How green will the royal wedding of Prince William and commoner Kate Middleton be? Because of the sheer size and grandeur of the event (1,900 guests will watch them exchange vows in Westminster Abbey on Friday), its carbon footprint will likely be huge. Still, the couple is taking steps to reduce its environmental impact.
This should hardly come as a surprise. The groom's father,Prince Charles, is an ardent environmentalist who has warned the United Nations of the dangers of climate change and set up The Prince's Rainforests Project to protect the world's rainforests. He received city permission last year to install 32 solar panels on the roof of his 180-year-old home in London, Clarence House, and owns luxury cars converted to run on biofuel. (His Aston-Martin reportedly runs on leftover wine.)
Like father, like son. Prince William proposed to Middleton on a safari reserve in Kenya and rather than accept a plethora of wedding gifts that could end up clogging landfills, the couple has set up a charitable gift fund to benefit 24 charities -- four of them environmental.
One of the groups is Earthwatch, an international non-profit group that supports scientific field research into rainforest ecology, wildlife conservation and marine science. Also on their list are three funds run up by the Zoological Society of London to help protect the endangered species of the black rhino, one-horned rhino, Sumatran tiger, Indian tiger, Amur tiger, African forest elephant and the Asian elephants.
The couple has picked an eco-friendly, London-based florist, Shane Connolly, to create the floral displays. Their official wedding site says they picked Connolly, because he uses seasonal, natural and organic flowers and trees that are growing rather than cut.
The displays in Westminster Abbey will feature flowers and plants grown in the United Kingdom, including blossoms, azaleas, rhododendron, euphorbias, beech, wisteria and lilac. They'll also include eight 20-feet tall trees -- six English Field Maple and two Hornbeam -- and all will be growing in planters.
After the wedding, the flowers and plants will be left in Westminster Abbey for the public to view until Friday, May 6th. Many will then be donated or planted at Highgrove Garden on the grounds of Prince Charles' residence in Gloucestershire. Over the past 30 years, Prince Charles has transformed the grounds into innovative gardens using organic and sustainable methods that attract 30,000 visitors each year. The proceeds from the garden tours go to the Prince's Charities Foundation.
This should hardly come as a surprise. The groom's father,Prince Charles, is an ardent environmentalist who has warned the United Nations of the dangers of climate change and set up The Prince's Rainforests Project to protect the world's rainforests. He received city permission last year to install 32 solar panels on the roof of his 180-year-old home in London, Clarence House, and owns luxury cars converted to run on biofuel. (His Aston-Martin reportedly runs on leftover wine.)
Like father, like son. Prince William proposed to Middleton on a safari reserve in Kenya and rather than accept a plethora of wedding gifts that could end up clogging landfills, the couple has set up a charitable gift fund to benefit 24 charities -- four of them environmental.
One of the groups is Earthwatch, an international non-profit group that supports scientific field research into rainforest ecology, wildlife conservation and marine science. Also on their list are three funds run up by the Zoological Society of London to help protect the endangered species of the black rhino, one-horned rhino, Sumatran tiger, Indian tiger, Amur tiger, African forest elephant and the Asian elephants.
The couple has picked an eco-friendly, London-based florist, Shane Connolly, to create the floral displays. Their official wedding site says they picked Connolly, because he uses seasonal, natural and organic flowers and trees that are growing rather than cut.
After the wedding, the flowers and plants will be left in Westminster Abbey for the public to view until Friday, May 6th. Many will then be donated or planted at Highgrove Garden on the grounds of Prince Charles' residence in Gloucestershire. Over the past 30 years, Prince Charles has transformed the grounds into innovative gardens using organic and sustainable methods that attract 30,000 visitors each year. The proceeds from the garden tours go to the Prince's Charities Foundation.
