Our environmental policy. Recent years have seen a growing awareness of how damaging some of our lifestyle choices can be to the environment. This of course extends to the ways in which we take our holidays and run our businesses. Here at Staffa House we support the idea that the earth’s resources are limited and finite and that we should steward them well. We believe that good choices, however small, can make a difference, and if everyone encourages everyone else to make small differences, then the overall result can be amazing! Here are some of the things we have set up already in the early days of taking over Staffa House: Suppliers We order from local suppliers wherever possible. Some dry foods and cleaning products come from Greencity, a wholefood cooperative based in Glasgow which aims to provide a supportive workplace, supports local and organic producers wherever possible and is committed to Fairtrade products. Our vegetables are delivered to us by Breckenridge, based in Oban. In the season we also hope to use produce from a local organic garden only 3 miles away in Kintra. Beef is purchased from Ardalanish Organic Farm, just outside Bunessan on the Ross of Mull. Lamb is supplied by either Ardalanish or Lagandorain, a working croft on the north end of Iona. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate and sugar are ordered from The Fairground (see below). We support Baby Milk Action’s call for a continued boycott of all Nestle (and its subsidiary companies) products due to the company’s continued promotion of powdered baby milk as an alternative to breast milk in the developing world. Nestle’s stance is in contravention of the World Health Organisation guidelines. Where at all possible we try to avoid purchasing from large multi-national corporations. Fairtrade products We are passionate supporters of the Fairtrade movement and order from The Fairground, a company dealing exclusively with Fairtrade products, based in Staveley, Cumbria. Breakfast teas, herbal teas, ground coffee, instant coffee and hot chocolate sachets and sugar are all supplied by this company. Organic food We are not yet in a position to buy all food products from organic sources. However, we’re on the way: flour, rice, cocoa powder, ground coffees, herbal teas, tinned tomatoes, some sugars, some grains and pulses and some meats are organically sourced. Cleaning products At Staffa House we are committed to using environmentally-friendly cleaning products, at present almost exclusively those made by E-Cover. This includes cream cleaner, laundry liquid, washing-up liquid, shower gel and liquid soap. Laundry Bed-linen is not generally changed within the length of a guest’s stay which cuts down on water wastage and laundry liquid. Towels are changed every few days if the stay exceeds 3 nights. Smoking policy Staffa House is strictly non-smoking throughout. Waste We recycle all waste paper, cardboard, tin, aluminium, glass and plastic. Office paper that is used on one side only is kept and reused for notes and filing etc whilst envelopes are used more than once, sometimes several times! We use recycled toilet paper. Individual hand soap and shower gel containers in guest bedrooms are re-filled from large containers rather than purchasing separate ones each time they are empty. A composting scheme is in place. In order to minimise food waste we ask guests to make their breakfast and dinner choices in advance. For the same reason, any special dietary requirements are requested at the time of booking. Lighting Almost all of our light bulbs at Staffa House are of a low wattage. We make every effort to ensure that lights and heaters are not left on unnecessarily. Equipment Our fridges and freezers have tight seals to prevent heat loss. Transport We acknowledge that the number of cars on Mull is increasing, putting pressure on roads, parking, and creating pollution. Clearly it is not always possible nor practical for everyone to travel to Fionnphort using public transport. However, we actively encourage our guests to use public transport by having up-to-date, accurate information to hand over the phone, clearly displaying train and bus timetables in the house, and by offering a reduction of £1 on each overnight stay if guests leave their car at home. Walking We have a wide selection of walking books and maps readily available for guests’ use and we go out of our way to help with queries and advice regarding local walks. Many of these walks do not require a car, and we encourage our visitors to explore these gems on our doorstep before rushing off to walk further afield. Wildlife We love to talk to guests about the local wildlife and to chat about the delicate balance in this area between tourism and conservation. We have good working relationships with local wildlife tour operators and are able to recommend models of good practice to our visitors during their stay with us. Contacts We subscribe to the following organisations: · Friends of the Earth · Greenpeace · Highlands and Islands Local Food Network · Mull and Iona Community Trust Eco-Charter · Organic Places to Stay website · World Development Movement Summary We appreciate that actions speak louder than words on the subject of environmental tourism. We’re determined to do our bit, small in some areas, larger in others. We also know that we’re not perfect and we aim to make even more progress in the coming months. However, we hope that you’ll agree that the above represents a good start. We love it when our guests take an interest in this subject - and give us new ideas. Please join in! (last updated February 2008)

