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Treshnish and Haunn Cottages |
http://treshnishbirdlog.blogspot.com http://haunnblackhouse.blogspot.com |
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NEWS: RSPB UK Nature of Farming Award Winner 2011; GTBS GoldStar 2011; GTBS Carbon Footprint 2011; VESTAs European Sustainable Travel award 2011. Treshnish and Haunn Cottages Environmental Policy Treshnish and Haunn Cottages are situated on Treshnish Point - a beautiful parcel of land which we farm in an environmentally friendly way. The Treshnish ethos has developed alongside our experiences on the
farm. Within a couple of years of taking over the farm, we could see that how we were managing the land, naturally building up soil health and changing grazing patterns, was improving the bio-diversity on the farm. By protecting and nurturing the different wildlife habitats we were encouraging the native species to return and to flourish, and at the same time 'cleaning up' the environment impact of the farm - things like reducing waste; recycling farm plastics; trying to become more self-sufficient in feeding our animals and so on. As a natural part of this, we began to look at the impact the self catering business had on the greater environment and what we could try to
do to minimise this. On the farm we had stopped using conventional fertilisers and started farming in an organic system. We used ecological cleaning materials, recycling whatever we could and by joining the Green Tourism Business Scheme in 1999. These were the first steps we took. The renovation/restoration we have done to the cottages has evolved through respecting the history of Treshnish and its traditional buildings, whilst striving to create a unique, attractive and comfortable place for our guests to stay, while they enjoy the diverse attributes of this lovely area. We employ 2 people, who are our neighbours on the farm, and help with the holiday cottages. They share our love of the place with an increasing and detailed knowledge of the area. One of the many bonuses of their being here, is a remarkable growing
record of the biodiversity at Treshnish which can be found at Treshnish Birdlog.
WHAT WE DO
We are members of the Green Tourism Business Scheme and are proud to hold their Gold Award. This Scheme is a good resource for anyone wishing to improve the environmental performance of their business. They re-assess our business continually through
on-site inspections. We wholeheartedly support the auditing process of GTBS and the integrity this brings to the Green Tourism Business Scheme. Over the years GBTS has become a more in depth vehicle for green tourism, now encouraging more focused monitoring and awareness of issues relating to the environment in a more serious and responsible way, which is a good thing - even though the paperwork can be daunting at times. We are signed up to the Mull and Iona Eco Charter, which promotes local awareness of environmental issues as well as encouraging the use of local produce, eco friendly products and low energy appliances et cetera. For more details about the Scheme: www.green-business.co.uk ENERGY USE - REDUCING CONSUMPTION WHEREVER POSSIBLE Taking responsibility... We meter the heating and electricity throughout the cottages. Guests take responsibility for their own energy consumption whilst on holiday here, paying for the energy they have used, according to the meter readings at
the end of their stay. In the Treshnish Cottages, we have turned the pre-set heating controls down by one degree. It is more energy efficient to turn up the thermostat when more heat is needed, than to live in a space which is warmer than it needs to be. We are monitoring this to see if the one degree is enough, or if it can be turned down further - though obviously we don't want our guests to be cold! For more information on energy savings: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk RENEWABLE LAUNDRY In 2008 we built a new energy efficient laundry and office space. The southerly aspect of the building enjoys passive solar gain and the insulation is very thick with a concrete floor storing the warmth - making a good low energy drying place in wet weather - in dry weather we use the 'drying green'! The water for the hot fill commercial washing machine is now heated by wood-chip, and powered with electricity from the wind turbine. ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCES We source energy efficient
appliances, looking for A and A++ wherever possible. We keep a record of the Energy Ratings of our appliances. We dispose of old machines responsibly. We use low energy light bulbs and any renovations include the latest low energy electrical fittings as standard. Rather than installing tumble driers in each cottage we provide clothes airers above wood burning stoves and outdoor drying lines. VisitScotland Quality Assurance standards require us to have a tumble drier for our guests' use, so there is one at the farm should it be required. The lean-to shed on the Treshnish Heating Station is a great place for overnight drying too! WOOD NOT COAL 6 of the 8 cottages have wood burning stoves. Previously we had coal for sale, but realising that coal imported from China or Columbia was not good for the carbon footprint, we now use/sell logs cut and processed by a sawmill in Salen or from the North West Mull Community Woodland 8 miles away. Each fireplace has a beautiful willow log basket made from the Somerset basket makers' own willow plantation. North West Mull Community Woodland: www.nwmullwoodland.co.uk MONITORING We monitor the energy use in each cottage - electricity and wood-chip or electric heating. We are monitoring the office/laundry energy use in conjunction with the electricity generated by the wind turbine. We monitor the filtration on the water supplies. The way our private water supplies are set up, with perpetual flow, excess water is not stored but follows its natural course down to the sea, as it always has done. RENOVATIONS We have insulated each cottage loft space to meet or exceed current building standards. When renovating West and Toechtamhor recently, we used sheep's wool insulation.
