Northumberland self catering barn conversion, England
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
The farm is in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme which enables farmers to care for the land in a sensitive way. We have recently planted a wood of small seeded native trees which will provide an ideal habitat for the red squirrels. We support local conservation projects such as Save Our Squirrel and have feeding stations for the squirrels. We aim to raise public awareness of the plight of the red squirrel.
We use energy efficient fridges, freezers, washing machines and light bulbs and turn off lights and appliances when not in use. We harvest rainwater to flush the dual flush toilets. We encourage our guests to support local transport & have a towel agreement - whereby you choose when you would like clean towels. We use eco cleaning products such as ecover in the property. We encourage wildlife in our garden by leaving an area of the garden uncut to encourage wild flowers. We compost some of our food and garden waste and feed all our food waste to the dogs. We recycle glass, plastic and paper and have facilities for our guests to recycle their waste too.
Community
We employ all local staff. We buy local produce from the nearby farmshop and use a local butcher. We support the charity Mercy Trucks and tell our guests about them. It is a charity which links resources to needs. They see the world as one big family; and when one part of the family is hurting the rest of the family come to help. The Charity is linked with Youth With A Mission. The Charity for example built relief shelters after the tsunami struck Sri Lanka.
