Environmental standards for Gardens and Parks: Checklist
Bronze standards action checklist
Composting and waste
Standard
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
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Soil management
Standard
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
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
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Energy management
Standard
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
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Plants and plant use
Standard
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
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
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Silver standards action checklist
Composting and waste
Standard
Establish hot composting
Compost 75–80% of garden waste
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Soil management
Standard
Apply crop rotation ideas to areas of
seasonal crops
Work with a manufacturer on developing
peat-free mixes
Water management
Standard
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
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
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
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Pest management
Standard
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
Achieved
4
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Gold standards action checklist
Composting and waste
Standard
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
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Soil management
Standard
Adopt a biological approach to
managing your soil
Water management
Standard
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
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
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
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Plants and plant use continued
Standard
Review current plant collections and
develop plans for future climate change
predictions
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Achieved
What can we do to achieve all of these standards?
Pest management
Standard
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
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