Grower Ornamental




		2007 Grower of the Year - Ornamental


	The Grower of the Year Award recognises innovation and excellence in the supply of ornamental stock and that is fundamental to the future success of UK horticulture. As the representative of the majority of UK growers, the Horticulture Trades Association believes it is essential to support the celebration of achievement.


	At the start of the year Defra secretary of state David Milliband told a gathering of the UK’s most successful business leaders that ethical and environmental concerns are now core business. They are, in other words, not an alternative to making profit, but a route to it: “They are reshaping business strategy and operations, not just marketing and corporate donations,” he said.


		It is to the very great credit of Wyevale Nurseries that it should have begun its journey to sustainability no less than eight years ago with the key objective of “showing a thorough commitment towards operating and working in a manner which as far as reasonably practicable and possible, safeguards the local, national and global environment.”

	Since the initiation of this policy, each of the Wyevale group of companies has pursued an environmental strategy culminating in a series of successes, not least Wyevale Transplants’ receipt of the Pete Weston Memorial Award for the most outstanding contribution to the environment in the Horticulture Week Awards 2006.


	The leadership of the business has played a key role in driving forward environmentally prudent production processes, a factor which has helped to keep up the momentum, with each arm of the business continually working to improve its approach.


	Measures include the introduction of water recycling systems, peat reduction, use of biological predators and parasites, compost tea brewing, trials of pot toppers and surface mulch for weed control, better waste management, minimisation of fertilizer applications through Frankia micro-organisms inoculation of crops, production rotation to allow soil recovery, construction of rain and floodwater reservoirs, installation of trickle irrigation system and computer-controlled night irrigation and occupancy sensitive lighting controls.

	In summary, 2006 has seen Wyevale focus on improving customer satisfaction with a sound ethical approach. It has demonstrated that sound environmental awareness can be combined with financial success.