Best Practice Case Studies
Loch Ossian Youth Hostel, Perthshire Setting the Eco-friendly Standard
Loch Ossian Youth Hostel complete with bat-friendly paint
"Loch Ossian is the epitome of youth hostelling. It embodies everything
that we stand for: affordable comfortable accommodation providing access to the
most remote yet most beautiful areas in Scotland. We are absolutely delighted
that we managed to raise the funds to carry out such an extensive and
environmentally-friendly refurbishment of this particular youth hostel, yet keep
its rustic character. I am sure that the many people who have come to love and
treasure Loch Ossian Youth Hostel will be well satisfied with its redevelopment
and its eco-friendly design." John Dickson, Chairman of the Scottish Youth Hostels
Association
Following a £130,000 refurbishment, one of Scotland’s oldest youth hostels
has been transformed into arguably the most eco-friendly accommodation in the
UK. The hostel has recently been awarded the coveted Gold Award under the Green
Tourism Business Scheme.
The sympathetic refurbishment of Loch Ossian Youth Hostel underlines the
Scottish charity’s original commitment as a not-for-profit body to provide
accommodation in some of Scotland’s more remote but most beautiful areas.
A former boathouse on Loch Ossian, the building was first leased to the
Association in 1931, providing walkers, ramblers and nature-lovers with
comfortable but basic accommodation in a highland setting. Situated at the hub
of many walking routes on the edge of Rannoch Moor, the hostel has served as a
Munro-baggers’ base station for years and has been a delight to nature lovers.
Enhancing the feeling of remoteness, there is no car access. The Hostel can be
reached only on foot or from the Glasgow-Fort William train line. Get off at
Corrour Station and then walk the 1-mile track to the Hostel.
[Image - Working Together Icon] Unfortunately the years have taken their toll on the building
and its fabric was badly in need of more than just routine maintenance to keep
it standing.Last year, the SYHA launched an appeal to provide funds to undertake
the necessary repair work, and over a third of the much-needed cash came from
its members alone. Funding also came from grants made under the Fresh Futures
/New Opportunities Fund programme, The Cross Trust and private trust
donations.
[Image - reducing waste] The result has been a hugely successful environmental
project for the SYHA, which has included a renovated eco-friendly structure,
renewable energy and ecologically sound water and waste disposal systems, which
take into account the fragile local environment.
A new dry toilet system, one of the first for Scotland, has been installed,
which requires no flushing and produces composted material from disposed waste.
Any liquid is evaporated using a photovoltaic solar-powered fan.
Recently, the Loch Ossian Hostel manager has embarked on a tree-planting project and has planted approximately 50 native trees since July 2003. The trees are thriving despite an ongoing battle with the deer that love holly and birch saplings. Once the trees are established they will attract even more wildlife to the immediate area. The hostel is already a haven for wildlife, with regular sightings of deer, pine martens, otters, red squirrels, golden eagles, capercaillie, ptarmigan, grouse and peregrine falcons.
[Image - reducing waste] The grey water system processes used water from wash-hand basins and sinks through a sand and gravel filtration system, the final stage of which is a natural reed bed. Any food waste is trapped by a sieve and transferred to one of the two on-site compost bins, to be later used as mulch for the new trees planted in the surrounding area.
Power in the youth hostel is provided by a wind turbine that generates electricity to meet all of the hostel’s requirements. A multi-fuel stove provides heat and hot water for both washing and a heating system. Even the windows have been created using recycled glass.
Much of the work on the hostel has been designed to increase the energy efficiency of the building, making it more environmentally responsible. Yet care has been taken to ensure that the hostel retains its original characteristics, including the original colour of stain on the outside walls, to preserve the rustic image which has proved so popular with guests over the years.
[Image - eco-tourism]Not content simply with being eco-friendly, the SYHA has also taken into account the hostel’s impact on the local wildlife, particularly the protected bat colony which roosts in the hostel’s attic. After seeking expert advice, "bat-friendly" timber primer and paint, which is based on water rather than oil, have been used throughout the refurbishment to ensure these unusual visitors are made as comfortable as possible.
This case study was added on 10 October 2003
Back to 'Best Practice' menu page [Image - construction]Additional Technical Information 1. Composting Dry Toilets
The unique Clivus dry toilet system has a balanced ventilation system which aerates the toilets and provides oxygen to process wastes naturally by controlled composting. By treating waste on site, by not discharging effluent and by solving the problem of the 'smelly toilet' they provide benefits for Hostel managers and users alike.
Low maintenance is a key feature of all clivus systems. There's no need for expensive tankering and no land drains or soak-aways are required. Better still, there is no need to remove compost for 3 years. The Clivus composter is a low-maintenance organic waste treatment system that uses natural biological decomposition to convert toilet wastes into a small amount of safe, stabilised liquired and solid, reusable compost. The solids reduce by 90-95% in volume. Both composts are biologically stable and do not have an unpleasant odour. The solid compost has a bacterial content, testure and colour similar to that of topsoil.
Continuous ventilation eliminates odour. The fan is powered through a battery with photovoltalic solar panels. This fan creates a draft which pulls air into the compost removal chamber and up the vent carrying away water vapour and carbon dioxide. Air will be drawn down through the toilet and through the uyrinal openings into the composter.
Disease organisms are reduced. In a Clivus composter, disease-causing organisms die because conditions are not favourable to their growth and they are consumed by the thorough composting action.
2. The Grey Water System
This system is also produced by Kingsley Clivas Ltd. All of the waste water from the bath, basin and washing machine in a building, known as 'Grey Water', is drained by gravity through the usual plumbing system to the outside of the building, where a Liquid Pr-Filter (LPD) sump tank screens out fibres and large particles. The pre- filtered water is then pumped up to the soil bed (outdoors, raised or at ground level) where it irrigates the root zone of plants that have been selected for their ability to take up nutrients. It is important to introduce the grey water at this level, just under the surface of the soil, where biological activity is greatest and where a multitude of organisms, such as earthworms and beneficial soil bacteria, can thrive.
3. Electricity Supply
The main hostel and manager's apartment electrical needs are all taken care of by way of a wind turbine installed by Provan Engineering Products Ltd. Moorfield Industrial Estate, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire KA2 0BA
The turbine is a three-bladed 2.2kW horizontal-axis machine, manufactured by Proven Wind Turbines of Kilmarnock. With a diameter of 3.4m and a 6.5m mast, it has 3 patented polypropylene rotor blades. This allows the blades to bend and twist in strong winds and so protect the turbine from damage, making it ideally suited to the rugged Highland weather conditions. Although the average windspeed on Rannoch Moor is only 4.5m/s, severe weather is regularly there. The direct-drive axial-field toroidal electricity generator in the turbine’s head is also, therefore, of a robust, flexible design to complement the rotor.
The oasis range of composting toilets is manufactured by 'Kingsley Clivus Ltd' Western Barn Industrial Park, Winkleigh,Devon EX19 8AP