The Venetian and The Palazzo Exterior Horticulture Department Wins Green Star Award
The exterior horticulture department at The Venetian and The Palazzo received a Green Star Award from the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS).
As featured on Sands Confidential | The offical blog of Las Veags Sands
The prestigious Green Star Award recognizes outstanding landscape design and construction. The PGMS is a nationally renowned leader within the landscape and grounds industry. The organization has been around since 1911 and is recognized as the leader in grounds management by publishing and promoting best practices guidelines for grounds managers.
Las Vegas Sands’ portfolio of properties consists of some of the most breathtaking buildings around the world, both in terms of architecture and horticulture. Not only do the horticulture teams at each LVS property have the huge task to beautify and maintain the grounds, they also strive to incorporate the Sands ECO360 global sustainability strategy in their daily responsibilities to help minimize impact on the environment. The program focuses on four pillars, including Green Buildings, Environmentally Responsible Operations, Green Meetings, and Stakeholder Engagement, which touch every single aspect of all LVS property operations.
At The Palazzo, a nanofiltration water system processes groundwater from around the property, passes it through a series of membrane filters and is stored in tanks for use. The system works in concert with the MaxiCom Irrigation system to not exceed the 60 gallons a minute production rate. This system is an example of how the property takes steps to reduce water consumption. At The Venetian, the horticulture team uses small tanks when applying chemicals, which helps them to mix only what is needed. By mixing the correct amount of chemicals to complete the task there is no waste to dispose of.
To win the Green Star Award, The Venetian and The Palazzo were required to provide numerous examples to the PGMS exemplifying work performed by the resorts’ horticulture departments. In addition to submitting photos and descriptions of sustainable practices, The Venetian and The Palazzo provided an outline of the grounds department mission statement, as well as a summary of the grounds program. Additionally, photos were provided illustrating examples of safety practices, crews at work, the overall beauty of a landscape project, and challenges and solutions faced in maintaining the site.
“The Horticulture team does an amazing job to maintain these two beautiful properties,” said Kent Bagnell, assistant director of floral & horticulture for The Venetian and The Palazzo. “It is a big responsibility to keep the properties looking their best at all times and this honor truly reflects the meticulous work the entire team does on a daily basis.”
