Sustainability At A Five Star Luxury Retreat – Surely it’s not possible?!? An Unashamedly long read…

Mt Hay Retreat and Sustainability… 

Mt Hay Retreat is a small luxury adult-only retreat on the NSW South Coast.  Staying with us is a chance to slow down, connect with nature and enjoy all the wonders of Berry and the incredible South Coast.  It is a chance to escape from busy lives, slow down a little and breathe. But it shouldn’t come at any cost… 

You should be able to stay in a stunning rural setting but without missing any of your real-world connections (Mobile phone reception is typically very good and our free wifi is great….having said that, we do recommend turning your out of office ‘on’ and switching off) – without compromising your values.  

As such our commitment to sustainability here at Mt Hay goes well beyond lip service.  As a working farm, we deeply understand the need to care for the land and are strongly committed to sustaining our natural environment.

Mt Hay is special and we feel that we have an obligation not only to maintain the property but also to protect it from harm.  Part of the property is zoned Environmental Protection – Scenic Value and the remainder is Environmental Protection – Escarpment Zone.  This zoning gives us a duty of care to maintain this special place and an obligation to do our upmost to minimise our impact on the broader environment so that it is sustained for future generations.

Our ethos is simple – to look after Mt Hay for future generations by allowing others to enjoy this extraordinary place.

We are committed to sustainable and responsible habits and behaviours at all times, with recycling initiatives and sustainable management woven into everyday life. 

The Build!

Our guest suites were designed and built using sustainable principles, including native landscaping that offers year-round colour and habitat for the birds and wildlife that call Mt Hay ‘home’. These gardens help cool us in summer and protect us from bracing winds in winter. 

Our suites sit in harmony with the natural landscape having been specifically positioned, on site, in alignment with the natural contours of the land, allowing the development to sit within the environment – not on it. 

It also enabled us to build with minimal soil disturbance and in accordance with natural drainage channels, taking advantage of a passive solar design that maximised the use of natural light and warmth (especially in winter), and also enabled ‘flow through’ breezes to cool our suites in summer.   

Our colour palette was driven by the colours of the environment around us – so that the development itself was a reflection of the locality, not an interruption to it. 

Our Suites

The gardens around our suites deliberately encourage a closer connection with the stunning natural environment of Mt Hay by providing valuable habitat for the birds and wildlife that call Mt Hay ‘home’.  Bringing our visitors ‘up close and personal’ with their environment, in particular the deployment of a simple indoor-outdoor living design that connects visitors to the landscape – intrinsically.

The Gardens at Mt Hay

This is further reinforced through the provision of opportunities to experience nature in ways that lead to greater understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment for our guests – e.g. Provision of a Rainforest Booklet and other ecological guidance to educate visitors about the importance of preserving this stunning corner of threatened sub-tropical rainforest that we call ‘home’.

We have a plan of management which also covers the operation of the facility to ensure that the amenity of the local area is not impacted (responsible tourism) and that our management principles and practices continue in the day to day running of the retreat (e.g. waste management, care for the local environment, resource management, visitor education, reinvestment in the ongoing conservation of this spectacular place). 

Materials and suppliers were ethically and sustainably sourced during the build – with a particular preference given to local trades and expertise and products that were highly durable with a longer lifespan and lower maintenance requirements.  A local builder with strong connections to the area headed the project, relying in local manufacture wherever possible – glass, steel etc.

All our suites utilise water tanks and greywater and black wastewater harvesting and reuse systems, water and energy efficient appliances and fixtures with a priority focus on low energy heating and cooling systems such as ceiling fans and cross ventilation.

Solar panels have been exploited across the new roof lines wherever possible to provide much of the retreats power requirements into the future.  

Day to Day Management – the long boring bit that makes a difference.

Monitoring and reviewing the consumption of electricity, fuel, water, and materials is crucial for our business to manage our resources efficiently and effectively.  Helping us to identify areas for improvement. 

Waste, Resources, Power

We proactively manage both waste generation and waste management on site.  Encouraging guests to sort waste items so that we can maximise recovery.

