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Environment

The environment - what we're doing and why shopping with us can be part of you 'doing your bit'

In the world we now live in, many of us now strive to minimise the negative impact of our lives on this planet and work to improve the environment around us both for wildlife and future generations. As you might expect, at Vine House Farm we take environmental issues very seriously and in the broadest possible sense. We work tirelessly to improve the local environment on and around our farm for wildlife, plus strive to educate others nationally about a better way of farming. We also operate in a way which minimises the carbon footprint of our operation, but actually the most beneficial thing we probably do for the environment is provide a service to our customers which helps them 'do their bit' whilst still getting great value and high quality bird food. So please read on.

5% of our takings go straight to the Wildlife Trusts

This isn’t money we add to our prices – which remain some of the lowest in the market – but is simply deducted from the value of every order placed with us. We’re very happy to do this because supporting the Wildlife Trusts is something we deeply believe in and is an extension of the wildlife conservation work we do here at Vine House Farm…

You’re supporting the vital wildlife conservation work we do on our farm

Everyone has read about the huge damage modern farming methods have made to the native animals and plants on our farms in the UK. Once common species have been put into sharp decline because of policies and methods which pay little or no regard to wildlife. But here at Vine House Farm we see things very differently and creating and managing habitat for wildlife is just as important to us as the crops we produce.


Buying online is typically better for the environment than shopping locally

We entirely support the principle of shopping locally when the goods are produced locally. However and when it comes to bird food, buying from your local garden centre or supermarket will typically mean it actually increases your carbon footprint – not lower it. This is because the food will have already travelled many thousands of miles between where it was grown – perhaps as far away as China or the USA – to separate processing, packing and distribution centres, then finally onto the retailer you buy from. When you buy direct from Vine House Farm bird foods though, the food comes straight to you and on a van which will be delivering all sorts of other goods to your area anyway.


This sort of thinking is supported by a rigorous scientific study carried out by Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh who state: It was found that a typical van-based home delivery produced 181g CO2, compared with 4,274g CO2 for an average trip to the shops by car. An average bus trip by a shopper produced 1,265g CO2. In other words, when a customer drives to the shops and buys fewer than 24 small, non-food (human consumption) items per trip or travels by bus and buys fewer than 7 items, home delivery is more environmentally-friendly.


Drilling.jpgAnd buying online from Vine House Farm is even better!

Because much of our bird seed is grown on our own farm, it hasn’t attracted the carbon that it would had we imported it. What’s more, we go to great lengths to ensure we keep our carbon footprint to a minimum – e.g. we even burn waste wood to heat our premises! (See environmental policy.)


So buying your bird food direct from Vine House Farm bird foods will not only typically carry a lower carbon footprint than buying locally from a shop or store, but indeed from other mail order or online brands.


This diagram makes things clearer…


Carbonemissions.jpg