News Release from EPA - Restore Forest Ecosystems

Contact: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / heron.donna@epa.gov

EPA Celebrates 20^th Year as Exhibitor in the Philadelphia Flower Show with Best of Show Award in the Non-Academic Education Category

EPA's 2012 Exhibit Demonstrates how to Restore Forest Ecosystems and Manage Pests Naturally

PHILADELPHIA (March 8, 2012) –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2012 exhibit entitled "Palekaiko Nalowale" (Paradise Lost) demonstrates the importance of wetlands and how water provides the basic building block of life as it flows from a cascading brook and emerges from the forest to form a bog wetland.

Bogs are wet, spongy areas and visitors to the exhibit will learn about their important ecological function in preventing downstream flooding. Visitors will also be inspired by splashes of color and textures of pitcher plants, blueberries, larch and a host of other species that grow naturally on bogs, while dogwood, rhododendron, azalea and other native woodland plants form a buffer for the aquatic system.

"We want to show people that it's possible to have a beautiful garden without a lot of fuss, and also have it do good for the environment. We hope people will come to our exhibit and find out how," said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin.

This is the 20^th year that EPA has been bringing its message of beneficial landscaping to the Philadelphia Flower Show. That first show in 1992 was a simple table with employee volunteers handing out literature. Somewhere along the way, the agency decided to bring the literature to life, creating exhibits that feature wetlands, natural pest control and the importance of native plants. This year EPA was honored with its fourth Best of Show in the non-academic educational category.

For more information on EPA's Philadelphia Flower Show exhibit and green landscaping, go to: http://www.epa.gov/reg3esd1/garden/flower_show.htm.

For EPA's blog post, go to: http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2012/02/29/rediscovering-paradise-lost-in-your-backyard/.

For EPA's podcast, go to: http://www.epa.gov/region03/multimedia/playercontents/audio/FlowerShow20122.html.