We are committed to running Sanctuary Barn in a sustainable way   

Sustainablity - It is crucial that Sanctuary Barn and it's guests have a limited or even positive impact on the local and broader environment. Hence, we only;

• supply Fairtrade tea, coffee and sugar from the local Cooperative;
• recommend local shops, suppliers, and farmers markets, and encourage our guests to use these as much as possible.

Recycling
We would encourage you to recycle as much of the waste you produce as possible, whether through reuse, the excellent local recycling facilities in Brough, or our compost bins.

We have gone beyond this level of recycling, and where possible reused materials in Sanctuary Barn in a number of different ways;
1 – The obvious – all of the following items are second hand, and being used as one would expect;

• Beds, bedside tables, dresser
• Kitchen units and worktop
• Dining tables and chairs
• TV, video, Sky box, TV unit
• Bath, toilet and sink in main bathroom
• Newspapers – framed sections were found in the farmhouse when it was renovated.

2 – The not so obvious – the following items are being reused, in unusual ways:

• CDs – the sort that comes with the weekend papers – coasters
• old curtains - tablemats
• Stone flag shelves from original barn – windowsills and interior shelves
• Polystyrene – all packaging brought onsite is reused in insulating the building
• Stone – no extra stone was brought on site, with the exception of some external lintels.
• Old/spare oak floorboards – skirting boards
• Spare plywood from packaging – kick boards in kitchen and boxing.

3 – Re-processed – these items have been collected and reprocessed, to allow them another life. This is especially important with plastics;

• Shower surrounds and en suite windows - water bottles and freebie CDs – (Smile Plastics 01743 8502167)
• Underlay – old pieces of carpet and car tyres (see letter)
• Bath mats – Wellington boots (Smile plastics again)
• Damp proof membrane – reused plastic waste from the Visqueen factory
• Picnic benches, seating on bridleway and information board  – recycled plastic packaging material (Prosperity Recycling, a social enterprise)

Septic Tank/Reed bed
All dirty water (sewage and grey water from baths/sinks etc) from Sanctuary Barn is processed via a septic tank and reed bed. It then flows, together with rain water from the gutters, into our wildlife pond (which unfortunately has recently cracked open a very effective field drain!). No untreated waste water leaves our property.

To help us protect the sewage system, please use only the cleaning liquids provided, and dispose of sanitary towels/nappies in the bins provided.

Heating/Hot Water
All heat comes from the Lucrezia Idro boiler in the living room. It is extremely efficient, and uses sawdust pellets made from timber waste, so is extremely carbon effective.

Energy and Efficiency
Electricity is wind generated, either from our own Proven 2.5kW turbine, or sourced from Ecotricity, rated best “green” supplier by The Ecologist magazine.

All newly purchased electrical products were A+/AA ratings.
All lighting uses Energy efficient bulbs or LEDs (we are especially proud of the kitchen LED down lighters!) – total lighting load if all lights are on is only a few hundred watts, well below a normal house with “normal” bulbs.
Sanctuary Barn is insulated above Building Regulations, with Tri-Iso insulation PLUS 70mm of polyurethane in the roof; 200mm of Thermafleece (01768 486285) wool insulation between the floors and in the loft area; 470mm below the floors in various stages.

Local products and suppliers
All building work and most sourcing has been done locally – no tradesman has travelled more than 30 miles to get here, with Kendal being the furthest destination. Where possible, we have used local suppliers, and local or UK products – for example, all the ironmongery on the doors is Kirkpatrick, sourced from Littlefairs our local builders merchant. Normally, this has involved a cost premium, but it seems important to us to keep these local suppliers and producers in business.

All the oak used in the floor, staircase, banisters and rafters is locally produced, locally kilned (where appropriate) and processed without use of ammonia.
Sheep form the mainstay of local agriculture, so it seemed obvious to use local wools in the carpets and insulation. The use of locally sourced wool insulation and wool carpets also hopefully helps the woeful state of the British wool industries. Local farmers are presently unable to get more than about £20 per hundred fleeces.

Organic cotton sheets proved just too expensive, but we have sourced our sheets from Out of Eden, 3 miles away, and they have a positive Fairtrade and sustainability policy, and are a strong local employer.

Minimal use of chemicals/VOC
All rooms are painted using organic paint, containing no chemicals/VOCs (Ecos Paint 01524 852371); all bare wood has been treated using the OSMO range of organic oils etc.
The use of Ecover products means few extraneous chemicals are used in Sanctuary Barn.

Timber
If we have not been able to source wood locally (for example, the green oak roof beams are from Southern Scotland and the oak timber for the staircase is from the Lake District, all naturally felled timber), we have specified FSC or equivalent timber.

Outside
In the last 2 years, with the help of Tree Appeal, we have planted 700 or so broadleaf trees around Leonards Cragg/Sanctuary Barn. Recently, we have added a few hundred bulbs, and sown several wildflower seed types in the meadow to the North of the property. We are linking with the North Pennines AONB Haytime project, to increase our meadow’s flower count.
Recent new breeding visitors to the property include Little Owls, finches, buzzards, barn owls, curlews, and lapwings.

Compromises
Plasterboard and polyurethane insulation wall board
We aimed to use “green” building products – reed board, clay board, timber fibre insulation etc. Unfortunately, none of the above products could be used with old, thick, moisture creating rubble walls in a way that met Building Regulations. At least the plasterboard is locally produced (see letter) and the insulation is highly efficient.

Lime vs Cement
We have used Lime pointing on inside and outside. Lime is not only much more effective in controlling moisture, but also has a much lower environmental impact (kilned at a much lower temperature, thus using less fuel; and gives off fewer “greenhouse” gases).
Unfortunately, we have been required to use cement render internally, as part of our damp course required by building regulations; and the main floor slab had to be poured from locally supplied concrete, for the same reasons. Wherever possible, aggregates were supplied from local quarries, again to minimise transport costs.

Windows
UPVC windows may not seem the obvious ethical choice! We deliberated over these for a long time, and in the end came down on UPVC, despite its environmentally poor track record, solely in terms of Sanctuary Barn’s location. We are very exposed and wind speeds often top 100 mph on Stainmore. Many softwood windows need to be repainted every 2-3 years with harsh paints, and replaces within perhaps 10 years – even many hardwood windows need changing within 15 years. The windows were sourced from a local manufacturer in Kendal, and we hope their long life and there being no need to repaint using oil based paints will offset the early environmental cost.

Ian and Elizabeth Clark
Reviewed August 2008