The Mustard Seed Garden Center
2011 Environmental Initiative Awards
The Mustard Seed Garden Center
In 2005, we purchased 27 acres of rolling farmland in Carver County where wanted to build a garden center that would become an example of excellent environmental stewardship. The land was sloped and had erosion issues from years of farming. Additionally, we needed to level the property in order to build our facility, which entailed cutting almost 20’ from the front of the property and using that soil to fill the rear of the property. In all, the excavator said he moved approximately 1 million cubic yards of soil!
Prior to building our facility, we sat down with a multitude of people to consider how we could be the most energy efficient in our operation, how we could minimize the environmental impact on our land, and the best ways to manage our water resources, including runoff.
In the Bible, the Parable of the Mustard Seed speaks of starting small and growing large So That we can provide shelter and protection for others. We want our business, God's Business, to be an example of how to provide for ourselves and others while at the same time taking good care of all that God has entrusted to us.
Our intent was to creat a great learning environment, a green learning environment, a learning environment cleverly disguised as a successful business...not for our glory, but for God's!!!
You can learn more about our mission, vision and business philosophy by visiting our web site at www.themustardseedinc.com
300 words left.
This entry has been selected as a winner in the
2011 Environmental Initiative Awards competition.
Contact Information
About You
First Name
Mark
Last Name
Halla
Organization
The Mustard Seed Landscaping & Garden Center
Project Contact (if different from yourself)
Project Contact First Name
Project Contact Last Name
Project Contact Organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
Your idea
Project Name
The Mustard Seed Garden Center
Date of Project Completion
2006 and ongoing
Category
Green Business and Environmental Management
Project Summary
In 2005, we purchased 27 acres of rolling farmland in Carver County where wanted to build a garden center that would become an example of excellent environmental stewardship. The land was sloped and had erosion issues from years of farming. Additionally, we needed to level the property in order to build our facility, which entailed cutting almost 20’ from the front of the property and using that soil to fill the rear of the property. In all, the excavator said he moved approximately 1 million cubic yards of soil!
Prior to building our facility, we sat down with a multitude of people to consider how we could be the most energy efficient in our operation, how we could minimize the environmental impact on our land, and the best ways to manage our water resources, including runoff.
In the Bible, the Parable of the Mustard Seed speaks of starting small and growing large So That we can provide shelter and protection for others. We want our business, God's Business, to be an example of how to provide for ourselves and others while at the same time taking good care of all that God has entrusted to us.
Our intent was to creat a great learning environment, a green learning environment, a learning environment cleverly disguised as a successful business...not for our glory, but for God's!!!
You can learn more about our mission, vision and business philosophy by visiting our web site at www.themustardseedinc.com
300 words left.
Website URL
Partners
Who were the project partners? What role did each play in the partnership, and how did the partnership operate?
Of course, we worked with a multitude of people and we couldn’t have achieved the same results without their help! We thank God for all of the following who partnered with us: Advanced Vinyl Fencing (provided fence around play area to create Wellness Learning Station), Anchor Block (donated permeable pavers), Beekeeper Valerie Lloyd (donated hives to produce organic honey and create Apiculture Learning Station), Blue Thumb (we partnered with them and give seminars at local home shows on Raingardens), Carver County Land Management (provided input and much help to create Raingarden swales and collection ponds), City of Carver (at no cost to us, they provided a 640’ deep well on our property as a test well for the City), ComposTumbler (we became a dealer for these tumblers and they provided 3 tumblers for use in our Composting Learning Station), Econar (provided Geosource Heat Pumps, and designed connection to in-floor heat, “de-super heater” and irrigation pond), GOD (He is our greatest partner and He provided and continues to provide the inspiration, the energy, the grace, and the ability to continue on—to Him be the glory for all He has done!), Grow.Eat.Share (children’s community garden), Hybels (they help us recycle all of our used pots), Kalio Engineering (created engineering prints for site grading, Raingarden swales, and irrigation/sediment control ponds), MVEC (Minnesota Valley Electric helped select the sizes of our well pump and irrigation pump so as to eliminate potential of draw down on the energy grid), Mueller and Sons Aggregate (provided collection gravel for runoff retention/absorption), Purple Pride Paving (installed asphalt pathways in shrub lot that function as water retention dams), Rainbow Play Systems (donated play systems for Wellness Learning Station), Renewable Energy SD (providing Polaris 39.9kW Turbine), Sand Creek Post and Beam (donated Donkey Barn for Animal Husbandry Learning Station), Stasney Mechanical (helped with energy calculations and design of heating/cooling system, installed Geosource Heatpumps and Wirsbo floor heat), Stasney Electric (provided and installed energy efficient lighting, off-peak electrical system and wired entire project), Structural Plastics (provided recycled plastic benching—we were so pleased we became a dealer!), Wellens Agronomics (provided erosion control during construction)
Innovation
How is the partnership and/or project goals, outcomes and process innovative or groundbreaking?
