Sustainability

Fearrington Village

Being set on a farm, we know a few things about valuing what’s here and being good stewards of the environment. Fearrington is unique in that many existing structures in the Village Center were adapted and reused, giving it a happy and genuine feeling – and sustainable. This includes the Fearrington House Restaurant (which used to be the homestead for the Fearrington family), The Belted Goat Deli (the granary), the shops (the milking barn), and our beer garden, Roost (corn crib). Many of the original Pastures and the silo remain as well as a wonderful park in the center of the property that is home to lots of wildlife like ducks, herons, geese and more.

Our areas of sustainable practices include but are not limited to:

Outdoors

Natural composting on site is from the Fearrington House gardens, floral material and kitchen scraps.
Natural wood mulching for the property is done on site from trees removed for the footprint of new home sites.
Three cutting gardens on site grow most of the floral material used onsite, from events to restaurant arrangements and room décor.
Our herb garden grows many of the herbs used in the kitchens.
Our onsite greenhouse allows us to propagate from seed or division most of the annuals and perennials used in display gardens.
We plant almost exclusively native trees and shrubs to support insect and bird populations.
We maintain a native wildflower meadow in Camden Park providing the following benefits:
- Biodiversity that provides food and shelter for other wildlife.
- Pollinators: Wildflowers attract pollinators like bees and butterflies, which are responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat.
- Soil health: Wildflower roots help increase soil fertility and improve water retention.
New plants are purchased from local landscape vendors to reduce carbon footprint.
Development of our own Honey Bee program – we have 6 hives throughout the property to help to improve biodiversity by pollinating plants near their hives and for miles around. The honey extracted once a year is used on property in the kitchens as well as sold in the gourmet shop.

Indoors

Eco-Friendly bedroom slippers are provided to guests on request to reduce waste of unused slippers being discarded after one use.
Bathroom toiletries such as bath caps, cotton balls, sewing kits and such are provided to guests on request to reduce waste of unused being discarded.
Large refillable soaps and lotions are placed in the rooms for guests to enjoy. They are available for purchase in our shops.
Guests have the option to have linens changed every other day if staying multiple nights. Towels are replaced as needed as well based on guest preference.
Turndown service is optional and not automatic eliminating unnecessary changes in towels and linens.
Damaged linens are cut and re-used as rags for cleaning.
Discarded robes, towels and intact linens are given to a series of organizations (depending on timing/needs) including women’s abuse shelter (robes), Dorcas (good shape bedding/towels), animal shelter groups (used towels), a group that makes bandages (ripped sheets), pads/blankets as interior layer for a group that makes quilts for LWR, and tablecloth/drapes are utilized to make into reusable bags for the Dorcas food pantry.
We eliminated the daily newspaper as guests now have the ability to read their news online.
All cardboard, glass (all glass bottles from water, alcohol, and wine consumption) and plastic are recycled and picked up in a single stream service.
Grease from fryers is picked up monthly with an offsite service that recycles to ethanol fuel.
All kitchens have designated compost buckets to be taken to compost areas and used. If we cannot compost on property, it is picked up and sent to a composting site that provides compost to local farmers.
Scrap paper is re-used for internal printing throughout property.
Biodegradable straws are available throughout the property or stainless steel straws in the fine dining restaurant.
We use recyclable and biodegradable packing material as much as possible when fulfilling customer orders.
We ask vendors to use as little packaging materials as possible when sending product for our stores.
Energy-efficient LED light bulbs are used throughout the property.
Styrofoam and polystyrene products are not used in the Village.
For internal use, staff are encouraged to bring their stainless water bottles from home. Filtered water towers are provided in each business for staff to use.
Cellophane wrapping is from recycled materials.
Compostable cutlery kits and re-usable packaging are used for to go meals as well as paper to go cups for coffee and compostable cups for cold beverages.
We use local suppliers wherever possible.
A/C and heat are monitored and adjusted and lights are turned off when rooms not in use.
Golf carts for staff use are all electric re-chargeable golf carts.
The floral department uses eco friendly and biodegradable items when making floral displays for the restaurant and weddings.

Community & New Home Construction

In 2023, we transferred an environmentally sensitive 250 acre parcel of woodlands to ourregional nature conservancy, protecting it forever.
Fearrington is known as a community of trees. That’s mainly because homesites are clearedlargely for the house, sanitation, egress and safety, leaving the remaining forest intact.
Woody material is composted at our own wood waste recycling site, and is shredded into hardwood mulch and used to stabilize our construction sites.
We have installed miles of walking paths throughout the community to encourage healthy living and reduce vehicle usage
A community-based, largely gravity fed wastewater system reduces energy consumption required for this vital utility. A facility renovation project will reduce nutrient discharge levels by roughly 90% when completed.
Purchase in-state for cabinets, decking and windows.

Animals

The animals that reside in the pastures are here for guest enjoyment and to help maintain the pastures that have been held intact surrounding the property. The Belted Galloway cows are roaming throughout the property and protected by our donkeys that ward off predators. Tennessee Fainting Goats maintain the front pasture and provide endless fun for visiting guests – especially when there are little ones! Our black and white Silver Laced Wyandot chickens provide fresh eggs for breakfast and between the goats and the chickens, they love to munch on scraps of vegetables from our kitchens! Our Honey bees in 6 hives located throughout the property provide local honey for our kitchens and also for guests to enjoy.