of the Little Bolin Billabong," Dr. Young said.
The CEO of Bulleen Art and Garden Paul McMorran, on accepting the Award, said there was a challenge for nurseries to be educated and up to date about weed issues.
"We have made mistakes and will again, but our aim is to continually improve. Education of the public through signage in the nursery has helped to improve their knowledge," Mr McMorran said.
The Manager of the nursery Anna Thirkell-Johnson said Bulleen Art and Garden educated the public in a low-key way by removing inappropriate plants from sale, and offering a suitable alternative.
"If the suggested replacement plant is more environmentally friendly and suitable then we are all happy and we help stop weeds from invading environments," Ms Thirkell-Johnson said.
The nursery has stocked plant species indigenous to the Yarra Valley region and propagated from seed collected locally by a few dedicated growers for the last eight years.
"The nursery seeks to raise the profile of local species with the general gardening public through the distribution of local municipal information, signage in the nursery and its website," Ms Thirkell-Johnson said.
Nurseries are assessed for the National CAWS Awards by state Weed Societies against the following criteria:
The voluntary removal of invasive species
The sale of local native flora
The standard labeling of plants including the use of the correct scientific name, and identification of potentially invasive species
Industry accreditation
Policy on invasive species and/or related issues
Participation in schemes such as 'Grow Me Instead'
The Council of Australasian Weed Societies Inc. is the overarching body for six Australian State weed societies and the Plant Protection Society of New Zealand.
It is an independent group that seeks to inform, encourage and promote effective weed management to minimise the high economic, environmental and social impacts of invasive plants.
MEDIA CONTACT:
John Virtue, CAWS President 0428 112 943
Ken Young, President of the Weed Society of Victoria 0427 432 443
Paul McMorran, CEO Bulleen Art and Garden (03) 9850 5155
Anna Thirkell-Johnson, Manager Bulleen Art and Garden (03) 9850 5155
Photograph:
CAWS President John Virtue, left, pictured with BAAG's Anna Thirkell-Johnson and Paul McMorron.
Weedbuster Week, October 2007
Give them an inch, they'll take a mile
That's the line from the SGA promotional poster for Weedbuster Week 2007.
SGA won a Certificate of Appreciation for its efforts in the campaign this year.
From 6th to 14th October garden escapees were in the spotlight. SGA garden centres in Victoria and Western Australia will continue to highlight this serious problem.
Program Co-ordinator, Helen Tuton is pictured here with Weedbuster Week mascot 'Woody Weed' and the Certificate of Appreciation.
SGA Certified Sustainable Garden Centres continue to highlight 'habitat heroes' - safe garden plants that are also good for the environment by attracting wildlife.
Weedbusting goes beyond just this time period though - weeds in the natural environment and in agricultural land are costing Australians millions of dollars to control. It's an ongoing issue.
Contact your local council and find out what garden plants have gone feral in your area. Take a walk around your garden - are you guilty of harbouring terrorists?! If so, kick 'em out, and buy something more appropriate to replace them. Can't find more information? Then contact SGA: helen@sgaonline.org.au
Finalist in Horticultural Media Awards - October 2007
SGA was a finalist in the recent Horticultural Media Awards, in the Education Category, having entered our website and Cuttings.
Frances Saunders travelled to Adelaide for the Awards dinner and while we didn't win the award, she reports that the food and wine were great!
Sustainable Garden Centres on the move!! - September 2007
SGA is pleased to announce that we will soon be operating in South Australia and Tasmania as part of our strategic plan to extend across southern Australia before heading north. Thanks to funding from the federal government's 'Defeating the Weeds' programme we have the opportunity to introduce our highly successful Sustainable Garden Centre environmental certification project to retail garden centres in SA and Tassie.
To become certified, garden centre staff undertake sustainable gardening training with SGA to ensure they are giving customers the latest and most environmental solution or advice. The nurseries must also operate according to an environmental code of practice and SGA customer education material must be displayed. These nurseries must also submit to an annual audit.
Sustainable Garden Centres are the place to go for gardeners who love gardening and want to maximise the positive outcomes they have on the natural environment.