Most of our wooden floors are un-varnished, waxed with a traditional 'Schoolhouse wax'. Shian and Duill Cottages have reclaimed Junckers flooring in some rooms which was lifted after only 6 months from a school Assembly Hall floor in Fife. The varnish was still so fresh and new, we were able to use it without needing to sand or upgrade! We try to balance the requirements of the Visit Scotland grading scheme (maintaining our 3 and 4 Star grades) with the Green Tourism Business Scheme and our own policy of looking for long term solutions in an environmentally responsible way - keeping the cottages looking good and well maintained without wasting resources by replacing things that don't really need replacing 'just for the sake of it' or solely to increase the grading. This influences the furnishings we buy, always looking for pieces that will function well and still look 'right' for a long time, rather than following what is in 'fashion'. Specialist suppliers: www.earthbornpaints.co.uk; www.ecospaints.com; www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk; RECYCLING Each cottage has a compost bin, for vegetable scraps, so that we can use the compost in our organically managed vegetable garden.
Disposal of redundant items is carefully considered and we take advantage of a great local recycling facility - the island 'Castaways' shops - they sell or recycle whatever they are given, and money raised goes to supporting local projects. CLEANING MATERIALS We buy all our environmentally friendly cleaning products in bulk - from a local Ecover agent and from a workers co-operative. We provide eco friendly cleaning materials for each cottage, including Ecover dishwasher tablets (only half a tablet is
needed as we have such soft water) and Ecover or Bio D washing powder. (You can buy Ecover products to take home with you, contact Georgia through her website: http://www.oops-arts.com) TRANSPORT We are participants in the Walkers and Cyclists Welcome Schemes - we have a shed where cyclists can store their bikes, and we have a couple of our own spare bicycles that we lend to guests. Please see the Travel section of the website for more information on choosing to stay here without a car. Please click here Public transport is not extensive in this area but we can advise on how to make the most of it. We have guests who come by public transport and we can collect luggage from the nearest bus stop, but we are not licensed to transport our guests.
WALKING We encourage our guests to enjoy the immediate vicinity - providing maps and walking guides - and will gladly recommend local guided tours so that you can leave the car at home, and benefit from an expert guide to show you the varied wildlife that Mull has
to offer.
In 2005 we had a Feasibility Study done, to look at the Renewables potential at Treshnish. Micro hydro was indicated as most suitable, utilising the small lochan near Treshnish Schoolhouse. We successfully accessed a grant and the planned installation was arranged for autumn 2006. Imagine our disappointment when the installer came on a site visit and told us that the report we had had done was flawed, that there was not enough head/flow/capacity to make the scheme work in any way. Back to the drawing board. The report had encouraged us with the idea of a centralised Biomass scheme, but there was no chip supplier on the island in 2005 so we waited. Woodchip: Eventually we installed the Treshnish District Heating Scheme in March 2009. Consisting of a 30' shipping container housing the 70kW biomass (wood-chip) boiler, accompanying 1800L buffer tank and the wood-chip store, it is located to the south of the Treshnish Farm steading. Underground pipes (highly insulated) take the heat round the system to the 4 cottages, the farm house, the office and laundry.
