A local farm in dire need of care, has been transformed by couple into a modern sustainable and eco-friendly haven
Back in 2012 Terry Featherstone and his wife Tracy inherited High Meadow Farm, set in a beautiful rural location in County Durham. The home had been untouched for decades though, with no connection to the gas grid and its only source of energy being electricity or oil, by the couple’s own admission the property “seemed suspended in some kind of a 1970s warp” and they could see it was in dire need of renovation.
Being avid nature conservationists and eager to reduce their carbon footprint they wanted to make sure that their vision of turning the farmhouse into a family home incorporated renewable energy supplies.
The couple began their journey by searching for heat sources. They installed a ground-source heat pump, these are an option for green heat and are becoming more popular with modern buildings. Using pipes that are buried underground, thermal transfer fluid, a mixture of water and antifreeze, circulates and heat from the ground is absorbed and transferred through a heat exchanger and into the home.
Following this, they installed a wind turbine to generate electricity and reduce the need to supply from the local grid, however they decided to expand and build a holiday let, so they also added in solar panels (and an additional heat pump) to generate more electricity to power the farm.
The couple now are also working on woodland creation. Naturally woodlands are good for our environment, being carbon sinks but also a huge ground for biodiversity. Woodland is great for the earth and land, can create a defence for flooding, and can also benefit your income with the help from The Forestry Commission: Assessing the investment returns from timber and carbon in woodland creation projects.pdf. The farm is having 20,000 trees planted as part of their project, capturing carbon, and reducing the negative effects of climate change, whilst adding the gorgeous scenery surrounding.
It always amazes us to see the action locals take to fight climate change. If you have a story you’d like to share, we would love to hear about it. Let’s inspire our communities and make positive change.
