Going Green

The Green Tourism Business Scheme

The Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) is an accredited VisitScotland Quality Assurance scheme operated in Scotland on behalf of VisitScotland by a not-for- profit company, Green Business UK Ltd. It is the largest and most successful environmental accreditation body for tourism businesses in Europe. Currently there are over 500 members in the UK and that number is set to increase considerably in the near future. GTBS was set up in order to help the hospitality industry meets its commitment and objectives with regard to their environmental impact and so far has been very successful in this.

What The Rumblie Does

We have been awarded Gold standard in the Scottish Green Tourism Business Scheme at our first attempt in 2006; we are the first and only B&B or Guest House within the Cairngorms National Park to reach this level.

This recognises the efforts that we go to to reduce our impact on the local community and wider environment.

These measures include our extensive use of organic and Fair Trade produce, only using eco cleaning products, using energy saving light bulbs, purchasing A+ , A & B energy rated appliances, supporting our local butcher, reducing our waste to the extent of having 6 compost bins and recycling/reusing all the items that we can - plastic bottles make excellent water feeders in the veg patch and bird feeders in the garden.

Part of the garden is our wildlife area, an area where we have planted some bulbs and sown wild flower seeds, and are now just leaving it for nature. There are rotting logs and old house ridge tiles to create habitation for insects to live in. In our vegetable garden we grow whenever possible, plants from organic seeds and use organic methods in our gardening and we hope to eventually be certified organic.

In 2007 we were asked to become members of responsibletravel.com a company that was Founded in 2001 with backing from Anita Roddick and based in Brighton (UK) who were the first business in the world to use the term responsible travel . They are one of the fastest growing travel agents in the UK and have booked over 20,000 travellers from all over the world.

 

Local Green Businesses

 

Cairngorm Mountain Ltd

Nevis Range

RSPB Loch Garten Osprey Centre

Cairngorm Reindeer Centre

Clan MacPherson Museum

Glenmore Visitor Centre

Loch Insh Watersports

Rothiemurchus Visitor Attraction

Highland Wildlife Park

Landmark Forest Theme Park

Speyside Heather Centre

 

Garden Bird Watch

 

In 2007 as part of our monitoring of wildlife we joined the BTO Garden Bird Watch Scheme. Each day we count the number and species of birds that visit our wildlife area. Typically we see, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robins, Greenfinches, House Sparrows, Collared Doves, Jackdaws and Blackbirds. Less frequent visitors are Coal Tits, Goldfinches, Starlings, Dunnocks, Sisksins, Wrens, Tree Creepers, Song Thrush, Pheasants and Pied Wagtails. Our highest single species one day count was Chaffinches at 77 during our RSPB own Garden Bird Watch Weekend in January 2007.