News from the EarthWays Center

The Missouri Botanical Garden's Sustainability division continues to make a widespread impact through community education, volunteer work, and both built environment and natural environment efforts. These are just a FEW:

• Green Living Festival Pop-Up Series welcomed a total of 20,776 guests across all five sites.
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• Garden meetings and events returned to prioritizing the use of compostable service ware, including the request for food vendors at public events, and the active collection of food waste at events after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.  
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• The Garden averaged 87% waste diversion in 2022 by collection of single stream recycling and food waste composting via the Zero Waste Ambassador program. 
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• The Garden provided Zero Waste Ambassador tents and volunteers at six popular annual public events educating and servicing approximately 68,404 guests on the merits of sustainable dining practices.
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• 9.4 tons of food waste and compostable service ware was collected at the three largest annual spring, summer, and fall Garden events: Chinese Culture Days, Japanese Festival, and Best of Missouri Market.
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• While 4.2 tons of single stream recycling was collected at the three largest annual Garden events: Chinese Culture Days, Japanese Festival, and Best of Missouri Market. 

• Outdoor Youth Corps participants worked 295.5 paid hours between the summer, spring, fall, alternative spring break, and college and career week programs.
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• Volunteers contributed 749 hours of service in 2022, serving as interns, helping to support the Green Living Festival, and serving as Zero Waste Ambassadors at major events. Zero Waste Ambassadors alone contributed 422.5 hours at six events. The value of volunteer service totaled to be $22,418.

• 3,484 students in 62 classes engaged in programs related to waste reduction, recycling, composting, and clean water.
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• 178 educators attended professional development opportunities covering topics such as energy efficiency, waste reduction, clean water, and climate change.
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• Green Resources Info Service educated 4,482 participants through talks, customized consultations and public event outreach.
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• 2022 Sustainability Enews editions were opened a total of 10,144 times.

• Deer Creek Watershed Alliance (DCWA) Rainscaping Cost-Share participants installed 20 projects including 7 rain gardens, 14 lawn alternatives, 4 woodland restorations and 1 permeable pavement patio in 2022.
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• MSD Rainscaping Small Grant Program participants installed 54 projects including 15 rain gardens, 10 permeable paver patios, 10 rain barrels, 41 lawn alternatives in 2022. 
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• St. Louis Green Business Challenge completed a 13th year of work across our regional business sector, with 50 participants in Challenge Class of 2022. 

(permeable pavement installation process)