Beacher Kalynn Crump’s ReBloom Flowers helps spread joy and protect the environment

By AHMED DIRIE

Kalynn Crump combines her passion for flowers and protecting the environment at ReBloom Flowers to spread some joy across Canada tor more than 3,000 charitable partners and  organizations.

Crump, originally from Calgary before moving to the Beach, has always had a deep love for flowers and a green thumb to the point that her mother once described her Toronto apartment as a funeral parlour because of the amount of flowers she kept.

“I couldn’t stand to see them being thrown out after a brand launch events,” said Crump, who owns and operates her PR firm, Top Shelf PR. “It’s a responsibility when you get flowers, it really is. Mother Nature has blessed us with these beautiful blooms. Why do you just let them sit in a vase for a week?”

Crump’s role at Top Shelf not only provided her access to a large quantity of flowers before and after events, it gave her a front row seat to just how many of those flowers go to waste.

“I just couldn’t handle it,” said Crump. “Dumpster bins would be full.”

What’s worse is that much of those florals would end up in landfills instead of being composted which is much better for the environment, said Crump.

To combat the impact on the environment, as well as get those flowers to people that would enjoy and appreciate them, Crump founded ReBloom Flowers in Calgary in 2014 donating repurposed flowers to local charities.

Since then, ReBloom has expanded to Toronto, diverted more than 50 tons of floral waste from landfills, and have partnered up with some 3,000 charitable organizations such as The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, eye cancer care centres, women’s and family shelters, hospices, hospitals and more.

Along with spreading joy and feelings of togetherness, and that tactile sense of touching nature, another of ReBloom’s core tenets is being environmentally conscious.

The environmental priority is manifested in a number of ways.

It is shown by ReBloom’s desire to, and success in, diverting florals from landfills, and in their policy to not ship their flowers over long distances, such as between their centres in Calgary and Toronto. It wouldn’t make much sense to undo all the good ReBloom does in eliminating floral waste by increasing emissions and having their flowers shipped across the country, said Crump.

Thankfully there’s an easy fix, she said. “Pick a charity that speaks to your heart in the city that you’re in and we’ll do our best to bring it there,” said Crump.

ReBloom’s environmentally conscious practices don’t stop there. Once their repurposed flowers are delivered and spread all the joy their petals can muster, ReBloom will return with compost bags to collect those flowers.

“We create soil from the used flowers,” said Crump. “Then we donate that back to the community garden so it just completes the lifecycle of the flowers essentially.”

As well as sending flowers to ReBloom, there are other ways to aid the environment when it comes to your flowers and a lot of that starts with awareness according to Crump.

Most importantly, flowers can, and should, be put in compost. That will go a long way to keeping them out of landfills. Another is to be conscious of “hot spot” occasions for flowers such as Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, as well as big events like weddings. Having a plan to care for, and safely dispose of, these flowers should be a key factor when acquiring them, she said.

In addition, purchasing flowers that are in season and those that are less environmentally taxing to cultivate is important according to Crump.

“Lilies,” said Crump. “You can’t go wrong with lilies!”

And for Beaches residents, ReBloom Flowers has a wide array of workshops, including their popular flower arranging and wreath making workshops.

To learn more about the workshops, contact Crump and ReBloom Flowers or to book them for an event please visit https://www.rebloomflowers.ca/

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