SUSTAINABILITY

The garden was once a grazing paddock with no biodiversity. Over the last four years, we have created a hugely diverse garden with a mixture of shrubs, perennials and trees which has allowed more species to explore and introduce themselves to the landscape. In 2022 we created wildflower borders in the long grass to help our bees and butterflies.

We have many plans to further develop the land to continue to make it more wildlife friendly. We have 5 beehives on the farm which are looked after by Mark and Janet Harris at Werrington Honey. All the bees are doing brilliantly and have increased since they were first introduced. Bees are essential to the ecosystem as they transport pollen from one plant to another, this continues the growth of wildflowers and plants and contributes to the agricultural industry. Natural local honey is delicious and could be a charming favour for guests at smaller weddings.

Keeping our garden’s camera ready isn’t easy, but by using straw and manure from the livestock on the farm provides us with a source of nutrients. This helps to improve the soil and enrich it for plant growth.

On the farm we are part of the Countryside Stewardship scheme, meaning we actively balance sustainable, profitable and modern farming with conservation and natural habitat conservation. We have planted 250 meters of hedging in 2023, providing new hedgerow habitats, with many more hedgerows still to introduce.

We harvest rainwater from the roof of the barn and store it to irrigate the garden. Using a sprinkler system that is set to water at night when it is most efficient to conserve water usage while keeping the garden healthy.

Our striking log burner in the Lounge Bar burns fallen or coppiced wood sourced from around the farm. It is a modern and highly efficient burner producing a huge amount of heat, with the mesmerising 270 degree glass, it makes a cosy addition to any winter wedding.

The barn is heated and cooled by air-conditioning units which provide a constant ambient temperature ensuring there is no need for hefty spikes in energy consumption to get the Barn at a comfortable temperature. The Barn is also south facing, with large glass windows across the entire building allowing natural light and heat to flood in.

All of the lights in the Barn are LED which helps to reduce the amount of electricity we use. All lights, except security and safety lights, are switched off when no one is using the barn to prevent light pollution, we like our wildlife to have the place to themselves when we are not there.

Our venue is in an extremely rural area, we are not able to connect to the main drains, so we have a treatment plant of our own which allows the waste water produced in the barn to decompose and release clean water back into the environment.

Dealing with waste is not a romantic part of weddings but important nonetheless! After you have done your part to limit the waste produced at your wedding, we do our part to dispose of the waste correctly. We separate our rubbish into general waste and food waste and we also recycle glass and cardboard. We also run a paperless business where we can, to save on unnecessary paper waste. We use a responsible waste collection company that disposes of the segregated waste properly through using this company we have saved over 1500kg of CO2e so far since starting with the company in 2021.