Celebrating sustainability

In the first part of yesterday's community meeting on sustainability, we had a brainstorm of all the sustainable things we are doing, or have included within the building. It was a bit of a celebration for us, and Mary had drawn some smiley faces and angels around the edge of the flipchart paper. You wouldn't see that in Met Office brainstorms! Here's our list, which probably isn't exhaustive:

Biomass boiler. Biodigester and swales. Turning off lights. Recycled and locally-sourced building materials. Rainwater harvesting. Insulation. Planting trees as carbon sinks. Solar panels, both water heating and photovoltaics. Being aware. Fairtrade food. Local sourcing and co-operation. Will grow own organic food. Manual labour where practicable. Recycled toner cartridges. Shared car trips. Sharing use of two cars and other goods between 10-14. Composting. Recycling. Energy-efficient lighting. Using reclaimed wood in stove. Low-water toilets. Energy-efficient kitchen equipment and white goods. Using flasks rather than boiling kettles. Monitoring our use of energy and water.

We then had a bit of a think about what motivates us to change our behaviour or make particular choices, and then another bit of a think about what more we could do. Still plenty of ideas; we're on a journey...