As a child I was brought up in East Africa, Tanganyika then, Tanzania now. We never had electricity and water was like gold and in some places our daily ration was 5 gallons between 7 adults and 2 dogs.

I care passionately about the Environment and am very pleased to have been awarded the Green Tourism Bronze award.

Glebe House is in a very special area and I hugely respect our environment, the flora and wildlife. My aim is to take responsibility to run a successful business here which has a low impact on the surrounding environment.

Energy:

• Heating turned down to 20c. All rooms have self controlled thermostats and are not heated unless being used.
• We monitor oil, electricity and water bills
• Replacing all lightings with energy saving bulbs except security lighting
• Green laundry policy of a voluntary four day change of towelling and bedding
• Laundry dried outside whenever possible
• Small kettles in bedrooms
• Replacing machines to energy efficient AAA machines
• Converting all paintwork to eco friendly Farrow and Ball paint

Waste and Recycling:

• Two garden compose heaps for as much garden waste which is recycled on a two year cycle
• Worm bins for all the organic food waste recycled as compost to the garden
• All citrus peel dried in the kitchen for use as firelighters on the fire
• All egg shells dried and recycled in the garden
• Recycle all waste paper, newspapers, bottles, tins, plastic bottles, non-rechargeable batteries, surplus garden waste, light bulbs
• All textiles and shoes
• Use Ecover products wherever possible, using the refillable bottles

Local Food:

Having farmed we have always supported and campaigned for local British foods and preferably organic.

• Our bacon, sausages, chicken, pork, beef and lamb come from H F Stiles in Bromham who is also the EU approved Abattoir so most of the meat is very local and identifiable
• Pheasant, partridge and venison is sourced from a local shoot
• Vegetables and fruit come from V P Collins farm shop along with bread, milk, Yeo Valley yogurt, cream and crème fraiche
• Jams, Jellies and marmalades are made by Ginny here using home grown gooseberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, crab apples, rhubarb and Chittoe sloes.

Water:

• We no longer supply our guests with bottled water due to the plastic bottle impact
• We capture rain water all around the house to use for washing cars and the garden
• Showers are fitted thorough in the bathrooms
• Lavatory cisterns fitted with water reduction systems

Local Environment:

• We encourage the bird population to the garden and have two feeding stations with food for the many varieties of birds around 16.
• We have small bird nesting boxes placed around the garden
• We encourage cyclists and walkers and will given them every assistance on their journeys
• We actively encourage visits to all the local attractions within the area and provide as much information to our guests.
• We talk about the countryside, farming and the local environment and encourage others to enjoy responsible tourism
• We encourage supporting the local and rural economy, such as the farm shop and butcher in Bromham

Reduce the Carbon Footprint:

Wherever possible we try to source sustainably produced products, such as kitchen roll, lavatory paper, bin liners, office paper, ink cartridges, refillable and reusable bottles for cleaning materials. We look for new ideas and new organic environmentally friendly soaps and shower gels. We are always on the lookout for new inventions which will save energy. We know that by replacing 80% of our light bulbs we have taken the right steps for the carbon footprints at Glebe House.

We will continue to reduce in the future.