Our Environment
Location
A beautiful location that was once a pine forest and an old farm has been transformed into a magnificent slice of paradise covered with native and non-native trees, grasses and plants. The property has taken over thirty years to be re-claimed by native plants and birds. We plant all over the property to ensure that there are a variety of trees throughout. We have placed an ongoing emphasis on providing all the plants on the property with 100% organic care and love. No Pesticides or chemical sprays are used on our property in accordance with our view that nature really knows best.
Bees
Your host Genevieve is passionate about creating a self-sustaining future for Fern Lodge. When she arrived back to the property in the year 2011 she realised the vegetable garden had become silent of bees. No bees visited the Camellia plant which they always excitedly buzzed around at the end of winter and the following summer the fruit trees were almost bare.
As part of her overall vision she has begun practicing the art of beekeeping to not only provide honey but to also assist in the continued growth of her organic garden. Bees play an invaluable role in pollination and beautification of the properties abundant flowering trees and plants.
Organic vegetable garden
Fern Lodge has its own organic vegetable garden where seeds are collected. Depending on the season different vegetables are grown, from broccoli and spinach to artichokes and broad beans.
Recycling
As hosts we encourage our guests to be as passionate about recycling as we are. Every unit is provided with the means to recycle compost waste and recyclable manmade materials. We separate general waste from any recyclable materials left behind by guests where it is necessary.
All compost waste is then added to the giant black composting bin which provides nutrient rich organic compost for the vegetable garden and other plants throughout the property.
Hot Water
During summer we harness the power of the sun to provide the hot water used in our Garden Studio and Fern Apartment units. During the winter months the water is heated by our hearth which burns wood that has been felled on the property. This reduces our reliance on the power grid and provides savings to our guests.
Lighting
The lighting on the property has been steadily moving towards a halogens and LED lighting systems. This ensures that the bulbs not only last longer but also provide a better experience when being used. As these last longer than ordinary light bulbs it means that they need changing less often and when they do we are not unnecessarily adding more mercury to our landfills.
Cleaning chemicals
Just as it is important to keep the natural surroundings of Fern Lodge free of any pesticides or chemical sprays, we feel that it is important to offer our guest the same. All of our units are cleaned using eco friendly sprays so as to reduce the impact on our environment and your health. We want to ensure that your stay here is beneficial to you on every level.
The future at Fern Lodge
As well as looking to a self sustainabe future we want to ensure that all of our actions help care for the environment we have so that we can live in and offer our guests the environment we want. This means that any future buildings created on the land will use wood from sustainable sources. Both the Garden Studio and the Fern Apartment were constructed from pine that was grown on the land.
We will also look to include high quality recycled materials where possible in keeping with the aesthetics of the place as well as any laws and bylaws that we must adhere to.
In the not to distant future we want to be able offer our guests the chance to off set their carbon footprint while they stay here. We envision doing this by allowing our guests to plant a tree on the property from the many that we will have on offer free of charge. Guests will be able to plant this themselves or if time is an issue we can do this for them.
As we come up with further ideas we will add them here and in our blog which you can read here.
