Chisholme signs up to the 10:10 campaign

Awareness of our integral relationship with the world we live in is essential to the Beshara School and the education it offers. We are therefore committed to running the School in the most sustainable way possible. After an in-depth environmental assessment in 2008, a wood burning boiler was installed which is now providing heating and hot water to the main house and student accommodation. Since the installation of the boiler, the use of kerosene has been reduced from 2300 litres to 300 litres a month.

Over 20,000 trees have been planted on the Chisholme estate over the last ten years, with the support of the Millennium Forest for Scotland Trust. Bit by bit large stands of spruce forest are being replaced by indigenous trees. These will grow up to provide a healthy and diverse ecosystem and a sustainable supply of firewood for generations to come.

The walled garden produces an abundance of fruit and vegetables which are used by the kitchen. Waste is largely recycled, all compost goes back into the garden and food scraps are fed to the chickens and ducks which roam the estate.

As part of our commitment we are proud to have joined 10:10 and will continue to work to reduce our carbon emissions in every aspect of the running of the school. At present we are investigating the installation of wind turbines on the estate. It is estimated that this could further reduce diesel consumption by 50%.

For more information please contact Walt Holland at the Beshara School, Chisholme House. Tel: 01450 880 215. E-mail: walt@beshara.org

Sustainable energy for Chisholme – action plan

1. Raising awareness, education and setting an example in how to live in a sustainable way. Changing behaviour and habits.
2. Realise all possible energy saving measures, including insulation, draught-proofing, double-galzing, secondary glazing.
3. Investigate and realise different sustainable ways of energy generation.

Energy saving measures:

As funding becomes available:

• Insulate all attic spaces. Draught-proof all windows in the big house, and replace all windows in the steading and cottages with double-glazed units. Install secondary glazing in the big house.
• Further, build air-lock porches by the kitchen door of the big house, and in the steading, and bring back into working order the original window shutters for extra energy savings at night.

Biomass fuel:

• Oil-fired heating and hot water systems throughout the estate will be phased out, and replaced with wood-burning systems. With grant-aid from the Energy Savings Trust a high-efficiency log-burning boiler was installed in 2009, which is providing heating and hot water for the big house, the Steading and Steading Cottage.
• The Institute owns nearly 200 acres, much of which is forested, and in need of management to maximise productivity. In addition, the proximity to Craik Forest (Forestry Commission Scotland) assures a good (local) supply of logs if needed.

Wind and Solar Power

In 2010, funding will be sought to install wind-turbines for the generation of electricity, and solar panels for hot water.

Long term objectives:

The project as a whole will be ongoing and continuously re-appraised as new information becomes available. The ultimate aim is zero-carbon emission for the estate, and an ever increasing understanding of our global responsibilities. A series of international symposia will be dedicated to investigate the latter, organized in collaboration between the Chisholme Institute and the Beshara Trust. The first of these was held at Chisholme in September 2009, entitled "Towards a Unified Vision".

Update – September 2009

As the summer starts drawing to a close, it is good to be able to report that the final part of the Energy Saving Trust grant has been received. This concludes the installation phase of the project, but we are currently left with the learning curve of balancing the requirements of the estate from a centralised heat source. As the autumn and winter progresses, the work load associated with supplying heating will also increase, which will of course have a knock on effect on the estate woodland.

We are currently running one boiler for around 12hrs a day, the heat from which is stored at 80 degrees Centigrade and then drawn off when necessary. Something like 200kg of wood a day needs to be supplied (cut, split, dried, stacked and delivered) to the boiler. We now have 5 people on the estate who have done a chainsaw course, so the demands placed on the Estate Manager will hopefully be less than they might! The wintertime is the best time for this forestry work, so if there are any volunteers to help with a spell of lumberjacking, please get in touch with the secretary.

As to the future, phase 2 will be addressing the electricity provision at the estate. How this will be resolved is yet to be seen, but research (estate demand, renewable energy products, installers and funding sources) is being done. The heating project, although largely (and generously) funded by the Energy saving Trust, has severely dented our 'projects' budget. If you do not feel able to help in the woods, help in refreshing this ring-fenced pot would be gratefully received.