We look forward to welcoming South Australian and Tasmanian garden centres to join the 49 Victorian and 12 West Australian garden centres who work with us to make a difference!!
For more information, contact Mary Trigger, mary@sgaonline.org.au, or phone (03) 9850 8165.
SGA on Garden Gurus - June 2007
March 2007 - Gear up for Rain Gardens
The Melbourne Flower & Garden Show was held at the end of March, during which time (and place) the State Environment Minister John Thwaites announced that Melbourne was taking drought slightly more seriously by moving from Stage 3 water restrictions to Stage 3 ˝. Considering many regional areas have been on Stage 4 restrictions for quite some time, I think some of us urban dwellers felt a pang of guilt.
Sustainable Gardening Australia designed a display garden at the show that won the Premier's Waterwise Garden Award, as it was a garden that will survive stage 4 water restrictions once established. It had public appeal because it was a cottage garden with some pretty quirky elements, including a twisted take on the traditional picket fence.
However, there was a more serious element in the landscape that is probably of greater interest to the landscape professional: Rain gardens. This is an initiative of Melbourne Water and involves creating garden beds that intercept rainwater directly from downpipes.
The idea is to slow the entry of runoff water into the stormwater system by keeping the water onsite longer. It should be noted that each rain garden has an overflow that allows excess water to enter the stormwater system. The pdf file can be found on the website: http://library.melbournewater.com.au/content/wsud/sustainable_urban_design/Raingardens.pdf
Melbourne Water's guidelines for constructing rain gardens should be adhered to, as there could be implications legally if contractors cause houses to flood or cause damage to building structures, but it doesn't preclude a little tweaking for design innovation!
Judging from the interest of the thousands of people that visit the show, it would be worthwhile any landscape professional working in the residential sector (and maybe even the commercial sector) to think about how they could introduce this concept to their clients.
Click here to take a tour of the SGA MIFGS rain garden.
5 February 2007 - ECLIPs Kicks Off
SGA's environmental certification program for landscape professionals kicked off with a meeting of its advisory panel in December. Since then SGA has developed the acronym ECLIPs as the name for the program, in favour of the wordier title of Environmentally Certified Landscape Industry Professionals!
The leadership group is meeting in mid February, and will divide into sub-groups to focus on the different sectors of design, public parks and gardens, landscape construction, and landscape maintenance.
This leadership group will trial the program in Victoria over coming months, focusing on the issues identified as being necessary to create, build and maintain environmentally sustainable landscapes.
If you are a Victorian landscape professional who is interested in being involved in the development of environmental credentials for the industry, then please contact Sustainable Gardening Australia, 03 9850 8165, or email frances@sgaonline.org.au
December 2006 - Australia's Most Weed-Wise Nursery
The landscape sector is now, statistically, a garden centres' biggest customer. In the last year it reached the 50% mark, out competing their second biggest customer - retail customers - at 33% (Source: Nursery & Garden Industry Association of Australia, 2006).
And because garden centres are the main source for plants for the landscape industry, as well as the retail sector, there is even more imperative for them to be aware of their responsibilities with regard to avoiding the sale of environmental weeds.
This issue is so important that the Council of Australasian Weed Societies (CAWS) established an award for garden centres to recognise those that are 'weed wise.' Zanthorrea Nursery in Western Australia, which is currently undertaking SGA environmental certification, is the 2006 recipient of Australia's Most Weed-Wise Nursery award.
In presenting the award, the WA State government's Minister for Agriculture and Food, Kim Chance commended Zanthorrea's proactive approach to the problem of environmental weeds.
'This nursery does not sell plants that have the potential to become serious environmental weeds threatening our native plants, wildlife and environments,' Mr Chance said, adding that garden escapees were a major environmental problem for Australia. The Weeds Society of Western Australia, a professional association that brings together researchers, agribusiness consultants, farmers and others working with weeds, nominated Zanthorrea Nursery for this new National Award.
