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We don't just talk about sustainability, we do it.
We aim to go beyond being sustainable into what we call regenerative. Being regenerative means being carbon negative and biodiversity positive. Put simply, we aim to leave the earth in better shape than when we found it–not only for us but for generations to come.
We actively offset our carbon footprint by planting trees here on our land. Since 2014 we have planted over 5,000 native trees and over 1km of new hedges. Through creating new forests and edible hedges we are creating new sources of fuel, food and habitat for both humans and for the wildlife.
If you want to get involved and join us in planting more trees and hedges, sign up to our mailing list and we’ll let you know when we are planning our next planting retreats.
100% of our heat and electricity is from renewable energy.
In 2014 we developed and built two solar farms onsite totalling over 500kw of peak supply, enough to power over 150 homes.In the same year we installed two 90kw biomass wood-chip heat systems to provide all of our heating and hot water. We use a mix of both our own wood-chip, harvested from our 40 acres forest, and a local supplier of wood-chip based near Frome. Both installations used contractors located within 8 miles.
In 2016, we installed Europe's first grid scale Tesla battery system. We have since saved hundreds of tonnes of Co2 and now generate and store enough power for over 500 homes. We now also work with 100% renewable supplier The People's Energy, that puts people and the planet first.
Although they haven't invented electric tractors yet, all of our other vehicles are 100% electric, including our 4x4 buggies and quad bikes. We also encourage use of bicycles and e-bikes to get around our land. We are also part of the cycle to work scheme for our employees, and encourage car sharing where possible.
Where possible, we have also replaced petrol and gas powered equipment with electrical rechargeable equipment. For the land team this includes electric chainsaws and trimmers and in the kitchen we have moved away from gas and now use either electric cookers or outdoor fires using our own wood. Since all our electricity is renewable and sourced from our solar farm, we believe this is the most sustainable approach we can take.
The 42 Acres land lives within 3km of four different river sources; the Frome, the Brue, the Wye and the Stour. We believe that this land is a source of new beginnings.
Over the past few years, we have also seen the return of a number of once thought extinct species to this region, including beavers, wild boar, pine martens to name a few, as well as offering a home to barn owls, otters, hares, kestrel and buzzards. We take great pride in protecting these animals and providing plenty of habitat for them to thrive.
Even the areas we farm, our agriwilding philosophy ensures that we share the land and can all live and eat from the same land. We hope that in years to come this idea will flow and spread across many farms, just as the rivers do.
We share monthly happenings, stories from our land and news from our pioneering rewilding projects.