• Food: Suitable food/fruit/vegetables can be fed to our cows/goats/ducks. And plain bread can fed to our fish – in moderation. Other items are composted on site – contributing to our healthy gardens and productive kitchen garden. 
• Paper and Cardboard 95% is recycled on site – via a garden shredder and then added to our farm sized compost bins. Office paper generation is kept to a minimum using online communications and electronic billing where possible. 
• We avoid the use of plastics wherever possible.  Mt Hay branded ‘shopping’ bags are available in each suite for guests to use, and take with them – to reduce the use of plastics on an ongoing basis. We also give each guest a reusable vacuum insulated water bottle – to encourage them to reuse and reduce the use of plastic water bottles on an ongoing basis.c.3000 plastic bottles removed per year.  We use soap dispensers as opposed to individual ‘serves’ – again minimising our plastics use.
• Metal tins/containers – recycled.
• Glass bottles. Recycled or repurposed in garden features (glass walls).
• Assorted other waste generation – Depleted towels/linen are repurposed and reused through donations to various charities and groups.
• Red bin waste is monitored daily. We cross correlate waste generation vs occupancy and strive to identify changes in patterns so that we can understand why more waste may be being generated.
• Effluent – We have 2 onsite effluent processing “Biolytics” systems that process effluent and disperse excess clean water into underground dispersal fields.  These biolytic systems are maintained on a regular basis – as prescribed by local regulations and council requirements. 
• Chemicals – We have a strict policy to only use environmentally safe products.  We do not wish to either harm the environment or harm the worms who work so hard for us in our Biolytics systems.
• Power – We generate power on site (solar) with our use of electricity being aligned as far as possible to power generation (e.g. running pool pumps and filters in daylight hours). This helps us to reduce our reliance on external energy sources. Smart meters allow us to monitor electricity generation and usage on a regular basis.  We use battery powered gardening equipment – which is better from a noise and fuel pollution perspective.
• We have heavily invested in insulation, covers and thermal improvements to our pool operations to reduce our power consumption, maximise heat retention and reduce chemical loss through evaporation.  
• We use low water usage, high energy efficiency appliances and keep our night-time external lighting to a minimum for safety using low voltage lighting on timers (there are torches too) so that guests can enjoy our stunning night-time sky and light pollution is kept to a minimum.
• We offer the facility to charge EV vehicles to guests to encourage sustainability practices within the wider community.
• Water. We have countless rain water tanks across the retreat, so we can maximise our capture of this valuable resource.  Water consumption is also monitored daily.
• Purchasing – The health and vibrancy of our local community is critical to the health of our own business. Without fellow business owners succeeding, this area would not be as vibrant and captivating as it is. We are committed to buying locally wherever possible, and proactively encourage our guests to visit local businesses and places too

Wider Property Management

We also practice sustainable management of the 364 acres of native bush and farm surrounding the retreat.

We plant predominantly native trees and plants across the property to maximise habitat and to slowly regenerate this beautiful place.  We have specifically been planting to stabilise areas following the sustained rain events of the last few years.  

The rainforest that is situated on our property is described as Moist Subtropical Rainforest. This ecosystem forms part of the threatened ecological community listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act as ‘Illawarra Subtropical Rainforest’. This type of rainforest typically occurs on high nutrient soils such as Permian volcanics in the Illawarra region where conditions are wet, often exceeding 1000mm of rainfall each year.

This type of rainforest mainly occurs on private land and is considered to be inadequately protected and under-represented in conservation reserves. It has been recorded in the local government areas of Wollongong City, through Shellharbour City, Shoalhaven City and Kiama Municipality, however large areas of these rainforests have been cleared for agricultural purposes, with only 3,800 ha remaining in the Shoalhaven area of which 2.39 can be found here at Mt Hay. 

The key significance of this type of rainforest is that it comprises a diverse range of species including dozens of vascular plants, micro-organisms, fungi, cryptogamic plants (mosses, ferns, algae and fungi) and a rich, but poorly documented vertebrate and invertebrate fauna.

As the remnants of these environments are typically small and fragmented, their long term viability is threatened. Weed invasion, future clearing, inappropriate fire regimes and rubbish dumping are among the many threats to this spectacular environment.

There are multiple management objectives that have been put in place for this rare rainforest. A few of these objectives include:

• Targeted bush regeneration to restore remnants
• Fire exclusion
• Awareness programs
• Erosion control
• Management-focused research.

Here at Mt Hay, in line with these objectives, we regularly undertake a number of measures to maintain the current extent and condition of the rainforest.

Those measures include mechanical weed removal and in some instances herbicide application. Around half a day each week and around 20 litres of herbicide a year are required to control weeds that threaten the rainforest and other natural areas of the property.

Weed species targeted under the program include: • Fireweed • Scotch Thistle • Lantana • Broad-leaved Privet.

According to NSW Department of Primary Industries infestations of broad leaf privet threaten biodiversity, including endangered plant and animal species and ecological communities. Dense stands of privet prevent other vegetation surviving or establishing. Broad-leaf privet invades ecosystems including subtropical and coastal rainforests, rainforest margins, warm-temperate and dry rainforest, wet and dry eucalypt forests, grassy woodlands, grasslands and riparian vegetation.  As such it’s removal, reduction and active management are undertaken on the property on a weekly basis particularly in targeted areas where native species are also present (Lilly Pilly (Acmena Smithii) and Sassafras (Doryphora Sassafrass) etc.  This allows (with ongoing management) these native species to thrive and the bush to regenerate.

We are also proactively managing Lantana stands on steep terrain (cut and manually poison stems), leaving root systems in place to stabilise soils/slopes and allowing natives to thrive. 

Our grazing cattle are kept to existing cleared land with grazing managed on a daily basis to minimize the risk of  overgrazing and the associated degradation of soil cover and health.

Our Cows

A number of years ago we reintroduced dung beetles to the property and continue today to see signs of their ongoing health and the important role they play in preserving the soil health on the farm.  

Water courses on the farm are protected from stock and water management is a priority – not just for stock health but ours too. 

During drought water troughs are moth-balled when not in use, with the exception of 2 that are located in areas where significant wildlife are known to ‘reside’.  These troughs are considered wildlife reserves in times of drought and are maintained to support local populations.  

We hope that this beautiful escape will allow all our guests to relax, refresh and enjoy their stay without compromising on our stunning environment. 

 We welcome any thoughts on how we can improve the impact we have on this special environment. 

To book your next stay with us click here or here to find out more about us.

Louise, Mt Hay Retreat