Is it Local?
Sustainability is central to the Altyre vision. The estate is determined to make best and responsible use of its scarce resources, including its woodlands, its water courses, its bio-diversity and its buildings and materials. Self sufficiency is at the heart of the sustainability project and centres on the production of energy from the Estate’s renewable sources. It also involves conservation and recycling and efficient waste control. Every loose stone, every random piece of timber, every redundant building and every fallow field has the potential for re-use and new life. Sustainability also extends to the Altyre’s relationship with the local community and in particular to local procurement and supply. Whether the requirement is for trades people or for professional services, for materials or for goods and services the solution sought is always local.
Across the estate the aim is to reduce our carbon footprint – cutting Co2 emissions and improving the efficiency of land use. Conservation programmes are under way to preserve and re-use historic and utilitarian buildings drawing on their ‘embodied energy’; to recycle materials and to minimize and manage waste; to protect wildlife and safeguard the habitats of rare species through a planned programme of nature conservancy. The estates’ farms are managed both in-hand and let to local farming businesses to ensure that each activity is matched to the best available skill . Altyre rears some of the finest beef in the Highlands. The estate’s lake and water courses including the River Findhorn are expertly managed to ensure that traditional sporting rights are matched by responsible controls and restocking.