Philosophy

We’re passionate advocates of a more sustainable way of life, and everything we do – from the way we manage the woodland to the events and activities we run, the delicious food and drink we serve to the products we make and sell – is done with greener, healthier and more enjoyable living in mind.

Our environmental policies:

Biodiversity Through award-winning continuous cover forestry and traditional coppicing practices we manage the woodland in a manner that promotes and conserves biodiversity, and we focus on creating and maintaining a wide variety of habitats to encourage a range of flora and fauna.

Waste
To minimise the waste sent to landfill we avoid packaging wherever possible. We buy (and sell) recycled products, reuse whatever we can and then recycle bottles, cans and paper. We hope our food is too delicious to waste, but any spare bits feed our chickens. Inedible organic matter goes onto our compost heaps or feeds the worms in our wormeries to make fertiliser for our gardens. There are no bins on site so we ask guests to minimise the packaging they bring, use our recycling and composting facilities and take any rubbish home with them.

Energy
We keep a beady eye on our energy use with a Saveometer smart meter. We use low-energy lighting and appliances, and optimise our electricity use using a crafty VPhase voltage optimisation unit. A significant proportion of our electricity is generated on-site via PV solar panels making the most of the Sussex sunshine (they were installed by Southern Renewables - highly recommended if you want to install renewables at home). Any extra we need is supplied from renewable sources via Good Energy. We use wood for heating (naturally!) and for hot water in the house and office. 

Water
We collect rainwater for use on our gardens, and water we’ve used in the buildings irrigates the paddocks.

Food
We specialise in local, sustainably sourced food – a delicious way of keeping down our carbon footprint and supporting the local economy. We work with local farmers and producers to serve delicious, fresh food that’s healthy for us and the environment. When we need to buy food from further afield (coffee and cocoa beans don’t grow very well in Sussex...) we choose fair-trade and / or organic suppliers.