Mornington House Luxury Manor House Accommodation

Co. Westmeath, Ireland

Mornington's Green approach

We recently became Green Hospitality Certified. Our aims and objectives are outlined in our Environmental Policy of Mornington House 2017 (see below).

What is green about our property?

The meadows are cut for hay and silage. There are ancient trees as well as new plantings of oak and beech. All have been grown from seeds gathered on the place or other old estates. We have also planted a number of native trees. Fires burn sustainable timber, water is from the old well, eggs are from our own hens. Manure from livestock and green garden waste is composted and used on vegetable garden. Food waste is fed to hens. Warwick is the vegetable gardener and mower of the lawns. Anne, pulls weeds and picks fruit and makes chutney and other preserves.

Environmental Policy of Mornington House 2017

Our aim is to operate an environmentally friendly establishment, which enables our visitors to experience all aspects of the rural and historic area in which we live. We do as much as is possible to ensure energy, water and the natural environment is managed carefully. Waste is minimised and recycled where possible. We grow our own vegetables and fruit for use in the kitchen for guests and family meals. We support the local economy by purchasing supplies locally, employing local staff and promoting other local establishments offering services to visitors.

We aim to:

• Reduce our use of non-renewable resources and of energy produced from such resources
• Reduce, reuse and recycle waste wherever practical
• Prevent and minimise pollution
• Use all resources efficiently
• Increase our use of recycled materials and materials from renewable sources
• Pass on the benefits of improved environmental practice to our staff and guests

Specifically we are:

• Conserving energy and water
• Reducing waste through, re-using and recycling
• Monitoring and reducing our reliance on non-renewable resources
• Monitoring and reducing our use of non-ecological detergents and disinfectants and replacing them with ecological products
• Educating, training and motivating our staff to work in an environmentally responsible manner and to participate in developing new ideas and initiatives
• Welcoming our guests and providing information about local landscape, biodiversity and nature conservation measures in our area
• Implementing nature walks, wildlife areas, bird boxes, planting native trees and providing information to our visitors about these

As part of our on-going environmental management we have:

• Started to replace all lights with low energy alternatives
• Developed a waste management policy to ensure all waste is segregated into recyclable and non-recyclable, to reduce waste going to landfill
• Developed a purchasing policy to ensure all supplies are sourced locally, where possible, to support the local economy

We would appreciate our guests assisting in our environmental performance by:

• Keeping windows closed if the heating is switched on
• Turning off lights when not required
• Saving water where practical
• Requesting when towels need replacing by placing used ones in the bath
• Separating waste into the bins provided
• Staying on the trails as much as possible
• Respecting the natural environment during your stay and continuing this afterwards

We appreciate your support for our environmental management programme and we welcome any feedback.

Warwick and Anne O’Hara

Owners