Loch Ness guest house, Scotland
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
All our sausages, bacon, black pudding and Haggis for guests breakfasts, as well as our own meat comes from a local butchers. All our eco cleaning products and many other products (such as cereals, bread flour, toilet paper, wild bird seed, etc. come from a local store. We use local services such as builders for the maintenance of the property. Recent electrical work was carried out by someone from the next village who runs an environmentally friendly service (fitting low energy products and given help and advice on other green energy options).
We recycle as much of our waste as possible. Glass, card, paper, tin and aluminium goes to the local recycling centre, kitchen waste is either composted and used in the garden, or is fed to our hens. We even shred much of our paper as possible which can then be used for bedding for the hens and ultimately ends up on the compost heap. We closely monitor our energy usage. We can then take steps to reduce, such as low energy light-bulbs and A-rated kitchen appliances, and check on our effectiveness as well as investigate issues. We try to encourage local wildlife through bird feeders, nest boxes, insect homes and a wildlife friendly pond. We are currently replanting a large flower bed with bird and insect friendly plants, and converting a section of lawn to meadow. And we try to encourage visitors to enjoy the wildlife with local walks and our popular nature diary.
We have our own hens who recycle much of our kitchen waste into fresh free range eggs, and their manure is used to feed the garden. Other waste is composted and used on the garden. We purchase responsibly using "Fair Trade" products, environmentally safe products (ECOVER cleaners, toilet rolls made from recycled paper, bio-degradable bin bags) and use local produce and suppliers as much as possible.
Community
We support the local community by supporting local activities such as the Dores Gala, run the local Post Office when then owner is away, and are committee members of the local tourist group. We support the charity RSPB by donating money every month, being members and by telling our guests about them and their local reserves and well has having their magazine available for guests. We encourage our guests to visit local attractions, eat in local restaurants and by local produce. We also encourage our guests to use public transport or local services.
