While most eyes will be on the courts at SW19 this fortnight, Wimbledon’s floral displays will also garner plenty of attention.
Wimbledon’s head gardener, Martyn Falconer, has now revealed some of the sustainability measures the prestigious All England Club is carrying out.
The green moves come as the All England Club looks to curb emissions and contribute to a “net gain” in wildlife in its operations by 2030. These include using only peat-free compost in its flower displays over the next two years as well as using homemade compost.
Speaking to media, Falconer said the club is already “completely peat-reduced”, with peat-free trials currently underway.
He said: “We have about 100 modules and about 24 baskets that are peat-free and we are just trialling it to get the feed in and everything right so that the displays are as good.”
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Peat compost is cultivated from peatland which contributes to carbon capture and storage and provides a habitat to some of the UK’s most threatened wildlife.
The gardener said the club also intends to use more of the food and drink that is left over during the competition for compost, in a novel initiative.
“We are doing quite a lot in the horticultural world,” he said.
“We take all the coffee grounds from the staff break out and put that into our compost.”
Guerilla ads slamming Barclays sponsorship of Wimbledon appeared close to the All England Lawn Tennis Club as this year’s Grand Slam tournament kicked off.
