Kettering cottage accommodation, Tasmania
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Studio Cottage: The reverse block construction is externally clad in 3 inches of polystyrene and rendered. With double glazed windows and doors, thick ceiling insulation, it minimises ‘the Tasmanian four seasons in one day’ temperature swings! For the cooler months there is a log fire, which also boosts the hot water, heated by an evacuated tube solar system.
This is the third consecutive year that Herons Rise Vineyard has been involved in the Earth Check/Green Tourism scheme.
In the previous two years Herons Rise Vineyard has been assessed as being above best practice when compared to similar tourism businesses in terms of using minimum energy, efficient water use and reducing waste to landfill from the cottages. The measures we have taken to achieve this are:
- The cottages are designed with a solar orientation with some very effective insulation and double glazed windows
- Two of the cottages have solar evacuated tubes with boosters to provide hot water; the third cottage has an efficient instantaneous gas system
- There is a 1 kW array of photovoltaic panel
- Each cottage has recycling containers for bottles, cans and plastics. This minimises waste disposal going to land fill
- Each cottage has a compost bin for vegetable and fruit scraps which is converted into compost and used in the vegie garden
- Rainwater is harvested from the roofs of the cottages.
Community
We have lived here in Kettering since 1990 and are keen to be active players in various aspects of the community in a number of ways. This has included being members of local progress associations and business groups. I don't think that our involvement has been very different to others in the region; collectively we all realise that this is a beautiful area and that we have a responsibilty to ensure that development is appropriate to the region. One of the benefits of being involved in groups has been to gain a broader sense of community needs, values and aspirations. We live in this area, this is our home, our involvement is about trying to ensure the beauty of the place is maintained and enhanced. We are informed by the people we meet through participation in community activities and vice versa.
Following many years involvement with the local tourism association we are working with other operators to develop a business sustainability scheme which is pertinent to this region, elsewhere in Australia and overseas.
The Green Tourism scheme:
A major area of interest over the last four years has been endeavouring to develop a holistic tourism model which is compatible with the local area, yields returns to business, doesn't mar or destroy the natural environment and minimises the carbon footprint. Working towards this end we have been actively involved in the development of a Green Tourism scheme for the region. Initially this was through receipt of Federal Government funding for a Green Tourism Environment Audit [Green TEA] program as a partnership between the local Tourism Association [the Huon Valley Kingborough Tourism Association] and EC3 Global who operate the EarthCheck scheme internationally. The aim of this scheme was to enable tourism operators to measure energy, water and waste in the business so that they can be reduced. This scheme was fairly successful and has been further developed over the past two years through Tasmanian State Government Climate Connect grants and is now known as Green Tourism. This is a work in progress and we are currently grappling with how to make a sustainability system sustainable! In the first year there were 40 tourism businesses in the region involved in the scheme and it has been broadened to other areas of Tasmania with more operator involvement. The challenge is to produce a scheme that provides information for operators about how they can reduce energy and water and produce less waste hence saving them money without having a cumbersome record keeping system which will deter participation. Working closely with the Project Manager for Green Tourism we are hopeful that the next iteration of the scheme will drive benefits for operators, visitors and the environment. We console ourselves with the thought that we are not the only people wrestling with these issues - remember Bali, Copenhagen and Rio?
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