Cannabis cultivation business improves sustainability

SOUTH PORTLAND, ME – High Tide Organic Cannabis in South Portland is working hard to improve the environment.

Skip Sullivan is the co-founder of High Tide Organic. In 2017, he started a much smaller farming operation from scratch.

In March 2020, he began building his now growing business in South Portland.

“We wanted to build sustainability into the DNA of the business from the very beginning and as we grew,” Sullivan said.

One of the downsides of the cannabis industry is its generally larger carbon footprint, Skip said. He’s focused on using the company’s water resources more wisely.

“We designed an irrigation system that both reduces water usage at the front end and recycles that water for reuse by the plants,” Sullivan said.

He was able to do this by harnessing the plants’ natural abilities.

“At this scale, you don’t have to water the whole room, and the irrigation system gives the plants what they need when they need it, rather than using hundreds of gallons of water at a time. They [plants] Essentially sipping,” Sullivan said.

His efforts to create environmentally friendly services are getting attention. South Portland honors HighTide Organic with the 2022 Urban Sustainability Award.

“Skip is a very smart guy who knows a lot about a lot of different things. He’s really researched and done a great job implementing these sustainable practices,” said Bill Mann, director of economic development for South Portland,

“Approximately 70% of the water we put into our beds is returned via air. Our highest water bill since we started operations was $87 and we are proud to keep our water and resource consumption so low,” Sullivan said.

The irrigation system is one of the many organic practices implemented by Skip.

He didn’t stop there, he hopes to install a solar roof in the near future to reduce electricity costs.

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