August 17, 2012
Flower Trade Threatens Palm Species Thinking your Palm Sunday bouquet or Mother’s Day present is a friendly and sustainable gesture? Maybe not. Thanks to the longevity of one South American palm’s leaves, overharvesting is threatening to wipe it off the map. And that’s in spite of efforts to help local farmers cultivate the plant. The xate (pronounced “shatay”) palm’s fish-tail fronds are popular during the aforementioned holidays, and moreso because of their ability to stay green up to 40 days after cutting. But the fact that they’re being harvested from wild trees is stunting the survival rate of xate populations. Even farm cultivation instruction from outside organizations hasn’t done enough to curb the destruction. So the next time you hit the florist’s in search of that last-minute Mother’s Day arrangement, think twice about what you’re putting on your credit card. —MN

Flower Trade Threatens Palm Species

Thinking your Palm Sunday bouquet or Mother’s Day present is a friendly and sustainable gesture? Maybe not. Thanks to the longevity of one South American palm’s leaves, overharvesting is threatening to wipe it off the map. And that’s in spite of efforts to help local farmers cultivate the plant.

The xate (pronounced “shatay”) palm’s fish-tail fronds are popular during the aforementioned holidays, and moreso because of their ability to stay green up to 40 days after cutting. But the fact that they’re being harvested from wild trees is stunting the survival rate of xate populations. Even farm cultivation instruction from outside organizations hasn’t done enough to curb the destruction.

So the next time you hit the florist’s in search of that last-minute Mother’s Day arrangement, think twice about what you’re putting on your credit card. —MN

4:28pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZV1L5yRckHmq
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(Notes: 30)
  
Filed under: palm xate sustainability environment 
June 5, 2012
This is a really interesting interview with Elizabeth Meltz, the Director of Food Safety and Sustainability at Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group, and a frequent visitor to the Garden as part of our partnership with Mario Batali on Edible Garden.

This is a really interesting interview with Elizabeth Meltz, the Director of Food Safety and Sustainability at Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group, and a frequent visitor to the Garden as part of our partnership with Mario Batali on Edible Garden.

12:00pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZV1L5yMoq4Vz
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(Notes: 7)
  
Filed under: Edible Garden Mario Batali Sustainability The New York Botanical Garden 
July 28, 2011
We learned about this project, Change By Us NYC, last night at a culture/tech/arts meetup in Manhattan. We were really impressed by the design firm behind it, Local Projects, but what impressed us even more is that the city is handing out grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 each for individuals and groups to put their ideas for a better city into practice! Talk about using technology to promote democracy! What would you do with a $500 grant to green your neighborhood? Apply for one of these grants, and maybe, just maybe you’ll be able to put your idea into practice!

We learned about this project, Change By Us NYC, last night at a culture/tech/arts meetup in Manhattan. We were really impressed by the design firm behind it, Local Projects, but what impressed us even more is that the city is handing out grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 each for individuals and groups to put their ideas for a better city into practice!

Talk about using technology to promote democracy!

What would you do with a $500 grant to green your neighborhood? Apply for one of these grants, and maybe, just maybe you’ll be able to put your idea into practice!

12:10pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZV1L5y7dEUs7
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(Notes: 17)
  
Filed under: New York City Sustainability The Green City Change By Us NYC Technology 
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