Paignton Zoo Wins a Top National Horticulture Award

By Philip Knowling

Paignton, UK - Paignton Zoo has won a top national horticulture award.

The Institute of Horticulture has awarded the Norah Stucken Award 2011 to Paignton Zoo’s innovative high density vertical crop-growing system.

Paignton Zoo’s Verti-Crop is the first public working prototype of its kind in the world. It is designed to produce sustainable food using fewer resources such as water and land and to reduce carbon footprints and food miles.

The Norah Stucken Award is for outstanding projects which have made a significant impact on horticulture. It is given to amenity or conservation projects, the development of a new crop, a major book or a series of research papers. Nominations have to be supported by five Institute Fellows or Members. The Zoo was nominated for the award by the South West Branch of the Institute of Horticulture.

The Zoo’s Curator of Plants and Gardens Kevin Frediani said: “This is a great honour – for a horticulturalist it is like winning a Grammy!”

Iain Park, from the University of Exeter, who is the Institute of Horticulture South West Branch Chair, said: “The South West Branch of the Institute of Horticulture is delighted that Paignton Zoo's innovation has been nationally recognised. We are so pleased, as professional horticulturalists, that the Zoo promotes the value of horticulture and food production to a public audience, helping us raise the profile of our industry.”

Kevin: “VertiCrop is designed to grow crops where they are needed – in towns and cities. It uses automatic irrigation and hydroponic technology, meaning it grows plants without soil, so it doesn’t need good agricultural land which can be used to grow staple crops instead. Growing crops vertically also reduces the area of land needed and by growing food near to where it is consumed there are no food miles attached.

“Our little prototype grows 11,000 plants in 100 square meters of floor space using a conveyor driven stacked growing system. Lettuce and salad mixes grow well in it. This helps us feed fresh, home-grown food to our animals, but the human potential is enormous – in the future, every school, hospital and housing estate in every town and city could grow their own vegetables.”

Kevin will receive a plaque at the Institute of Horticulture’s AGM on 8th October at Chelsea Physic Garden, London.

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is a registered charity. For more information go to www.paigntonzoo.org.uk or ring 0844 474 2222.

To view Paignton Zoo's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-783-Paignton_Zoo_Environmental_Park