In an increasingly eco-conscious world, sustainability is no longer just a buzzword – it’s a way of life. From nurturing soil health to promoting biodiversity, each step we take towards sustainable practices makes a tangible impact on the environment. Here at Weald & Downland, not only do we focus on cultivating sustainable gardening practices, but also learning from the methods of the past to better serve our planet and grow produce more authentically and traditionally.
Let’s look at some best practices for sustainability in the garden. We have our practices and processes, and you can pursue sustainability in your own gardens too!
Bees at the Museum: A Story of Pollination
Bees play a vital role in our ecosystem, serving as key pollinators for many of the plants we rely on for food and beauty. Here at the Museum, we have established a number of hives to protect bee populations, educate the public, mirror traditional gardening, and use to pollinate our own plants. We have three WBC hives (invented by William Broughton Carr in 1890). They are looked after by a small group of Volunteers and Staff who help to care for the Museum bees, with the support from Chichester Beekeepers. These bees, while collecting nectar from surrounding gardens, also demonstrate the delicate balance between urban environments and wildlife. Through the honey they produce, they also offer a unique opportunity for visitors to learn about the importance of biodiversity and sustainable beekeeping practices.
Flora & Fauna: Celebrating Biodiversity
Biodiversity isn’t just about having a variety of plants; it’s about creating ecosystems where both flora and fauna thrive together. Our sustainable gardens focus on growing native plants that attract beneficial insects, birds, and other wildlife. This fosters a natural balance that promotes healthy growth without the need for chemical interventions. We don’t use any chemical pesticides or fertilisers in our gardens. The presence of a thriving ecosystem also contributes to soil regeneration, water conservation, and air purification – an essential part of any sustainability effort. In the historic gardens you will discover floral mixtures amongst food crops including flowers of the vegetables and herbs themselves, which provide nectar to feed friendly insects in their adult stages, as well as being essential in aiding the seeding process. You will also notice that our historic gardens are not manicured and pristine; interestingly, that is something that we are all now being encouraged to do in our own gardens to increase biodiversity and support ecosystems.
Nursery Areas: The Beginning of Growth
Sustainability starts at the seedling stage, with nursery areas playing a crucial role in growing plants in the most eco-friendly way. By using organic methods and recycled materials, we can reduce waste and lower their carbon footprint. Choosing locally adapted species helps promote plant resilience, reducing the need for excessive watering or artificial fertilisers. We have recently developed a nursery area to enable us to propagate and store some plants on site for use in the historic gardens. This includes a small potting shed greenhouse, cold frames and grow-houses.
Seasonal Cut Flowers: The Beauty of Nature’s Cycles
Choosing seasonal cut flowers is one of the easiest ways to embrace sustainability in our everyday lives. Vases and arrangements of cut flowers have been brought into the house for centuries to decorate the home. In folklore, some varieties were used to protect the home from evil spirits and to bring luck. These were gathered as wild flowers or seasonally grown garden flowers prized by the cottage gardener. Today, many of the flowers brought into the home are imported, or grown in miles of heated glasshouses, using both fuel and energy to produce unseasonal blooms all year round, to be sold in the shops for very high prices. Seasonal home garden grown flowers, greenery and even vegetables can be used to give beautiful displays of colour and texture just as good as the commercially grown ones.
Seasonal flowers don’t require the intensive energy that goes into growing out-of-season blooms, nor do they need to be transported from faraway places, reducing their carbon footprint. By supporting local florists who grow flowers in season, we help reduce the environmental impact while enjoying the beauty of nature’s changing cycles. Sowing a patch of wild flowers to use will help to sustain the eco system, providing not just a wonderful display, but habitat and food for beneficial insects. Each season has something to offer, even winter with the evergreens, bright berries, seed heads and grasses.
Seed Saving: Preserving Tomorrow’s Harvest
Seed saving is an ancient practice that holds the key to future food security and biodiversity. By collecting and storing seeds from year to year, gardeners can grow crops that are adapted to local conditions, ensuring a more resilient and sustainable food system. This also encourages genetic diversity in plants, which can lead to stronger and more disease-resistant varieties. Here at the Museum, we gather and store seeds from heritage varieties grown in our historic gardens, many of which closely resemble the original varieties. We also source seed through heritage seed companies and the Heritage Seed Library.
Soil Health: The Foundation of Sustainability
Healthy soil is at the heart of any sustainable agricultural system. Rich in organic matter, well-maintained soil captures carbon, retains water, and supports plant growth—all while reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. Practices like composting, crop rotation, and minimal tilling are essential for maintaining soil health. Healthy soil is not just the foundation of agriculture but a crucial part of fighting climate change. ‘No-dig’ gardening is something that is very much talked about today and scientific evidence now shows that cultivating (digging) damages soil structure and the health of the soil. Undisturbed soil provides an increased availability of nutrients and minerals to plants through the action of soil-dwelling organisms, thus reducing the need for additional fertilisers.
No-dig helps to improve drainage through air pockets created by worm activity, preserve beneficial fungal networks and reduce the need for watering through ground cover. Adding a thick layer of organic matter such as compost or well-rotted organic manure also helps to retain moisture, suppress weeds, adds nutrients and protect the soil from leaching nutrients. Interestingly, many of the traditional methods we use in our historic gardens follow the principle of no-dig; such as green manures and living mulches – so we can very mulch learn from the past and apply that in modern day gardening.
Use of Produce: Closing the Loop
Finally, what better way to practice sustainability than to use what you grow? From herbs to vegetables, incorporating homegrown produce into our kitchens not only reduces food miles but also ensures fresher, healthier meals. Any surplus produce can be shared, preserved, or composted, further supporting a sustainable and zero-waste lifestyle. Produce and herbs are used in historical cooking demonstrations, some are used during courses and interpretation demonstrations, some kept for seed and some go to the deer, pigeons, rabbits, mice and voles.
We use coppice, resources and materials from our woods, fruit from our trees, vegetables and flowers from our gardens. We use hazel & brushwood from our traditionally managed woodland for fencing material, bean poles, pea sticks, plant supports and protection. Additional hazel is also sourced locally from West Dean woods nature reserve, a traditional coppiced woodland. The old material provides fuel for fires around the Museum, such as the Bakehouse oven. We pursue a truly circular system, from field to table and back again.
To the Future: Every Step Counts
Sustainability is not about perfection, but about progress. From the bees pollinating our plants to the soil supporting our crops, every action we take towards sustainability adds up. Whether you’re tending to your garden, making eco-friendly choices, or simply appreciating the beauty of local flora, each effort contributes to a healthier planet. Let’s all take steps, big or small, to cultivate a sustainable future for generations to come.
Here at Weald & Downland Living Museum, we endeavour to be as self-sustaining as possible, maintaining and practicing traditional gardening and farming techniques, using tools, materials and processes from the past. You can come see it for yourself! Come and visit our gardens, chat with our gardeners, volunteers and interpreters!