Going Green......
We applied to be a member of the GTBS (Green Tourism Business Scheme) who are a bit like the AA, they come and advise on best practice and make sure we keep to the rules. We then had an inspection and ultimately gained a Silver award.
For more information about the GTBS please visit www.green-buisness.co.uk
We are pleased with the response from our guests about our green commitment.
It has inspired us to carry on and look for more ways to improve what we are doing.
We had to work through quite a long list of criteria for the grading. The best bits have been sourcing local products to use and to sell also organising local information on where to go and what to do — it has surprised us just how much there is on our doorstep!
Our main initial motivation to ‘Go Green’ was to reduce our electricity consumption,
(last years winter quarter (2009/10) was very high) we have purchased an energy monitor that reads the meters. We would definitely recommend that every home should have one! It is a bit scary at first but it does make you ‘switch off’!
We have put 300 + mm of loft insulation in and double glazed the windows on the top floor so that should make a difference to our electricity consumption this year as all the heat from the hallways will not be going straight out of the roof!.
There are still a few windows that need double glazing and they will be in next years budget.
Finding products that will help to reduce packaging, be kind to the environment or have been made from 100% recycled material has not been that difficult.
If you would like to do more at home and would like to know how just ask us.
Having had our ‘Gap Year’ on our own narrow boat the canal is very dear to our hearts.
We would like to raise as much money as we can to help with the upkeep of the canal and to help fund the re-opening of the Northern Reaches that were cut off by the M6 motorway in the 1960’s. The Lancaster Canal Trust has worked continuously since then to open the canal to Kendal.
Putting together the fundraising packs and selling local maps for the Lancaster Canal Trust has been fun and we hope that a lot of you will take up the challenge of our ‘car free days out’
We have placed a ladybird refuge and a pollinating bee log in our back yard. We are watching and waiting for residents to move in with anticipation!
Our Green Folder is a work in progress, if there is any thing you can think of that can help us do more then please let us know via the customer feed back form.
Links to thinking green
http://www.green-business.co.uk/
The aim of the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) criteria is to offer guidelines to tourism businesses on how to make their operations more sustainable while still delivering a high quality service. When developing the criteria consideration has been given to a wide range of social and environmental factors, as well as up-to-date technological developments.
RSPB Leighton Moss is a great place to visit and is accessible by public transport.Leighton Moss is the largest remaining reedbed in north-west England and is well known for it's special birds, breeding bitterns, bearded tits, marsh harriers and avocets. You can visit nature trails, look round the superb RSPB shop and enjoy a meal in the award winning tea-room. Binocular hire and Wildlife Explorer Backpacks are also available. There are extensive programmes of events and guided walks throughout the year and out of the seven birdwatching hides, four are accessible to disabled visitors. A relaxing day out!The reserve and visitor centre are open daily all year except Christmas day. The reserve is open from 9am to dusk and the visitor centre is open from 9.30am-5pm (Closing is at 4.30pm between the months of November & January)
Admission Charges -Visitor centre and tearoom - free
Admission to hides and nature trails: £4.50 adults, £3 concessions,
£1 children, £9 family. Free to RSPB members and those who
come by public transport or on bike.
www.naturalnorthwest.co.uk
From the rolling expanse of the Cheshire Plain up to England’s highest point,, Scafell Pike this beautiful corner of England naturally has it all.
www.celebratingcycling.org/
www.lancaster.gov.uk/transport-and-travel/cycling-walking/
Lancaster with Morecambe was one of the original six places in the country to be named a 'Cycling Demonstration’ Town, back in October 2005.
www.fyldebirdclub.org/
The Fylde Bird Club welcomes all birdwatchers whatever their specific interest. Whether you are a beginner, an expert, a casual local birder or a hard-bitten twitcher,
www.lancasterbirdwatching.org.uk/
The Lancaster and District Birdwatching society covers an area of north Lancashire, south Cumbria, and North Yorkshire, organising indoor meetings and field trips, collecting records of birds seen, and organising surveys with the BTO and others.
