Cornwall Living
Sustainable swaps
Ideas from Oltco to help us all make our outdoor spaces more sustainable.
Over the winter months, you may have noticed that your garden has taken something of a battering, particularly in light of the extreme weather we’ve experienced over the last year. What’s more, households across the UK and beyond are looking for ways in which they can make their gardens more sustainable, more conducive to a green future, and more aligned with our growing sense of need to surround ourselves with nature.
Catching up with the team at Oltco, we learn that there are plenty of ways to achieve all of this. The first – especially if your fences are in a state of disrepair anyway – is to replace them with panels that contain holes for hedgehogs. Hedgehog ‘highways’ ensure these much-loved creatures can pass freely through your garden. Considering that the average hedgehog travels around one mile every night (traversing through our gardens and other greenspaces in search of food and a mate), by cutting a small gap in the bottom of your fence, you can make these wanderings far easier and safer, reducing their need to ‘king of the road’ their way across increasingly busy streets. A gap 13cm wide by 13cm tall is ample, and will be too small for nearly all pets, providing the added bonus of an escape route should your furry friend take an unhealthy liking to these unassuming wanderers.
Another consideration to make in gardens that don’t have grass, is to grow your own produce using a VegTrug. Made from sustainable fir, these durable planters come with purpose-built, fitted membrane liners, and are specifically designed to an easy working height. They provide access for all who wish to ‘grow their own’, and by feeding your family with produce grown just outside your back door, you can significantly reduce the miles associated with your food, and therefore your home’s carbon footprint.
Finally, if you’re hoping to install a hard-stand area in your outdoor space, why not choose Recycle Bound over traditional paving or tarmac? SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage System) compliant, Recycle Bound is made to ensure that water drains away from the surface quickly, reducing puddling and making your new outdoor space – be it a driveway, outdoor kitchen, or patio alternative – as low maintenance as possible. A world-first, sustainable resin bound solution made using waste plastic currently in circulation, it’s a fantastic way to offset your home’s environmental footprint, contributing to the clearing of waste plastic from the natural world and transforming it into a solution for your home that’s both practical and beautiful.
Oltco
