Sustainable Tourism
At Ribbonwood Retreat, nestled in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we are more than just an accommodation business.
We are steadfast allies of UNESCO's mission to preserve our vibrant heritage for generations to come, aligning ourselves with sustainable tourism practices and honoring the Tiaki Promise. Our collective efforts aim to enhance both your stay and the overall well-being of Glacier Country, ultimately contributing positively to Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Our commitment to sustainability is evident through our broad spectrum of green initiatives.
We take conscious steps to minimise our carbon footprint, including planting five hundred trees on our property and engaging in active carbon reduction and offsetting. In addition, we participate in environmental community projects as volunteers and reduce our rubbish and reuse when possible.
We believe in harnessing the potential of our land to its fullest extent.
This includes creating our own soap in-house, growing food, and sourcing resources locally as much as possible, not just for us, but for our guests as well. Our efforts have also resulted in a thriving habitat for birds, making our retreat a haven for nature lovers.
Join us at Ribbonwood Retreat, where we pave the way for a sustainable future while offering an unforgettable experience amidst the stunning beauty of Franz Josef Glacier on New Zealand's West Coast. For every booking, we will give $1 towards the Ōkārito Planting Project.
We are steadfast allies of UNESCO's mission to preserve our vibrant heritage for generations to come, aligning ourselves with sustainable tourism practices and honoring the Tiaki Promise. Our collective efforts aim to enhance both your stay and the overall well-being of Glacier Country, ultimately contributing positively to Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Our commitment to sustainability is evident through our broad spectrum of green initiatives.
We take conscious steps to minimise our carbon footprint, including planting five hundred trees on our property and engaging in active carbon reduction and offsetting. In addition, we participate in environmental community projects as volunteers and reduce our rubbish and reuse when possible.
We believe in harnessing the potential of our land to its fullest extent.
This includes creating our own soap in-house, growing food, and sourcing resources locally as much as possible, not just for us, but for our guests as well. Our efforts have also resulted in a thriving habitat for birds, making our retreat a haven for nature lovers.
Join us at Ribbonwood Retreat, where we pave the way for a sustainable future while offering an unforgettable experience amidst the stunning beauty of Franz Josef Glacier on New Zealand's West Coast. For every booking, we will give $1 towards the Ōkārito Planting Project.
Ribbonwood Retreats Environmental Sustainability Initiatives
Julie & Jo are Tweety TrappersOur own trapping initiative Tweety Trappers, targets rats and stoats. The spread of rats throughout New Zealand has had a devastating impact on our native species. This is because, many birds are ground dwellers, often living near wetlands or in damp lowland bush, introduced predators such as rats and stoats threaten these animals living, roosting or nesting near the ground. They consume birds’ eggs and nestlings, native insects and lizards, and without human intervention, would lead to the decline and eventual extinction of our native wildlife. We record all our findings on Trap NZ a collective data base of all projects like this.
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Tweety Trapper
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Utilising firewood from trees we grow on the property
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EnergyWe choose to work with an electricity supplier who uses hydro electric power stations, the nearest being only 15 km away. An energy efficient heat pump is in the cottage. Heating in the house is from a modern solid fuel stove utilising firewood from trees grown on the property. Under the cottage there is a high level of insulation with a vapour barrier over the ground. In the house, fibreglass insulation is between the wooden joists, combined with another layer over the top to eliminate thermal bridging, or heat escaping. We use energy-saving light bulbs and energy-efficient appliances. |
Volunteer WorkWe enjoy working with Glacier Valley Eco Tours who run a community trapping project at Lake Matheson named Project Earlybird. This was was set up to combat predators and to protect our birds and invertebrates. The project takes care of the recently released Rowi kiwi, as we work towards a Predator Free 2050 goal of sustainability in New Zealand.
We make ourselves available for community clean ups, Gorsebusters and were involved in the Fox Rubbish clean up. |
Checking the traps
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Jo making our calendula soap
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Reduce and RecycleWe separate waste as much as possible by sorting paper, glass, aluminium and tin cans to be recycled at our local waste station. Green material is also separated and composted for use in our garden. We make our own soap and provide guest shampoo and conditioner in convenient pump bottles that reduce the waste of small plastic bottles and packaging. We audit our suppliers making sure they align with our sustainability ethos and we prioritise products that are handcrafted in New Zealand and organic. |
Carbon ReductionWe measured our carbon footprint over the last 3 years through the Toitu Emissions Calculator and offset this with a donation to Trees That Count.
Ribbonwood Retreat selected Trees that Count because they help make an impact on climate change and improve our environment. Our donation was focused on planting long term native forests on degraded farmland in North Canterbury. We valued our carbon at $50 a ton and purchased credits by donating the equivalent amount. |
Toitu Calculator for Ribbonwood
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Avis
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Conservation in ActionRibbonwood Retreat are sponsors for Avis, the Kea you see in this photo. Citizen science is very powerful and we feel we have had a small stake in the success of the Kea programme. We invite you to read our blog about this experience. Here is a link to Avis's profile. Ribbonwood Retreat have purchased credits with Trees that Count to offset their carbon. We are also avid back country hikers, and donate to the Backcountry Trust. |
Carbon Reduction - BiocharWe use hazelnut pruning's to make biochar and dig it into our land. Biochar is an eco-friendly type of charcoal that you dig into the soil to improve its health.
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Jo in action making biochar
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The roof goes on - building Ribbonwood
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Sustainable DesignRibbonwood Retreat was designed with sustainability in mind. We used timber framing to conserve energy, with insulation in the walls and the ceiling and double-glazed windows to maximise passive solar heat. We used natural materials where-ever possible. |
Hazelnut OrchardAs a child Jonathan's family had mixed nuts as a Christmas treat and his favourite was hazelnuts because he found the larger nuts were difficult to crack!
Upon purchasing our land at Franz Josef 20 tears ago, he was pleased to learn that hazelnuts suited the poor silty soils here. Over the years we have planted nearly 100 trees of five different varieties to enhance pollination. |
Ribbonwood Retreat hazelnut orchard
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Julie trying to keep on top of the beans
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Our Edible GardenWe have a large garden and tunnel house, producing vegetables and berries for our guests. In the large, walk-in berry house we grow strawberries, raspberries and blue berries, especially for our guests breakfasts. Raised and covered garden beds provide a variety of seasonal produce including spinach and silver beet. All green waste is composted with leaves and grass clippings and layered onto the beds to enhance soil fertility and drainage. |
We love living in Glacier Country, surrounded with fabulous views of the snow capped mountains, glaciers and rainforest. We get much joy out of watching the trees and shrubs we plant mature, provide food and a habitat for so many birds. Last spring we were rewarded with fledgling bellbirds and fantails, whose parent birds nested in our trees.
We always look forward to sharing this eco-haven with our guests and can't wait to see you soon.
We always look forward to sharing this eco-haven with our guests and can't wait to see you soon.
The ancient Ribbonwood that inspired our name and plantings
