NAPLES, FL - Forming a new alliance rooted in sustainability, Lipman Family Farms announced it has partnered with Naples Botanical Garden, donating use of a five-acre greenhouse to be used as a horticultural production facility. The facility expansion will allow the Garden to venture into new restoration projects, community plantings, and conservation efforts that were previously not possible.
“While most people are focused on the ecological disasters that are ever-too-prevalent these days, the Garden is using everything in its power to make a difference,” said Lipman Director of Community Relations Jaime Weisinger, who is also a member of the Garden’s Board of Directors. “We felt it was important to combine our 60-plus years of local farming experience with the Garden’s research into sustainable landscapes and allow them to scale up through some of our facilities to help sustain Southwest Florida for generations.”
The Garden will optimize the state-of-the-art greenhouse to back up important collections, such as the National Plumeria Collection, and to trial a variety of plants, including finger limes, according to a press release. Through these efforts, Garden experts hope to influence Southwest Florida landscapes by studying and recommending trees, shrubs, ground covers, and other plants that can withstand rising temperatures, strengthening storms, and saltwater intrusion caused by climate change.
“The Garden aspires to provide nature-based solutions for our region’s environmental challenges, but we’ve been hampered by space constraints,” said Garden President and Chief Executive Officer Donna McGinnis. “Lipman Family Farms’ gift advances and accelerates our efforts, and the entire region will benefit as a result.”
Demonstrating its own commitment to sustainability, Lipman has donated the use of its greenhouse as a way to support the Garden’s proactive approach to environmental issues.
“Instead of just offering intelligence, now we can offer solid solutions by growing and providing regionally appropriate plants,” said Brian Galligan, the Garden’s Vice President of Horticulture. “This greenhouse gives us the potential to solve massive problems.”
In addition to Lipman’s gift, the company has also revealed the construction of the Garden’s Evenstad Horticulture Campus, which is expected to break ground during the first quarter 2022 and will enable horticultural and conservation research, specialized growing projects, and the expansion of the Garden’s botanical collections.
The two new cutting-edge facilities provide the Garden with the technology and growing capabilities to bolster its efforts to conserve plants and restore ecosystems while offering resources to the community.
ANUK promises to keep a close eye on this innovative partnership and other alliances forming across the produce industry, so stay tuned.
