Sustainable Hestercombe
Hestercombe's Mission Statement
‘The aim of the Hestercombe Trust is to reclaim, restore, preserve, enhance and develop for the education and benefit of the public, the landscape, gardens and buildings of heritage, horticultural or architectural interest associated with Hestercombe’
Referring to our Mission Statement is an important reminder of why we do what we do. The commitment to the care and development of Hestercombe now and for the future takes hard work and dedication. Here are examples of just some of our ongoing work -
Wildlife and habitat management
- Woodland, grassland and wetland habitats managed to provide maximum wildlife and flora diversity
- Composting of all garden & food waste; no pesticides, limited herbicides used in the gardens.
- We follow the Forestry Commission’s recommended woodland management guidelines which encourage periodic thinning of the woodland to provide the native broadleaf tree species more growing space to fully mature. The sustainably harvested timber is then used to fuel our biomass boiler system to heat our watermill complex. Through following this woodland management practice we are also able to harvest timber for the production of charcoal, which we sell locally.
- As part of our woodland management we have replaced introduced coniferous species in favour of native broad leaf trees to improve habitat and wildlife diversity.
- Ongoing planting of native shrubs within the woodland to create a wildlife friendly under-story. This will create more habitat diversity, warm the wood and hold more insects – the main food of Hestercombe’s rare Lesser Horseshoe Bats.
- Creation of wildflower meadow, to further improve and broaden our wildlife and habitat diversity at Hestercombe.
Protected species management
- Nesting birds: In order to protect any nesting birds and their habitat no forestry work is carried out between the months of March and October. Nest boxes to encourage bird nesting have been installed throughout the estate.
- Badgers: If a badger population establishes itself within our woodland great care is taken not to disturb their sett.
- Bats: By planting a mixture of native shrubs and broadleaf tree species we will create a shrub layer below the tree canopy that will increase the amount of cover available to the bats; and by leaving deadwood on the woodland floor we will be providing a habitat that will also support a high diversity of woodland insects and increase foraging opportunities. New roost created to provide further nesting space for our resident lesser horseshoe, piperstrell and long eared bats.
Facilities management
- Recycling white paper, mixed paper, plastic bottles, bags & packaging, cans, textiles, loose cardboard
- Energy management systems
- Electric car charger in the carpark
- Current: Mechanical and electrical control systems installed to regulate building heating circuits throughout; biomass boiler system installed in the watermill complex, energy efficient lighting systems throughout, under floor heating circuits (watermill complex and Bampfylde Hall), double glazing (watermill complex), water management systems implemented in the visitor loos to control water consumption (throughout), highly insulated buildings with u-values exceeding current building regulations (watermill complex). Electric food handling buggy purchased for the Hospitality Team to improve logistical management for functions across the entire estate
- Planned installation in the next 6 months: solar thermal panels to reduce demand from oil fired boilers (Visitor Centre), photovoltaic panels to provide electricity to the Visitor Centre & watermill complex, impounded rain and natural spring water is used to power our Victorian turbine which is connected to a dynamometer to supply electricity to the watermill complex.
Education - sharing the 'green' message
- The Education Officer has developed broad and inclusive education programmes with the focus on health, sustainability, conservation and recycling
- The gardening team works closely with Primary Schools to encourage gardening, recycling, vegetable and herb growing
- A short film has been commissioned to demonstrate how the Mill and Barn complex was restored and how historic and modern energy technologies work together
- Events take place throughout the year to inform - such as ‘Dig it, Grow it, Eat it’ – an education initiative involving primary and secondary schools across Devon and Somerset in association with Viridor Waste Management
Green Tourism
- A bookable Slinky Bus is available from Taunton
- In partnership with the West Somerset Railway we have created a delightful package using the train and coach for a day out at the Gardens
Low food miles
- Our Chef sources ingredients locally wherever possible. Food is made fresh and no frozen food is bought in. Menusare refreshed regularly to reflect the season and local availability
- We have our own beautiful herb garden
- Victorian greenhouses are being restored to develop our kitchen garden
