Our Commitment to Sustainability
Flower School NY is proudly committed to sustainability, turning over a new leaf with a renewed focus on eco-friendly practices with Filco Carting, a leading recycling company.
“Here at Flower School NY, we firmly believe that sustainability is essential to our mission of educating people about the beauty and importance of flowers,” said Calvert Crary, Founder and CEO of Flower School NY. “We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and encouraging others to do the same.”
Flower School NY actively reduces its environmental impact by composting all of its green waste, including flowers, leaves, and food scraps. The compost is then sent to McEnroe Organic Farm in Millertown, NY, where it is used to grow nutritious foods.
FlowerSchool Sustainable Practices
Composting
With so much green waste in the floristry business, it is essential that FlowerSchool separates our plant matter for composting. Not only does this bring down the amount of garbage going to landfills, but it enables our green waste to be recycled into mulch for our city’s green spaces, as well as converted into clean energy. To learn more about NYC recycling and composting opportunities CLICK HERE. For information on how NYC is turning food waste into compost and gas, read this New York Times article.
FlowerSchool is proud that all green waste for the school is composted and sent to McEnroe Organic Farm in Millertown, NY diverting waste from landfills and converting into nutritious compost and soil.
Hydration Techniques
Learning how to properly hydrate your flowers leads to longer lasting blooms, which is good for your clients as well as your inventory! Our floral processing and conditioning techniques yields healthy, gorgeous blooms and help us decrease the frequency of our floral orders.
Environmentally Friendly Techniques
There are many different approaches to the diverse applications of floral design. At FlowerSchool, it is our mission to teach the best production practices, which includes sustainable and environmentally friendly techniques to lead the newest generation of florists in a globally-conscious mindset.
Sourcing From Fair Trade and Sustainable Wholesalers/ Farms
Knowing where and how your flowers are grown is essential for maintaining a sustainable flower practice. Whenever possible, FlowerSchool NY sources flowers from local farmers and growers. We import fair trade flowers when needed from the farmers and growers that we know and trust.
Image: Tiny Hearts Farm
Resources
Filco Carting - Waste Management
Flower School NY recycles all of its plastics, cardboard, and floral waste with Filco Carting, a leading sustainable waste management company. Filco Carting collects and recycles its waste, then diverting it from landfills and reducing its environmental impact.
Filco Carting, based in Brooklyn, NY, operates a 40,000 square-foot facility that handles recyclable materials, including glass, cardboard, plastic, and wood. With eighty percent of their waste stream going to waste-to-energy facilities, they’re committed to sustainability. The company is renowned for effectively collecting and repurposing food scraps and organic materials to benefit the environment.
Local Growers
- Tiny Hearts Farm – Organically grown flowers in the Hudson Valley
- Parkerhouse Flowers
- Hautau and Son – Large Selection of local products from anemones to dahlias
- Battenfelds – World’s leading grower of anemones
- Rock Steady Farm & Flowers – Over 200 varieties of annual and perennial cut flowers and foliage, available April through October
- White Flower Farm