Green Credentials
Here are some of the things we have done at Shallow Grange to eliminate our carbon footprint.
1)Installed 60KW of solar panels to provide hot water & renewable energy for the electrical hook ups.
2) Installed 2 EV chargers which use 100% renewable electricity for electric vehicles.
3) Renovated the shower block. It is heated using an efficient thermostatically controlled under floor system, toilets use low volume flushes, solar panels supplement the hot water temperature, & there is a 70% efficient heat recovery ventilation system.
4)Installed L.E.D. low energy lighting throughout the site.
5)Set up a rainwater harvesting system to flush the toilets, irrigate crops & wash vehicles.
6)Set up a rubbish re-cycling system.
7)Planted 100's of trees over the past 15 years. Plans to plant more trees are on-going.
8)Exported 1000's of KW per year to the National Grid for free, also on-going.
Both the 2 above help offset our use of diesel in our farm & personal vehicles (until we can afford battery powered alternatives) as well as offsetting our visitors' use of fossil fuels.
9)Offer for sale well-seasoned wood for use in fire baskets & BBQ's. This provides a transport free alternative to imported charcoal.
10)Use a 100% renewable energy company supplier when we have to occasionally use grid power.
Responsible Land Management
Our land includes significant areas woodland, which we carefully manage to encourage wildlife. For example, in consultation with Peak District National Park, we have installed a number of owl and kestrel boxes in our woodland to encourage breeding barn owls,tawny owls and kestrels.
We avoid the use of chemical fertilisers, applying only farmyard manure to the land to enhance soil structure & capture carbon.
We avoid the use of herbicides & only spot spray to eradicate troublesome weeds.
We try to minimise the environmental impact of every activity we perform at the farm, and are excited about future projects which will improve our environmental performance further.