Caring for the Environment
Let’s face it, farming on a commercial level has an impact on the environment. The nature of the business requires professional farmers to plant unnatural and concentrated quantities of produce on specific locations – this obviously is not the way Mother Nature intended it to be. And if one is not mindful, this can excessively damage our natural resources. In the fight to balance commerce and conserve natural resources, one cannot simply stand still - one has to move forward.
At Island Rose, we believe there is a way to service the needs of our clients while having lower impact to our environment. Allow us to take you through the steps we are taking to protect our environment.
1. Increased Productivity – Did you know that Island Rose produces millions of stems on only two hectares of land? We believe that to take care of nature, we should touch as little of it as possible. We are one of the smallest major farms in the country yet we have one of the highest outputs. This gives the ability to service our customers without using large areas of land that can be used for other productive means. The smaller your footprint, the better it is for Mother Nature.
2. Efficient Plant Care - In traditional watering and feeding practices, plants are fed manually a few times a day in moderate quantities by hand, sprayers or sprinklers. Since, plants do not eat in large quantities, some food and water gets wasted and seeps back into the ground. In addition to this, some water and food are accidentally sprayed where plant roots cannot reach wasting even more valuable resources.
At Island Rose, our water and plant food are electronically injected directly to the roots so that we use the right amount every time. We feed our plants in very small quantities throughout the day to ensure that each precious drop is consumed and not wasted or left to pollute the ground.
3. Build to Last - In our 25 years of existence, we’ve done it all. We found that it certainly seems easier and cheaper to build temporary structures. But when they break, you have to replace them again, and again, and again. This is just not the way to go. Not only do you keep using up natures resources, it also harms productivity.
For long-term sustainability, we use all steel structures that can literally last a lifetime (or more) having no need to touch nature for many years to come. And if the time does come, galvanized steel is one of the most recyclable materials on the planet saving even more precious resources.
4. Efficient Pest Control – The best way to get rid of the use of harmful pesticide is to have as little pests as possible. We use greenhouses that can totally enclose our crops therefore preventing unwanted worms and insects from harming our plants. Compared to open farms, we have little need to kill worms and insects; they thrive in a lush green environment outside our greenhouses keeping the balance of nature in our surroundings but outside our crop producing area.
5. Recycling Activities – We use rain catching water tanks that are not only meant to catch and filter water, but also to store it so that we can re use it. Our harvest rejects are recycled and injected back into the soil as compost.
6. Moving to Paperless Systems – We have made a conscious effort to run our offices electronically saving thousands in paper, ink and other office supplies. We have gotten rid of most paper based office memos, communication and accounting records. We don’t even have paper based newspapers and periodicals anymore. We use the Internet and software to save on precious natural resources.
7. Environmental Friendly Planting Activities - We spend a great deal of our time caring for other plants that we do not harvest or sell. Some have anti pest values, some act us windbreakers, some bear fruit, some have medicinal values, and some simply beautify our surroundings. Nevertheless growing plants and trees is a great way to care for the environment.
Environmental friendliness is not about rhetoric, its about making intelligent and concrete investments for the long term - taking risks so that our children, the planet earth, and our company will have a brighter future. It is certainly the longer more difficult road. But to us, this is the only way to ensure a perfect balance of nature and commerce.