Big changes start with small steps – individuals, families, businesses and governments can all make a difference in improving our planet’s potential to provide for generations to come.

At the U.S. Botanic Garden, we know that plants are essential to the balance and stability of nature that supports life on earth. They are the ultimate source of the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat, and they provide the raw materials for shelter, clothing, medicines, fuels and countless other products on which humans depend.

Landscapes have enormous potential to do environmental good and counter environmental damage. A sustainable landscape can clean the air and water, increase energy efficiency, restore habitats and ultimately ‘give back’ natural benefits essential to human and ecological health.

Practicing conservation and sustainability protects our natural resources, improves our quality of life and ensures the health of our communities and the environment.

The U.S. Botanic Garden weaves sustainability into everything it does.