Dec 2, 2013

UNH Greenhouses Get Top Grade for SustainabilitySource: University of New Hampshire

The Macfarlane Greenhouse facility at the University of New Hampshire recently received the top grade for sustainability by an independent sustainability certification company.

The Milieu Project Sierteelt (MPS) Group of the Netherlands facilitates a greenhouse sustainability certification program that assesses energy, water, and fertilizer use; crop protection methods; and waste management in commercial — and now research and teaching — greenhouses.

The UNH facility, which received an A, is the first research and teaching greenhouse in the world to participate in this certification program.

In its review of the Macfarlane Greenhouses, MPS commended the UNH facility for its cleanliness, organization, and recycling practices in addition to recognizing its value in providing students with a venue for hands-on experience with industry-relevant research.

“This partnership with MPS strengthens the university’s leadership role in sustainability and sets the benchmark for responsible operations in agriculture and food research and teaching,” says Jon Wraith, dean of UNH’s College of Life Sciences and Agriculture and director of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES).

The certification also allows the Macfarlane Greenhouses to display the MPS logo, and the details of its sustainable practices will be available to growers and associations via MPS’s central database.

The Macfarlane Greenhouse facility is one of five facilities operated by the NHAES in COLSA. Wraith initiated UNH’s involvement with the MPS certification program after learning about it from alumnus Doug Cole, who owns D.S. Cole Growers in Loudon, N.H.