Environmental standards for Gardens and Parks: Checklist

Bronze standards action checklist

Composting and waste
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Create a cold composting area
Compost a minimum of 1m3 of garden waste at any time
Ensure composting facilities comply with Duty of Care legislation
Register exemptions with the Environment Agency
Carry out a risk assessment for every compost site
Try to record the quantity of waste composted
Ensure that hazardous waste containers are dealt with correctly
Carry out a waste audit to identify the main inorganic waste streams
Recycle inorganic waste
Soil management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Compost garden waste and apply as a soil conditioner/mulch
Adopt a minimal cultivation approach
Replace surface cultivation with mulching
Reduce use of fertilizers to only when absolutely necessary
Use organic soil conditioners/fertilizers where possible
Use green manures or equivalent to protect bare soil
Use peat-free growing media
Avoid using coir
Water management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Produce a simple drainage plan of the property
Put in place a plan to deal with water shortages
Ensure all staff have a good understanding of what water does when flowing across the soil surface
Reduce the need for irrigation through incorporation of organic matter
Improve irrigation efficiency
Plant in autumn rather than spring
Use drought-tolerant species where appropriate
Install water sub-meters and keep records of water use
Expose plants to cycles of soil moisture stress to increase their robustness
Mulch all areas of the garden to reduce water loss
Minimise and alleviate compaction
Do not irrigate lawns, unless using
harvested rainwater
Collect a minimum of 1000 litres of rainwater from roofs and hard surfaces
Energy management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Minimise equipment use
Run a switch-off campaign
Install sub-meters and monitor energy use
Complete a walk-round energy audit
Ensure gardeners’ buildings are effectively insulated
Choose the most energy-efficient design available for new greenhouses
Minimise energy loss from greenhouses
Ensure heating controls are effective in gardeners’ buildings
Use a wood-burning stove to heat garden buildings if you have a sustainable source of fuel available (and the building is suitable)
Restore/create meadows where appropriate to the Conservation Management Plan
Use the least harmful timber treatment available
Select energy-efficient models when purchasing new equipment
Use sustainable and local materials
Ensure all equipment is regularly serviced
Plants and plant use
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Revise the Conservation Management Plan to include a clause on adapting plant collections to climate change
When planning new areas, select plants well fitted to local conditions
Increase planting density
Leave herbaceous vegetation standing until late winter
Allow a degree of ‘going with what naturally happens’
Consider whether there is a need for a given input
Consider substituting areas requiring high energy inputs with alternative vegetation types
Pest management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Remove dead and diseased material
Never over-feed plants
Apply appropriate phytosanitary approaches to reduce future outbreaks of serious diseases
Maintain high standards of hygiene
Monitor plant health and pest problems
Minimise herbicide use
Use and dispose of all pesticides correctly
Use companion planting
Use ground cover planting to suppress weeds
Evaluate alternatives to pesticides as part of ongoing husbandry

Silver standards action checklist

Composting and waste
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Establish hot composting
Compost 75–80% of garden waste
Soil management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Apply crop rotation ideas to areas of seasonal crops
Work with a manufacturer on developing peat-free mixes
Water management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Group plants into similar water-requiring areas of the garden
Install large scale rainwater collection systems
Treat collected water appropriately for the intended use
Maximise irrigation efficiency
Optimise the garden’s natural water resources
Energy management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Trial bio-diesel for appropriate machinery
Ask your local Aspen dealer if you can trial Aspen
For every 3 quotes for a fixed asset bid, aim for one to be for an electric model
Increase the use of rechargeable machinery
Use traditional/low-energy mowing techniques
Improve the energy-efficiency of greenhouses
Maximise use of passive solar heating for greenhouses
Replace oil heating systems with renewable energy
Plants and plant use
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Work on strategic relocation of taxa that can no longer exist in garden’s current ecology
Celebrate wildlife benefit of traditional gardens/gardening
Divide the garden into management units varying from intensive to extensive
Employ a diversity of management approaches
Reduce practices that maximise plant growth rates
Develop future plantings around species that look attractive when subject to soil moisture stress
Pest management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Establish threshold levels of pests and diseases
Take a biological overview of your garden
Introduce general biological control agents
Ensure you have the correct licences for use of biological control agents
Use a full IPM system in greenhouses
Only use chemical controls compatible with the biological controls being employed

Gold standards action checklist

Composting and waste
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Carry out a risk assessment for every compost site
Provide interpretation for composting areas
Chip/shred wood waste for composting
Inspire and engage people in the benefits of composting
Compost 100% of garden waste
Compost 100% of catering waste
Become waste neutral in the garden
Soil management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Adopt a biological approach to managing your soil
Water management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Recycle greywater
Use existing historic water systems
Become mains free in the garden
Use a low water approach to engage visitors
Create a linked sequence of flood control systems
Reduce the quantity of run-off (source control)
Use swales to collect and move stormwater run-off
Provide passive treatment to surface water
Maximise irrigation efficiency in the nursery
Work with surrounding land owners to protect the wider catchment
Develop a flood management plan for the garden
Energy management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Always discuss renewable options when replacing heating systems for glasshouses and gardeners’ facilities
Use meter displays to engage visitors
Use a renewable energy source for irrigation pumps
Use planting to reduce energy use in buildings
Promote local and seasonal food
Plants and plant use
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Apply the principles of water stress management to plant collections to minimise water use
Maximise the range of soil moisture regimes for biodiversity
Where possible, develop in-house propagation
Consider sourcing ‘native plant stock’ from European populations
Plants and plant use continued
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Review current plant collections and develop plans for future climate change predictions
Pest management
Standard / Achieved / What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Take a proactive approach to pest control, using monitoring to predict and prevent pest outbreaks
Undertake training and certification to run a successful IPM programme
Arrange for a BASIS qualified adviser to give advice on an IPM programme
Use only organically approved chemical controls where possible

3