Greenhouse Happenings: Wild Interiors Plants and Sustainability

Since we had so much fun celebrating Earth Day last week, let’s keep the Earth-friendly vibes going and talk about our year-round efforts to sustainably operate the Wild Interiors greenhouses. Plants are so important to the environment, so at Wild Interiors, we want to make sure that the way we grow our plants is responsible and sustainable to the environment. 

Wild Interiors has worked to become an industry leader in environmentally sustainable greenhouse practices. Over the last five years, we have been independently certified by MPS, a sustainability certifier in the horticulture industry that tracks on the basis of usage and output in the areas of energy, water, and waste. Having this certification is important to make quality and sustainability transparent, measurable and verifiable. For the past two years, the greenhouses where Wild Interiors plants are grown have consistently received “A” ratings, which are among the highest possible!

Our Plants and Sustainability

Heating 

Our greenhouses are heated exclusively by wood-fueled furnaces. This means that all of our “fuel” comes from local tree clearing services and wooden pallet disposal. With the use of wood boilers as our heating source, we have been able to reduce the amount of emissions produced by natural gas and oil fuel by 90%! The use of high-efficiency energy curtains, radiant heat, and high-efficiency lights throughout our facility has helped reduce our fuel energy consumption by 50%.

Watering

When you have 100 acres of indoor growing space, there are A LOT of plants to keep happy and hydrated. Retention ponds and holding tanks surrounding our facilities collect and filter rainwater in a 100% sustainable irrigation system for all of our plants. These ponds collect about 1.5 million gallons for every one inch of rainfall! The water supply at Wild Interiors is not only 100% sustainable but also completely self-contained. After rainwater is collected and distributed for watering plants, it is returned back to holding tanks where it can be filtered and reused. This ensures that significant amounts of wastewater do not enter the local water supply and negatively affect natural habitat. Learn more about our greenhouse watering methods here.

A Commitment for the Future

To continue our tradition with plants and sustainability and to improve on greatness, Wild Interiors has started a Sustainability Committee. The purpose of this committee is to build on the company’s history of commitment to sustainability and to introduce plans to help build a future that is more environmentally sound and compliant with regional, national, and global climate change initiatives. “We will strive to continue to be an industry leader in every possible way, aligning us with our mission, vision, and strategy to continue the legacy of running a sustainable company for future generations”, says grower and head of the Sustainability Committee, Brad Melzer.