Update – March 2009

Room Three is now on the last lap, having had the insulation and plasterboard work completed. Work on the Attic is going to start soon, aiming to finish by the end of April.

When the container was delivered it was thought best to cut the whole floor out of it so that the heating equipment is resting directly on the concrete. Expansion vessels and heating pipe are expected soon. Mike Wigmore is connecting up all the boilers, tanks and pumps inside the container.

The Energy Saving Trust have sent an interim payment of the grant, and have confirmed they will allow an extension of time to allow the work to be finished in April. After this there will be an inspection, and we can undertake final work to tidy up both the accounting and building site.

External supplies of fuelwood are also expected this month, to supplement the store accumulated at the woodshed.

Update – February 2009

The cold weather has left, maybe temporarily, but it has allowed work to move on.

As can be seen in the photograph below, the painters from Victorian Sash Windows have been tackling the Dining Room, after the joiners have finished their work. In fact we have been really lucky with the weather, and the job has been completed ahead of time, and below the quotation!

The ground slab for the boilerhouse has been poured, and we await the container's delivery once the concrete has had time to cure.

While the snow was here all the machine-trenching was finished, but we need to do a little more excavation by hand before laying a bed for the heating pipe, all 220m of it.

Work on Room 3 is about to start, now that the materials have arrived.

Update – January 2009

Despite the recent cold weather making groundwork difficult, things have proceeded well.

Kerosene and diesel tanks have been relocated/removed and the grainshed demolished.

We now have the two old concrete pads separated by a step (shown below), ready for more concrete-work. The structural engineers and architect are advising on the steps necessary to extend these pads so they are suitable for the setting down of the containerised boiler houses. The cross section of the planned structure indicates the step between the two containers, the facade wall and the wooden structure. These last two will be constructed after the boiler installation, hopefully in the summer of 2009.

The boiler supply-and-install contract has been signed, and the proposed pipeline route from the house to the Steading has been laid out, although drains and electricity routes need to be located before trenching can commence.

The Big House windows' upgrade has been booked for fortnight starting 16 February.

Insulation work on Room 4 in the Steading has started (shown below).

Update – December 2008

Finally, we have had the funding amber-light from the Energy Saving Trust! Over Christmas and New Year, contracts will be able to be sorted, deposits paid, the grainshed demolished and preparations made for the concrete pads and shipping containers which will house the boiler system. It still looks positive for an up-and-running system before April (essential for funding purposes).

We are still waiting for Building Control approval, however, which is still the sticking point with EST. Once BC approval comes in, we'll be able to ask the funders to retrospectively pay for goods that are being bought now (from the Capital Projects Fund). Up to that time, we are on our own (financially).

Also a joy to report is the purchase of a log splitter, which allows Ben to actually split and stack wood which is being thinned from Meadburn Plantation at the moment. Splitting allows the bark to drop off and hastens drying, both necessary for the boilers to operate at maximum efficiency.

New log splitter

Update – November 2008

We are currently waiting for the Energy Saving Trust's decision on our final application to them. Work amounting to over £100,000 will cover a number of energy related projects: a new heating (space heating and hot water) system for the Big House, the Steading, the Steading Cottage and Lotties; the majority of the windows (and 2 external doors) in the Big House will be refurbished and draught proofed; the Big House loft will be insulated; and rooms 3 and 4 in the Steading will be insulated. To boot, 100 square metres of wood storage will be built to ensure an 18 months supply of fuel wood. Although we won't be fully self sufficient in wood, this project will save over 2000 litres of kerosene each month, and give a boost to the local wood supply economy.

The ideal site for the new boilerhouse is occupied by the old grainshed/chickenshed (photograph 1 below), behind which the current kerosene and diesel tanks sit. Two steel containers, suitably faced and clad (the image shows their relation to the main house), will hold two 80kW Vigas log boilers and 10 cubic metres of insulated holding tanks (the image shows an example next to Jethro). From here, underground insulated pipes will carry hot water to the other buildings.

Planning permission has been granted already, and we expect Building Control approval soon, so we can start preparing the ground!