Future projects to improve sustainability

Last Updated on Friday, 11 June 2010 11:43

If you want to be sustainable you can never stand still - there are always new improvements to be made - it's a bit like the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland.

Apple juice and cider - During the year we will also be investing in modern apple juice machinery - crusher, pumps, pasteuriser, bottle cleaner, training etc (we already have a modern manual apple press) so that come next autumn we can start production of both organic juice and cider. Apple juice requires much cleaner machinery than cider, whose fermentation process disposes of most of the germs, and whose wooden construction renders it impossible to clean to modern hygienic levels.

We'll joyfully celebrate the first crushing of cider apple juice off the old renovated press for at least 50 years with the local community.

Woodlands and wood heating - we need to push forward the woodland development aspect of Coombefarmwoods, so will be working collectively with other members of the timber machinery co-op to broaden our sales of sustainably managed timber at the same time as achieving FSC and possibly organic certification if that comes available. Up for discussion at the coop meeting next week is the idea of a virtual barn into which we will download timber for sale. Given the diversity of our woodlands this could be of considerable use. Another idea under research at the moment is turning over to wood boilers, log, chip or pellet, although thus far this technology has remained too expensive to install.

Green Gyms - improve your health and the environment in the fresh outdoors out of stuffy and smelly gyms. We plan to develop a regular program of activities outside to improve people's health.

A case study of the cider barn renovation - we will be exploring the green, environmentally sustainable aspects of this recent renovation project to inspire others and to see how we can make improvements to renovation projects at Coombe in the future.

Greenest wedding of the year - a case study of the years eco weddings here at Coombe to see how the couples were successful in making their special day sustainable and how and where improvements might be made.
PRIZE - a FREE weekend at Coombe Farm for the greenest wedding of the year.

Switching over to sustainable energy - our ongoing policy to reduce the C02 emissions that result from our heating and lighting will see us gradually switching over to sustainable energy supplies and fuels.

Woodland ecological improvements - a number of recommendations were made in a recent ecological assessment of our woodlands which we will be acting on. A link to the report is on our woodland page.