Our Environmental Policy
Dragon Willows Farm is not just a smallholding, it's a complete way of life. We believe that if we work with nature and our environment, nature and the environment will work for us.
That's not to say that nature doesn't have a nasty streak which unleashes flood, drought and snow at the most inconvenient times, but because we are small and farm traditionally, we have the ability, to adapt to most things.
The principle we have put into practice is that, as far as is possible, we take nothing out that we can't put back.
Solar panels produce electricity for our use and fed into the national grid.
Hot water is generated by a combination of the solar panels and our log burning kitchen range. The range not only provides hot water, it heats our home and all our cooking is done on it.
Wood burning is carbon neutral, in that the carbon produced by burning
is counteracted by the carbon absorbed by trees and released as oxygen. We have planted willows for future pollarding, so in a few years we will be growing own logs.
Water has also become a commodity we can no longer afford to waste. All the buildings on our land have rainwater harvesting systems. This provides ample water for our crops and all our animals prefer to drink the rain water rather than water from the mains tap. The pigs quite like a hose down with it too!
On a smaller scale, there are lots of every day items that can be re-used.
Plastic drinks bottles, when cut in half across the middle make ideal individual plant pot cloches for bringing on cuttings and protecting delicate seedlings.
Old foil, tin cans, and broken glass combine in a pit in the greenhouse to create a heat sink. With the aid of a solar powered fan, this keeps the greenhouse nice and cosy.
It is a way of life, and to some it may seem like an awful lot of trouble, but what we get in return far exceeds our efforts. Not only do we have fresh, healthy meat, fruit and vegetables, but perhaps the biggest bonus is the substantially reduced utility bills, and that's a substantial pay-back from mother nature!