Wind turbine: The 6kW wind turbine was put up in October 2009. It is sited above the Cowshed and the electricity it creates is used primarily by the farm steading building (the office, laundry and Studio) before the surplus is exported to the national grid. Another turbine is planned to connect the farmhouse which is the second largest user on the farm.
Our installers: www.highlandwoodenergy.co.uk; www.onsitegeneration.co.uk Solar Panels: During the renovation of Toechtamhor in 2005/6, we installed 4.2 sq metres of solar panels on the roof of the cottage, which give guests the opportunity to experience how they work in a practical way and enjoy the gallons of 'free' hot water provided by the sun. PV Panels: In February 2011, On Site Generation installed 3.7kW Photo Voltaic Cells (26 sq metres) on the roof of the Steading. During bright daylight hours, these panels will power the pumps on the woodchip boiler with the surplus going back into the national grid. The installation is estimated to produce 4,000 kWH in a year, and in the first 11 months it has produced 3,700 so we are on track to achieve that - hopefully! FUTURE PROJECTS Solar panels/additional electricity for the District Heating Scheme: 2011 - 2013 The
initial plan was to install solar panels to help heat the accumulator tank for
the Woodchip heating scheme. This would further reduce the number of chip
deliveries required and utilise a good south facing sun resource. In the summer of 2011, a new plan emerged - to use excess electricity generated from a second 6kW turbine to help heat the water instead of solar panels. Alternative heating and glazing at Toechtamhor: 2011 - 2013 Toechtamhor
is a challenge, being a large cottage, and a large user of electricity.
Cavity wall insulation was put in 2011. We are considering
secondary glazing and alternative heating such as biomass (pellet or
log). More home grown produce from our vegetable garden: 2012 3.2kW Wind Turbine to supply the farmhouse: 2012 We are now applying for permission for a second 6kW turbine, and planning on using excess electricity to help heat water for the district heating scheme - see above. In 2012 we aim to subscribe to a detailed carbon calculator and begin to monitor our emissions in more detail - so we can keep reducing our emissions. CARBON OFFSETTING There
is a certain amount of cynicism surrounding carbon offsetting and for a
while this stopped us from doing anything at all. For over a year we
did not join any offsetting scheme - during the time we were installing
the wood chip boiler - but believing that it is better to do something
than nothing, we decided to go back to Climate Care, and I am pleased to
see that they now give advice to their clients to ensure they do not
mislead anyone as to the degree of offsetting they have done. Until
2008, we made contributions through Climate Care and collected
donations (on behalf of our guests, if they wanted to offset their car
journeys to and from Mull) which we passed on to Climate Care. We no
longer feel it is appropriate to do this as there are so many
organizations offering offsetting and we are not prepared to make
choices for anyone else but ourselves. In May 2010, using the online Climate Care carbon calculator, we offset the CO2 emissions (an estimated 18 tonnes) from the cottages, farmhouse, office and laundry electricity bills, over the previous 12 months. 2012 - we will review this again, once we have joined up to a Carbon Calculator Scheme.
We help promote the nearby Producers Market held fortnightly in the summer and encourage our guests to buy locally available produce. We have a local
producers contact list. In Dervaig there is a well stocked small shop and Post Office. This is such a valuable asset to our community and we encourage you to support it. There is a good selection of almost everything you might need as well as the daily papers, wines and spirits. There is a cash machine there too. We supply our guests with our own free range eggs when we have enough; and are working towards supplying any surplus of home produced vegetables too, grown without chemicals. We have our home produced meat for sale from the freezer in the Phone room. ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANISATIONS We are members of the Slow Food Movement. www.slowfood.org.uk. We applaud the notion of Slow Travel. Making the journey part of the experience, rather than the quickest means to an end. We are members of Wild Scotland. www.wild-scotland.org.uk. We support Scottish Wildlife Trust; RSPB; Rare Breeds Survival Trust; MICT; Mull Slaughterhouse; Dervaig Village Hall; LEAF; Soil Association.
