BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – (JULY 10, 2025) Brooklyn Botanic Garden, American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA), and Quiet Communities celebrated a significant milestone: AGZA Green Zone® Certification—the first botanic garden in New York State and the second in the nation to receive the certification. An AGZA Certified Green Zone is an area of land where routine landscape maintenance is performed using low-impact, battery-powered equipment instead of traditional gas-powered tools, which produce dirty exhaust, toxic waste, and noise pollution. The Garden celebrated this significant milestone with a special ceremony on Thursday, July 10th, that brought together green industry professionals, local municipal leaders, and elected officials.
From Left: Richard McCoy – AGZA Northeast Rep, Rowen Blaik – Vice President of Horticulture BBG, Dan Mabe – Founder & President AGZA, Adrian Benepe – President & CEO BBG, Jamie Banks – Founder & President Quiet Communities, Trish Glass – Executive Director Quiet Communities.The recognition marks the culmination of a multi-year effort by Brooklyn Botanic Garden to evaluate and reduce the environmental impact of its horticultural and maintenance operations. The Garden has systematically transitioned away from gas-powered landscaping equipment in favor of quieter, emissions-free tools that support a more sustainable and serene environment across its 52 acres and the surrounding neighborhood.
“Sustainability is at the forefront of our mission at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and now more than ever, we are committed to practices that help combat climate change and support our environment and community,” said Adrian Benepe, President of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. “We are honored to be recognized for this work and certified as a Level 1 AGZA Green Zone by AGZA and Quiet Communities. We hope to be a resource to botanic gardens, parks, and other organizations looking to move toward greener, cleaner, quieter operations.”
A ceremony was held at BBG to commemorate the AGZA Green Zone Certification. The electric equipment used to maintain the grounds was demoed.AGZA, in partnership with the nonprofit Quiet Communities, implements a nationwide certification program for parks, municipalities, institutions, and businesses. The program includes education, training, certification, and metrics reporting to ensure a lasting reduction in emissions and noise, with the goal of delivering financial savings as early as possible. Its four-level program starts with phasing out gas-powered handheld tools, followed by mowers and other large equipment used for routine maintenance, and culminates in adopting broader best practices for sustainable landscape care.
The celebration included operating gas equipment vs. some of the best battery electric tools on the market to compare sound level differences and zero-exhaust feature of battery electric technology. Big thank you to Brian Graga of STIHL and the BBG staff for helping with the demonstration.“This milestone demonstrates Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s leadership and vision in prioritizing both environmental and human health,” said Dan Mabe, Founder and President of AGZA. “They’ve shown that even large, complex landscapes can make this shift—and we congratulate them on this well-earned achievement. We hope their example will inspire other institutions across New York and beyond to pursue cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable maintenance practices.”
To achieve this certification, the Garden phased out gas-powered handheld tools and significantly reduced the use of gas-powered vehicles and equipment. This shift aligns with the Garden’s broader sustainability initiatives—including stormwater management in the Shelby White and Leon Levy Water Garden and the green roof atop the Diane H. and Joseph S. Steinberg Visitor Center—serving as a model for how urban institutions can make incremental, tangible improvements to foster environmental health for generations to come. “Brooklyn Botanic Garden is setting the bar for sustainable landscape management in urban environments,” said Jamie Banks, PhD, MSc, Founder and President of Quiet Communities. “By embracing quieter, cleaner equipment and committing to best practices, they’re protecting the health of their staff, visitors, and neighbors while reducing their carbon footprint. We’re proud to work with AGZA to support these meaningful changes.”
A big thank you to Keith Kerman (second from left), NYC Chief Fleet Officer, Deputy Commissioner, DCAS for supporting the project.About Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Founded in 1910, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is an urban botanic garden that connects people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and sense of stewardship of the environment. Situated on 52 acres in the heart of Brooklyn and open year-round, the Garden is home to over 10,000 kinds of plants and more than 30 specialty gardens. Learn more at bbg.org, follow @brooklynbotanic on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and BlueSky, and join the conversation using #BrooklynBotanicGarden.
About AGZA
The American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA) is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for communities, improving working conditions for operators, and promoting best practices within the landscape maintenance industry. This is achieved by promoting sustainable and low-impact strategies across a spectrum of public, private, and municipal organizations to reduce pollution and noise while verifying significant long-term cost savings. Learn more at agza.net
About Quiet Communities
Quiet Communities is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping communities reduce health and environmental harm from noise and pollution with evidence-based approaches and solutions. Its land care program focuses on transitioning the outdoor power equipment industry to low-impact alternatives, protecting public health, worker health, and environmental quality.
Congratulations to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden!
AGZA wants to acknowledge and thank the tool users at BBG who have been instrumental in the success of the Level 1 certification.
Principal CEO at Gardenland Power Equipment & Co-Founder and CEO of Towa Industries Inc.
Roger Phelps joined STIHL Inc. in 2001 and is currently the Corporate Communications Manager. In that position he is responsible for creating and telling the STIHL story through integrated event marketing, strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and digital and social media with the goal of increasing the visibility of and affinity for the STIHL brand and over 10,000 STIHL dealers. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy and served 10 years in the U.S. Navy attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He has serves on the National Association of Landscape Professionals Foundation Board of Directors, the National Association of State Park Directors Leadership School Board of Regents, and the Professional Grounds Management Society Board of Directors.
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