As international leaders meet to discuss the eleventh-hour action to save the planet at the Glasgow climate change conference, I thought it was appropriate to tell you about how we are working hard at the Watermill to play our part, albeit a tiny one. We can keep you Cool and Green at the same time.
As you probably know, we have installed air-conditioning units in all our bedrooms and in the public rooms (the dining room, the sitting room, the studio). They are all powered by our hidden array of photovoltaic cells, which create more than enough power to ensure that we are self-sufficient in electricity.
The diagram above, from our handy little monitoring app, shows that by using solar power we have saved more than 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide production. Not much in the great scheme of things, I’ll admit, but every little helps…
We have also produced more than 35,000 kilowatt hours of solar-powered electricity, most of which we have sent back to the national electricity grid.
You will have to search hard to see our photovoltaic panels, which are on the south-facing roofs of the 19th century mill and on the studio, looking out towards the river.
As part of our greening campaign, we have also taken steps to slash our use of plastic, notably in the plastic water bottles we used to provide for our guests when they went out on location. Lois demonstrates the solution below.
We bought a couple of dozen robust stainless-steel vacuum flasks and mark each one with a number. We loan a flask to each of our guests for their creative week.
Then they fill up from our fancy plumbed-in water-dispensing machine in the communal kitchen. At the touch of a button, it will dispense filtered water, either still or fizzy, either chilled or at ambient temperature. Each week the flasks are sterilised in our dishwasher, for re-use by the incoming guests. It’s just a bit more of a faff than plucking a plastic bottle from the fridge. But we reckon it’s worth the (slight) effort. We hope you agree!
To enjoy our other environmental efforts, such as thick insulation in our newly restored roofs, you won’t have to lift a finger! Just lean back in your chair on the vine verandah and contemplate the fact that we are surrounded by two environmentally protected areas: the National Park of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the Regional Park of the Apuan Alps. The air and the water are pure and unpolluted, and the area abounds in wildlife.