Appreciation for future generations
OUR environmental storyJasper inherited the farm from his father before him. Farmers work towards a future where the farm can stay in the family so environmental considerations have always been a top priority and the associated costs have not put the family off. If your intention is to hand it on it makes sense to invest in the future and to the Harts that means being environmentally conscious. The long payback periods on sustainable practices do eventually pay back. A ten year payback period is not so long when you've had the farm in the family since 1913!
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planting native hedging
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Jasper & Mary Hart have always been proactive in wildlife conservation and environmental issues. They have planted 50 acres of trees, fitted numerous bird boxes, created a pond for wildlife and use less intensive farming methods with A-shaped hedges and their suckler herd. After a brief spell of customers camping in a paddock and B&B guests staying in the farmhouse they spotted a demand and bravely built an ambitious lake as a stunning backdrop for guests to enjoy fishing with camping or self-catering and "Brook Meadow" was born. Over the past 27 years the business has grown but always with environmental practices at the heart and the lake still remains the “main event” today.
As a family and as a business, we are fully committed to being environmentally friendly and conserving wildlife. To ensure we maintain this commitment, we have worked holistically to uphold these ideals on many levels as set out below.
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reducing water & energy consumptionWe have installed photovoltaics to generate 50% of the electricity used on the entire site. This includes the farm, two homes, office, reception and shop, washroom facilities, lodges, fishing lodge and the electric hook ups. We have solar powered water heating, a wood chip boiler powers heating and hot water to the lodges and campsite facilities. Water consumption is reduced through rainwater harvesting and solar powered lighting has been fitted to the glamping tent both adding to our sustainable practices. The office building and manager's house are heated by a ground source heat pump.
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solar power to our glamping
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Mary's eco hen house
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MAry's eco hen houseEven Mary's chicken's have a sustainable set up with their own rainwater harvesting system in place and a solar powered electric fence to keep the fox away. The eggs don't have far to go before they end up in the shop either!
Children can enjoy the educational and sensory experience of collecting eggs, stroking and feeding a chicken. Mary has earned the nickname of 'the chicken whisperer', as there is little she doesn't know about chicken husbandry. :) |
reducing, reusing, upcycling & recyclingDuring our recent refurbishments we up-cycled our old facilities to reduce waste. The fishing lodge and Skylark lodge have both been given a new lease of life with little cost tot he environment. Our new lodge projects have been designed and constructed to maximise sustainability using soft wood timber framed construction. Brook Meadow is resourceful. Farmers can't bare waste and it has rubbed off on the whole team! We think before we bin it as there could be some use in it; 15 fire pits have been up-cycled from washing machine drums, water and feed troughs have become planters, an old telegraph pole and two old duvets became the pirate mast, demolished cabins have been up-cycled into picnic benches and a play tepee.
The office building was constructed from reclaimed bricks and timbers from a derelict barn following the same decorative pattern and reusing the materials. The office building is heated from with a ground source heat pump and water heated from solar water. Our Nuthatch cabin and the safari glamping tents, (Sunbird and Marabou) have both been fitted largely with carefully selected second hand finds. Antique chairs have been up-cycled, lamps rewired, antique dressers have been carefully sourced to form a kitchen island, even the glass and tableware in Marabou are antique which adds tot he ambience. Up-cycling often makes things feel really special and add authenticity. Guests can see the care and attention to detail and it makes them feel good too. We also facilitate and encourage our guests to recycle. |
Antique & 2nd hand finds furnish our 'Out of Africa' themed glamping
Upcycled furniture in Marabou
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enduring design, quality & longevityWe invest in enduring design and quality for longevity to avoid the need for replacements. Taking the proverb "buy cheap buy twice" to heart. Claire has extensive product knowledge and honed design skills ensuring any design work carried out is build to last and will not tire. The interiors have also been deigned to connect with the context of the setting drawing form botanical influences of British birds, bees, florna and forna. Guests can enjoy an escape feeling close to nature on many levels.
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reducing single use plasticsSingle use plastic has been reduced by no longer selling drinks in the shop in plastic bottles. We do stock water bottles so if you forget yours there's no need to worry.
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sourcing localOur best selling shop items are locally sourced firewood and the farmhouse ice cream. Both are produced locally and so reduce energy consumption with deliveries and supporting the rural economy. Our hampers use local produce and are hand wrapped and supplied by Nicola Ash who lives close by. We also stock the shop with some health foods to reduce the number of highly processed foods offered.
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conservation strategyRather than ripping out hedges to be more efficient with farming we have planted more. We maintain the field hedges in an A-shape to benefit wildlife and cut them at the right time to avoid disturbing nests.