In many ways, God has blessed us with an opportunity of a lifetime! Having been in the landscape and garden center industry for over 20 years, we had learned many wrong ways of doing things, focused more on “profit” than on “best practices”. By leaving our old business and starting over from scratch, we were able to “brainstorm” with a blank slate of land and a lot of knowledge. Perhaps one of our best decisions was to assume that we didn’t have all of the answers and to ask others for input. We humbly invited input from customers, vendors, competitors, city officials, county employees and just about anyone who would share their thoughts. In doing so, we realized that the final decisions we made ended up being enormously better for us, for the environment, and for our community. We found that once we asked for input, we were surprised by how many people actually offered to partner with us to create a better result, offering resources and products at lower costs (or even free :-) just so they could be an active part of making a good thing better! I think what makes our project most unique and innovative is that we focused first on doing things responsibly, trying to build something from nothing in a fashion that we would be proud of when we looked back 20 years from now, and that we considered the initial cost as much less important than the long-term costs associated with doing things that were not environmentally responsible.
From an educational standpoint, we are unique because we are a “for profit” business that has partnered with many “non profit” groups to provide free education in a fun learning environment that children will remember. Our hands on approach to learning, incorporated within an active and successful business, provides an environment where children learn without even realizing they are being taught! We are also unique because we have shown that even a small little business without a lot of financial resources can make a big impact in our community.
The most important difference, though, the thing that sets us apart from most others, is that we are unashamed of our faith in Christ and we wanted to build a business founded upon bringing Him glory and honor, for He is the creator of all things and we are simply His stewards for our brief time here on earth!
Goals
Describe the project goals
Our goal, simply stated, was and is to become an excellent example of responsible stewardship of our natural resources! We have attempted to prove that being environmentally conscious eventually leads to greater success, that true success has much more to do with what we “give” than what we “get”, and that together, we can do much more than we ever could do alone! Although initial cost did indeed play a role in our decisions, the most heavily weighted factors had more to do with long term results rather than short term expense. In some cases, such as our Heat Pumps, we spent nearly $15,000 extra in order to gain the long term benefits to us and our environment. We wanted to build an attractive and functional business that would improve existing environmental conditions rather than degrade them. We intended to prove that with the right motives, it was possible to build a successful business AND be environmentally responsible at the same time! A major part of our grading plan was to “recover and cleanse” as much runoff as possible, changing the entire slope of the land so that we could collect runoff, use it for our irrigation, and reduce or eliminate any natural drainage from our site. We also attempted to build our garden center so that we would become a learning environment on environmental stewardship. One of our greatest struggles has been sorting out the balance between financial gain and generously giving of the resources we have become stewards of, our land, our money, our intellect, our time, etc… We have asked ourselves the question: “Which is more important, making money today to sustain US tomorrow, or breathing life into the next generation so that THEY can have better tomorrows?” We decided the answer is YES! We believe both can be accomplished!
Outcomes
What were the outcomes of the project (if completed)? What have been the outcomes so far, and what are the anticipated future outcomes (if ongoing)?
Over 95% of our runoff is channeled through a 600’ Raingarden before it enters the first of two sediment control ponds. We stocked the ponds with fish and water plants to create a balanced ecosystem.
Our irrigation system uses the water from the ponds. Our "shrub lot" is covered with pea gravel that allows water to replenish our aquifer rather than run off. In large rains, 100% of water runoff returns to the ponds to be stored and used later. By using pond water for irrigation, we are 100% efficient in water management and we gain by needing less fertilizer for our plant material.
Geosource Heat Pumps provide 100% of our heating and cooling. Water from the Heat Pumps is discharged into our ponds for irrigation. The extra heat generated by the compressors is used in our water heater.
We use high efficiency bulbs, off-peak energy from MVEC, we have a "ultra high efficiency" water heater; our building is constructed to far exceed minimum energy efficiency requirements, our greenhouses receive maximum solar gain while being placed to be sheltered from prevailing winds, and, right now, we our installing a 39.9kW 160’ tall Wind Turbine that will provide over 100% of our electric needs!
100% of our cardboard and used plastic pots are recycled, 100% of our organic waste is composted, and our remaining trash is sorted, recycled and/or burned to produce electricity by our garbage hauler. Even the display benches in our greenhouse are made from recycled plastic!
We have permeable pavers to show customers how they can allow water to soak into a patio rather than run off, and we have a water garden nestled up to our building that collects roof run off in a beautiful way!
We have free field trips with learning stations on Wellness, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Apiculture, Composting, and Renewable Energy! Annually, we anticipate over 1200 students will participate.
We have seminars with Blue Thumb, teaching the value of protecting our water resources so they will not only become cleaner today but remain safe and clean for generations to come!
We have partnered with Grow.Eat.Share. We created a community garden at our Garden Center where children learn the joys of gardening while at the same time being taught about living healthier lifestyles. They even use our kitchen to cook fresh vegetables for their lunch!
| 108 weeks ago The Mustard Seed Garden Center has been chosen as a finalist in 2011 Environmental Initiative Awards. | |
| 117 weeks ago Mark Halla updated this Competition Entry. | |
| 117 weeks ago Mark Halla updated this Competition Entry. | |
| 117 weeks ago Mark Halla submitted this idea. |
Us