Activities and Awards relating to the Environment and Sustainability
LABC (Local Authority Building Controllers Association) award for energy efficiency 2010: shortlisted as one of four outstanding Energy Efficiency buildings in East Anglia.
Federation of Masterbuilders
For the benefit of our great builder Rob Bacon of R J Bacon Builders Ltd, we put our project forward in the Energy Efficiency category of the Master Builder of the Year award. We were notified in late November 2010 that our project won the Eastern Region category.
Sustainability Live In April 2010 we were one of five candidates shortlisted for the SME (small and medium enterprise) Award for Energy Efficiency.
Old Home Superhome project This project run by the National Energy Foundation and the Sustainable Energy Academy provides a number of exemplar buildings open on specified days to the public and showing the application of renewable technology and energy efficiency to older buildings. In March 2010, following an energy audit, we were selected as the 49th building in the project and the only one at that time in the Norfolk/Suffolk region.
Campaign to Protect Rural England In September 2010 we were told that we had won a CPRE award in the category of historic building renovation. The CPRE has decided not to run its “Green Buildings in Norfolk” weekends in 2012. Instead we contributed to the RIBA Love Architecture Festival in June 2012
CPRE Anniversary open days. We were one of a limited number of buildings open for tours on Sundays during end Apri beginning May 2014.
Heritage Open Days September 2014. We were open for tours for 4 days during September and hosted around 50 people
November 2014 We put in a planning application to raise the roof line of our shed and greenhouse to make it suitable for solar PV. We are currently awaiting the outcome .
Other News
Rare sighting of black bellied dipper. We are not thoroughgoing birdwatchers but know a strange bird when we see one. We’ve seen this one a couple of times in the last two weeks. Not sure if it is just passing through. Haven’t yet managed to get a photo as it has appeared only fleetingly. Took us some time to identify it, but we’re pretty sure now that it is a black bellied dipper as it has no chestnut colouring but is pretty well pure black and white. One was photographed in Thetford (one hour away by car) last year in March, so they are known in this area.
Third sighting of black-bellied dipper November 26th (2014) at 0815. Heard an unusual bird this morning, looked out of window and there was the dipper again, sitting on the path in front of the mill. Rushed to get camera and in haste left it on automatic. Took a shot obliquely through the glass window and, of course, the flash went off, frightening the bird and reflecting off the glass to white out the image. As we’ve now seen it three times over the last month, perhaps it will stay around for the winter? and hopefully give another opportunity to catch it on camera.
19th November 2014. Giving the cat its demanded ten minutes stroke after breakfast I heard this high pitched whistling outside. Not recognising it as any birdsong I had a look out the window. A mother otter with three kits! They passed through the main mill sluice gate, played around in the mill pond and then went looping off downstream. Unusual sight for 9.15 am!