We also have our newer hedges professionally laid. This country skill is only practiced in the UK and Ireland due to historic techniques developed as a result of the enclosure act. When we lay a hedge we are essentially regenerating the trees, allowing continuity in the hedgerow. In this way we can keep that hedge working for much longer than its natural lifetime. Without this regeneration a hedge will mature and start to die. The hawthorns are “laid” and split at the base but still attached allowing new growth. The hedge is structured with vertical hazelnut stakes and willow binders weave through the stakes to finish the top. The stakes and willows are sustainably and locally sourced, (some of the willows are grown by Phil himself who lays the hedge for us) and they are both cut from growing plants which continue to produce more. Jasper has been responsible for the plantation of over 50 acres of trees on the farm which provides a home for wildlife, reduces C02 and produces oxygen. The lake, built in 1992, has long-established planting and has been home to our resident swans and a wide variety of other wildlife visitors for many years. Sustainable practices have continued in 2019 with the planting of 300 meters of native hedging mainly to create cosy camping areas providing privacy and a home for wildlife for guests to enjoy. The native hedging not only helps increase biodiversity but improves the air quality by absorbing pollution, inhaling carbon dioxide and exhaling oxygen. The hedging and trees will also provide a windbreak, a home for wildlife and welcome shade. |
Hedge laying - spring 2022
Planting native hedging to the camping field 2019
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Our spiral mounds in 2019
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organic play areaWe are continuing to build on being child focussed with the addition of a treehouse and clearing den areas in our spinneys for children to discover. Our children's organic play area is undergoign improvements; we are enlarging and grassing the existing three spiral play mounds, installing fallen trees around them for children to play imaginatively, and we plan to install a sandpit with shade for little ones in the same area for 2021. Jasper is als building wendy house by the lakesdie campng in a spinney for littel ones. All of which should provide great fun with little cost to the environment and we hope the next generation will enjoy playing in nature and grow up to take care of it.
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bringing the meadow back to
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meadow flower mix
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children exploring
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THE NEXT GENERATIONCamping is found to encourage children's appreciation for nature & fosters a healthy lifestyle, so take them camping and feed the next generation to value the environment. Assuming you've not flown in, your camping trip will have a small ecological footprint, (especially if you store your caravan with us)! You'll experience the added health benefits being next to water, you'll feel closer to nature waking with bird song, watching the movement of water and you'll be more connected with each other as everyone helps set up camp.
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our wildlifeOur livestock and hens are not the only four-legged and feathered residents at our 400 acre farm – buzzards, red kites, and sparrow hawks glide above by day, while owls hoot among the trees by night. Osprey have been sighted above returning to the second home at Rutland water in April and our lake provides a home for ducks, grebes, moorhens and majestic swans. You can also find bats, frogs and plenty to interest children pond dipping.
The woodlands provide shelter for rabbits, hares, hedgehogs, shrews and voles, which are tasty treats for weasels and badgers. In the woods you might spot jays, nuthatches and woodpeckers and sand martins make their home at Avalanche Adventure. All this attracts birds of prey and the fish attract cormorants and otters. Meanwhile, myriad insect species make life easy for the local reptiles and amphibians, including frogs and newts. The campsite and lake is located in a gentle valley in the heart of the farm – an ideal lookout for both birds and campers; indeed, the views are splendid. We are very high up and perfectly sited to view stunning sunsets too. The evening and morning light both provide great photography opportunities too. |
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native planting
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Eco SystemOur stunning lake is actually quite shallow with the eco system of a pond. The shallow depth allows sunlight to reach the bottom facilitating plant growth there. Fish feed on plants, while microbes break down substances which are further absorbed by aquatic plants. We've planted a wide variety of native plants offering cover for wildlife. A more detailed view of what's happening in our lake is set out below:
Lake bottom -decomposers and scavengers live here where they feed on dead material, eg water worms and rat-tailed maggots. Mid water - fish are the main predators here feeding on smaller fish. Animals here breathe through their skin or gills. Water fleas and dragonfly nymphs also occupy the middle waters. Lake surface - animals here breathe through their gills, skin or lungs. There is plenty of oxygen and light here. Animals found here include ducks, grebes, geese, water boatmen, midge larvae and tadpoles. Lake margin - plants provide a sheltered habitat for insects and smalls animals such as frogs. There is lots of light and oxygen so plants such as the yellow flag iris thrive. Above the lake surface - birds such as kingfishers and insects like dragonflies are common here. We have both red veined darter and blue damsel dragon flies. Swifts and swallows need warm weather to provide a constant supply of flying insects, so they spend only about three months here each year. They arrive from central Africa in early May and can be seen darting above the lakes surface chasing insects. |
sustainable farmingIn 2020 our entire arable land was planted with hemp which converts CO2 to oxygen even more impressively than trees with mind blowing speed; (4 metres in 100 days) makes hemp one of the fastest CO2-to-biomass conversion tools available. A well-attended open day was held on the farm to educate farmers about industrial hemp used for insulation, textiles, oils and it's impressive eco benefits.
All our arable fields have prairie strips giving insects and wildlife additional cover and variety of plants to the hedged areas to sustain an ecosystem. Our suckler herd of cattle enjoying on intensive farming practices. They are kept in during the winter months for their wellbeing and sent out to pasture with new calves a at foot in the spring. The calves stay with their mother until they are weaned in October when they all come in for winter again. They can still see and hear their adolescent calves and it gives them a break before they have a new calf again from January to March. |
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