Category: Sustainability

It was on our 2020 Charter List – to upgrade some more of the double glazing in the eco lodges. So we’ve started with Beech Lodge.

Ian has made a beautiful new coffee table for Nuthatch Eco Lodge – from our own Wheatland Farm timber.

A batch of bird books have arrived for the lodges, as we promised in our ‘further greening‘ plan for 2020.

We’re delighted Wheatland Farm was been awarded Bronze across the whole south west region (Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol…) for Responsible Ethical and Sustainable Tourism in this year’s South West Tourism Awards.

Winkleigh has joined many other Devon parishes in declaring a climate emergency. As a starting point, Winkleigh’s environmental action group has asked its members to list their top ten tips for taking action. So here’s Wheatland Farm’s suggestions.

Ian was at the Crediton Repair Cafe this morning – in their new and improved venue at the Methodist Church.

Some of Wheatland Farm’s summer flowers are starting to go over – but not these ones on the side of Balebarn Lodge.

We’ve been noticing for a while that we could be buying cheaper and apparently just as green power elsewhere, so why do we stick with Good Energy?

Wheatland Farm has pledged £100 in support of the North Devon Biosphere Reserve’s nature improvement projects. Will you join us?

Farewell to our lovely guests holidaying at Balebarn Lodge, who spent the week exploring Devon powered by wind (you can just about see the turbine in the distance).

Ian’s just back from another morning helping at the Crediton Repair Cafe. Here’s a happy ‘customer’ who had his electric strimmer fixed for free. That’s one less item to end up in a Devon landfill.

What can a couple of old planks and a gate post make you? A stylish replacement bed for our flagship Balebarn eco lodge.

We’ve been totting up all those five pounds we give to the Devon Wildlife Trust for everyone who pays their Wheatland Farm holiday balance by BACS. And there’s a cheque in the post for £340.

Ian was at the Crediton Repair Cafe again this Saturday – fixing everything from radios (a treasured old style transistor radio, brought in all the way from Torquay!), a sewing machine peddle, a band saw, a nut chopper (pictured, with a happy owner), a telephoto lens. There were also clothes and curtains getting some attention, other electronics, such as a hand blender, and some tools like pruning saws etc.

[Ian] It was the Crediton Repair Cafe today. So I spent the morning helping fix things – something I’m very familar with, from keeping the lodges and the cottage  in good  order at Wheatland Farm!  Continue reading “Crediton Repair Cafe”

It’s a bumper year for apples at Wheatland Farm – we have so many some of the branches are breaking off the trees. So we spent a day pressing some for juice and possibly cider (or that bit could go horribly wrong – we should know by early 2019!). Continue reading “Apple pressing for juice and cider”

Well done RSPB for the compostable bag on our magazine! That’s much easier to recycle than the previous bag, even if we did take those to the supermarket recycling point.

One question though – is it food safe for re-use before it reaches the compost caddy?

Time for a bit of bike maintenance. George is learning some skills as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award, and we’ve certainly got plenty of bikes to be working on! Continue reading “Getting the fleet ready for summer”

It’s a yucky job, but it has to be done occassionally. We’re rennovating the green cones. All credit where it’s due, that’s Ian doing the heavy digging. Our five green biodigesters and 2 wormeries take all the food waste from the guest accommodation at Wheatland Farm, and they work hard! Continue reading “Time to renovate the green cones”

It’s here – a fab kayak to add to the  paddle boat and board on the wildlife pond. And it’s made out of recycled plastic. We’d been meaning to get another boat, and got the idea from BBC Spotlight. Continue reading “Recycled plastic kayak for the wildlife pond”