Selkirk Guest House - Environmental Statement and Objectives

At Selkirk Guest House, in beautiful Victoria, BC, Canada, we believe your stay with us can be enjoyable and fulfilling with minimum damage to the environment. We offer wholesome food, with a warm and friendly atmosphere, in a house that is 100 years old, this year. The house has been renovated and maintained to decrease negative environmental impact and will sustain its life for another 100 years.

Heating

• We have reduced our carbon footprint over the years by insulating the basement, outside walls and attic.

• We have replaced old windows with double pane, argon filled, low 'e'. These windows are wood sash from managed forests.

• Rather than relying solely on oil, we utilize natural gas and electricity, as well.

• To our valued guests, please turn down your thermostat when leaving the room for the day.

Water

• Low flow shower heads have been installed.

• Conserver toilets, with dual flush, are in each bathroom.

• We ask guests to reuse the towels, so they do not need to be changed each day.

• To reduce watering the garden, we use straw and compost mulch.

• We encourage our guests not to use bottled water. Greater Victoria has an impressive water supply that includes a watershed in a wilderness location and ultraviolet light treatment (see the Capital Regional District website for more information).

Recycling

• At Selkirk Guest House, we recycle through our Blue Box program, all paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, can and batteries. We have a recycle center on the west side of the house that we encourage our guests to use.

• All non-meat organic refuse is either composted or fed to our Heritage Breeds of urban hens (chickens). The compost heap is located at the south end of the parking lot.

• Any unclaimed clothing or usable items that are left here are donated to the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

Lighting

• We use compact fluorescent lights, where applicable.

• We have a low power use, automatic dusk to dawn yard light.

• Our path lights are solar power.

• We have installed dimmers, sensors and timers to control lights.

Laundry

• We use warm water water and cold rinse for our laundry.

• Eco laundry soap, not detergent, is used for all our washes.

• Bleach is not used.

• Guests can use the laundry facilies for a small fee.

Food

• We buy locally produced food, when possible.

• Our coffee is organic, fair trade.

• Milk and yogurt are from Vancouver Island dairies and processed in Victoria.

• Eggs are from our Urban Hens. These chickens are Heritage breeds. Norm is active in having the local Municipalities change bylaws to allow small flocks of Urban Hens to be kept in Victoria.

• We support local stores and producers to decrease our carbon footprint.

Garden

• Our property is bird and butterfly friendly.

• No pesticides are used.

• Straw and compost is mulched to decrease water use.

• Wild areas with indigenous plants are located on the property.

• Our gardens are children friendly.

• We do not water the lawns.

• Rain garden to flow rain water into the ground.

Future Eco Plans

• We want to reduce our use of fossil fuels and are exploring the use of closed tube solar water heating. This heated water will supply heat to the house and pre-heat the water going to the hot water tanks. These tanks are presently using natural gas.

• We will replace the existing oil furnace with a Heat Pump which will become the main source of heat for the house.

• Although compact fluorescents use less electricity than incandescent lights, we want to go further and use as many Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights as possible, as soon as they become available and affordable.

• We encourage our guests to use public transit. There are two convenient bus stops within walking distance.

We look forward to your comments!

Lyn & Norm Jackson
Selkirk Guest House