We make every effort to conserve energy, water, and other resources in our buildings and operations.
- Our Nevin Welcome Center was awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for its energy efficiency, use of local, recycled, and durable materials, use of natural light and air circulation, and more. Learn more.
- One solar powered 300 gallon rain water harvesting tank was installed at our Plant Production Facility to capture and use rainwater.
- Our horticulturalists use mini-trucks to transport tools and materials instead of larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles.
- We utilize naturally rot resistant, non-native black locust for most of our trails’ physical infrastructure.
- We create our own compost with our herbaceous green waste and mulch using leaves from nearby neighborhoods, wood chips from our operations and campus grounds.
- We use 100% recycled materials for all of our printing materials.
- We utilize timers, low-flow nozzles, and drip irrigation to minimize water use.
- We minimize mowing open fields by limiting the mowing regime to once or twice per year.
- We reuse materials when possible for fencing, trail surfacing materials, plastic sleeves, bolts, pots, rocks, etc.
- We use in-line water coolers at our buildings. These coolers are tied directly into and filter tap water thus do not take water from other sources and reduce emissions from having water transported.
Practice Integrated Pest Management
Minimize the use of chemical pesticides.
Sustainability at Home
Tips for gardening sustainably and where they are showcased at Cornell Botanic Gardens.
Green Building and Infrastructure
We employ green infrastructure—a practice of integrating natural systems into the built environment.