If you are interested in learning more about the initiative, please contact Frances Saunders at SGA, phone 03 9850 8165, email frances@sgaonline.org.au
27 October 2006 - SGA is Kicking Goals for Sustainable Gardening
When hard work and dedication pay off, it's cause for celebration, and just lately the non-profit organisation Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) is celebrating success after success.
Only two years after launching its garden centre environmental certification program in Victoria with a small group of pilot nurseries, SGA has now signed up over 40 retail nurseries to the program, with more joining every week.
Recently, SGA, in partnership with Garden Centres Association of Australia, was awarded substantial Federal government funding, through the Defeating the Weed Menace program, to introduce its successful certification program to Western Australia and South Australia.
'James Robilliard, former Nursery and Garden Industry Association of Western Australia's retail development officer, has been appointed SGA Garden Centre Coordinator in WA and has commenced work with Western Australian garden centres customising the program to ensure local environmental issues are addressed,' explains SGA's CEO Mary Trigger. 'We will be introducing the Sustainable Garden Centre project to South Australia early in 2007.'
SGA's main mission is to change the way all Australians garden - to ensure they are working with the environment while engaging in their favourite hobby. One of the methods identified to get the message to home gardeners is through the garden centres they visit, so the certification program was developed.
Certified Sustainable Garden Centres contribute to the environment in a number of ways. They reduce their water and chemical use, look at ways to minimize their resource use; they don't sell weeds, and by their actions encourage home gardeners to garden sustainably.
The strength and appeal of the Sustainable Garden Centre certification is because it provides garden centres with staff training and an industry relevant package that addresses all environmental issues related to gardening. It promotes positive, easy to implement actions that customers and the business can undertake to make a difference. And SGA provides ongoing support to these garden centres to help create opportunities to inspire customers. Certified Sustainable Garden Centres are recognised as valuable environmental knowledge centres.
One SGA initiative that helps with this is the SGA chemical rating system, developed with the University of Melbourne, Burnley Campus. Low environmental impact horticultural chemicals are identified, and these are actively promoted by Certified Sustainable Garden Centres.
If the Federal funding wasn't enough cause for celebration, SGA also received funding from the Victorian Government's Sustainability Fund to develop a similar environmental certification program for professional gardeners.
'Development of the Professional Gardener Environmental Certification will complete our vision of a triangle of focus between home gardeners, garden centres, and professional gardeners, each supporting the growing number of our community who are concerned about the state of our environment,' says Trigger.
SGA will be working very closely with the Landscape Industries Association of Victoria and Royal Botanic Gardens in developing and trialing the certifications that will be specialised for designers, landscapers, maintenance operators and public gardens.
And it all couldn't have been timed better. SGA had just launched a revamped website and new and exciting nursery point of sale.
SGA also targets home gardeners through its interactive website, where visitors can participate in an online garden forum and take advantage of the growing number of practical information sheets that help them garden more sustainably.
SGA's home gardener email newsletter Cuttings is another vehicle used to promote sustainable garden practices and products. The newsletter is now sent to over 5,000 home gardener subscribers around Australia.
SGA has also conducted Green Gardeners Training Programs around Melbourne and Victoria since 2003. These free training programs are for nursery staff (compulsory for staff of nurseries progressing toward certification) and professional gardeners. Funded by the Victorian Government Our Water Our Future initiative, Melbourne Water and regional Catchment Management Authorities, more than 1,500 professional gardeners have completed the course.
Local councils have also played an enormous role in delivering the sustainable gardening message. SGA has been commissioned by a number of councils to produce sustainable gardening booklets for residents, which are proving a great success.
SGA is also an active member of the Nursery and Garden Industry Association of Victoria, with close links to the state group.
'We are heartened by NGIA's latest research,' says Mary Trigger. 'It states that nine out of ten people aged 25 years and over (an estimated 12.3 million people) find a sustainable, environmentally friendly garden to be the most desirable type of garden.'
'It echoes a dramatic shift in attitudes, which is supported by the growing popularity of SGA. We have people contacting us from all over Australia - gardeners and garden centres. They are really keen for us to expand our operations into their States too and often volunteer their time. What a fabulous groundswell of change.'