TREES One of the possible meanings of the name Treshnish is 'headland of the trees'. There are certainly tiny gnarled willows and hazels clinging on in places where the sheep and deer cannot reach which seems to indicate there may well have been trees all over the headland. We planted 2500 native broadleaf saplings, spring 2009, and fenced off about 10 hectares of the farm to allow natural re-generation and it is exciting to see tiny seedlings appearing even on the open hill. We hope to create a wild life corridor across the in-bye fields. BIRD BOXES The corner of the farm steading which is now the Studio used to be home to lots of swallows. To replace their lost summer nesting
sites we put swallow boxes up in the new cattle building. They have at last started to use them! We have two locally made Owl boxes, made to Barn Owl Trust specifications, which were erected ready for the 2011 nesting season. We have other bird boxes sited in various woodland areas. The House Martin 'terrace' is up on the north wall of the Steading, near where house martins tried (and failed) to make a nest in 2009 and came back to rear young in 2010, still choosing their own 'self build' over our 'kit' house! In 2011 we had 3 pairs arrive to nest, but tragically not successfully. WHAT WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO: ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY: The island of Mull has renowned appeal as a world class wildlife and holiday destination, and we hope staying here will enhance your enjoyment of the island and all it has to offer. SHOPPING: One of the biggest contributions visitors can make to the island community and economy is by shopping locally. Instead of doing a 'big shop' on the mainland before you arrive, why not buy enough for your first couple of nights and do your main grocery shopping on the island? Dervaig has the well stocked Post Office/Shop. Tobermory has a fish shop (for local salmon, shellfish), a deli/bakery, and a good Co op. We have meat for sale at Treshnish, and from May to September there is a fortnightly Producers Market in Dervaig. RECYCLE: Please take advantage of our recycling facilities to reduce the amount of landfill produced through your stay. Feed the hens on your way past with unwanted bread! TURN LIGHTS OFF: Before you settle down for the evening please make sure your outside light is switched off. Some are on timers but others are not. When leaving a room, always remember to turn lights off.
DISHWASHERS/WASHING MACHINES: Stack/fill
economically and only use when fully loaded to maximize efficiency. You only need to use half a dishwasher tablet. And if you run the washing machine at 30 degrees not 40 degrees, you will save a huge amount of energy. HEATING: Turn the thermostat down a degree. When you go out make sure you have not left unnecessary heaters on. Don't leave windows open and heaters on when you are out!
Driving carefully and slowly can reduce your fuel use, but always check that you are not holding up
someone behind you! And if you are, please use a passing place and let them pass (it may be the doctor, a fireman or someone trying to get to work on time)! ENJOY WALKS: Enjoy the slow relaxed pace of walking locally. There is plenty to explore on the farm - from the four miles of coastline, wildflower meadows, open moor and gentle hills. RELAX: It is possible to have alternative therapy treatments on the island. Catriona's Salon in Tobermory offers Indian Head Massage, Aromatherapy, Hot Stone Therapy and more (01688 302234); Michael Shilson offers Shiatsu (http://www.shiatsu-healer.co.uk.)
and here at Treshnish you can experience Cranio-Sacral Balancing.
FEEDBACK: We welcome your feedback so please let us know if you feel we could do something better - environmentally or otherwise!
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Treshnish and Haunn Cottages, Treshnish Point, near Calgary, Isle of Mull, PA75 6QX
Tel: +44 (0)1688 400249 or lo-call 0845 458 1971 |