Cornish garden centre Trelawney@Wadebridge has installed a biomass boiler fuelled by wood chips from sawmills in the county to help with its carbon welly-print.
The centre is now using chips from tree branches that are too small for other uses to help produce its water and heating for the entire store.
David Danning, Director of Trelawney@Wadebridge in Sladesbridge, said: “We have a very strict environmental policy here at the garden centre and always do as much as we can to keep things green.
“We have recently installed a biomass boiler, which produces 200kw of energy and supplies us with all of the hot water and heating needed for the kitchens and the rest of the store. The boiler is fuelled by wood chips, which come from the sawmills in the area.
“In the summer months we will be burning Miscanthus Grass, which is grown just four miles from the garden centre. The grass is very similar to bamboo and can be burnt to produce fuel to heat the garden centre if needed.”
As well as the boiler Trelawney@Wadebridge also recycles all of the cooking fat from the kitchens as bio fuel. Five hundred solar panels, which are fixed onto the roof, produce 120kw of electricity to power a third of the garden centre and uncooked vegetable waste from the kitchen is composted for use on the garden centre’s flowerbeds.
David added: “We’re always looking for new ways to be green. It is very important that we do our bit for the environment and as a business we have a responsibility to do so.”
One of Cornwall’s largest and leading independent garden centres, Trelawney@Wadebridge was originally launched in 1970 as a nursery by Frank and Marion Danning. The garden centre is now run by their son David and David Symons, who started working for the family at the age of 11.
The garden centre provides customers with a wide range of quality gardening products including plants, furniture, barbecues, gifts and food items. Its friendly and knowledgeable staff are on-hand to give visitors help and advice on all gardening matters. There is also a garden building and Elite Spa concession on site.
Carriages Restaurant, which seats up to 240 customers, is situated next to the lake at Trelawney@Wadebridge. It serves hot and cold drinks, snacks, cakes, breakfasts, lunches, a daily carvery and children’s meals.
The award-winning, family-run business includes two generations of the Danning and Symons families. More than eight years ago the company launched a sister garden centre in North Devon, Trelawney@Ashford and is opening its third garden centre Trelawney@Probus on a green-field site in Cornwall next year (2015).
Trelawney@Probus looks set to offer visitors a chance to see plants and products in action with garden areas on site showing how things grow and work.
For more information, please call Trelawney@Wadebridge, which is located just off the A389 in Sladesbridge near Wadebridge, on 01208 893030 or visit www.trelawney.co.uk.
