Friday, October 14, 2011

Woodbrooke - a truly sustainable place


Last week I led an EMS Implementation course on behalf of the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges (EAUC). It was a very interesting course with some thoughtful and hardworking delegates. It’s always exciting to lead a course like this, hearing of people’s experiences, problems and achievements. What made this course rather special was the location. We ran it as a residential course based at the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Selly Oak, Birmingham. It was formerly the family home of George Cadbury, the chocolate maker.

The Quaker ethics are embedded in the service provided so the place was both friendly and welcoming and very beautiful. We all ate together in the communal dining room overlooking the grounds. The food was wholesome and tasty and catered for meat eaters, vegetarians, and those with food intolerances. I’ve rarely eaten so well and so healthily. At the end of each meal we took our plates and stacked them ready for washing, emptying food waste into a bin, none recyclable material (butter wrappers) into a separate (small) box and put our cutlery into a container of hot soapy water which would make the cleaning process more efficient. There was minimum waste, not least because you were welcome to keep returning for seconds and didn’t, therefore, take more than you turned out to need.

During the breaks in the training day not only was coffee and tea available but herb and fruit teas together with home baked biscuits and cakes. Yum. The water was not commercially bottled but filtered tap water in reusable glass bottles, again a much more sustainable option.

Our training room, the Eva Koch Room, was lovely. We had comfortable armchairs rather then cold plastic chairs and tables. It made for a very relaxing experience with a view through the sash windows of the glorious autumn garden.

I don’t know what everyone else’s rooms were like. Mine was small but very cosy and they left my towels alone. I can’t count the number of hotels I’ve stayed out where I’ve followed instructions so that they shouldn’t wash my towels and they’ve taken them anyway. It was so nice to have a room that was not messed with, other then the coffee and tea being refreshed.

Much of the activity at the centre is Quaker based but wider education and accommodation is very much welcomed. When we arrived there was a class of children learning to work together and we were not the only outside adult training course they have.

They work hard to be sustainable and invest in sustainable refurbishment. At present they have a box where you can donate to cover the carbon footprint of your travel. The money raised will contribute to installing solar water heaters. This together with the egg timers in the showers (my showers were always over before the sand ran out) will reduce their impact again. All but one of us arrived by train/taxi because this is a very accessible place, within walking distance of Selly Oak station, unless you are carrying a laptop, clothes for three days and a lot of course paperwork. The grounds are wildlife sanctuary and a haven of peace for the residents. Who knew there was such beauty just off the A38? Certainly my taxi driver didn’t.

I think training facilities, conference centres and hotels could all learn a lot from Woodbrooke. I’d certainly like to work there again. (Hint).

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