News from Staffa House. January 2008 What better way to celebrate our first New Year at Staffa House than with a Hogmanay house party? Thanks to friends and band musicians Judith Smith, Dave Hall and Ian Hall, we had our own live band to set everything rolling. Staffa House was full to bursting, we enjoyed delicious afternoon teas, dinners and were joined by local folk in Fionnphort and Bunessan for a great ceilidh in nearby Creich Hall on Hogmanay itself. All this followed closely by a fabulous New Year’s Day brunch featuring Ali’s mouth-watering kedgeree, scrambled egg and smoked salmon, home-made stollen….. the table was laden! Folk were definitely in need of fresh air after that, so down to Ardalanish Beach for the traditional shinty match, in beautiful winter sunshine and with a spectacular backdrop of silver sea and the faint outlines of Colonsay and Jura. The meetings and sharing, conversation and laughter were a great way to begin 2008. Enjoy the photos: Pictures from the shinty match. New Year Ceilidh at Creich Hall. January also saw a marathon marmalade-making session in the Staffa House kitchen! Ali was at it for 3 days, the whole house was filled with the wonderful smell of marmalade and we had to go out to beg and borrow every spare jam jar in Fionnphort (and Iona!). We hope you’ll come and taste the results! February 2008 Why is it that February brings the snow? February 1st and the ground, even at low level, was covered in white. Not for very long it’s true, but beautiful all the same. Almost at the same time the first daffodil shoot poked out from the ground and now the tub at the front door is dancing with little yellow heads….. People say winter’s a quiet time here, but we’re not so sure! We’ve been to poetry nights, quizzes, meetings about renewable energy on Mull, and on February 20th, a local networking event featuring the island’s food providers, photographers, sign makers, craftspeople….. What an amazing array of fresh produce – delicious meats, cheeses, seafood, biscuits, cereals….. not to mention the beer and whisky. We’ve just had the loft insulated with Warmcel – ever heard of it? No, we hadn’t either, but it’s re-cycled newspaper, very green in the manufacturing process and one of the best materials to fill all those cold spots in your loft. We now have a thick, thick blanket nestling snuggly between us and the roof! We’ll be pleased to oblige if curious guests want to poke their heads into the loft space to inspect! Now February’s almost over, but just a minute, there’s an extra day this year, so time to squeeze in a Fairtrade coffee morning at Staffa House, offering local residents and the odd visitor a chance to sample fairly-traded drinks and snacks. Even Gillian’s been baking for this one – under Ali’s supervision! Chocolate Brownies, made from Divine Fairtrade chocolate. Yummy! March 2008 A rare trip to the mainland, to Aberdeen in fact, during the first week of March saw us returning laden with food, tablecloths, dishes, and a new mop! The freezer is well stocked for the coming season and the kitchen floor should be sparkling clean! Easter came early, it was lovely to have a full house of guests. They enjoyed good food around the table, competitive games of Scrabble, they ventured out on the first trip of 2008 to Staffa, and shared a special Easter breakfast together complete with Fairtrade Easter eggs. April 2008 The skylarks are back! It’s great to hang out the washing and hear them overhead, singing their hearts out. Wheatears and stonechats have returned to the Ross of Mull also, and, on 23 April, we heard our first cuckoo of the year, at Kintra, while going to fetch eggs. Apparently the puffins are in the sea around Staffa, although not on dry land yet. It shouldn’t be long before they’re in their little burrows. We have a very hungry guest who pays us regular visits – one of the local sheep has found that she can jump the wall and enjoy the lush grass inside the garden of Staffa House! No sooner have we chased her out then she’s back in again. We haven’t added her to our tally of BB guests, we are too busy trying to think of a way of stopping her jumping over. Any ideas gratefully received……..! Warm soup and Winter words November 14 - 18 A long weekend at Staffa House on the Ross of Mull with opportunities for gentle walking, storytelling, listening to and writing poetry in a wild and beautiful place – and coming home to good food round a big table. With Jan Sutch Pickard, writer and storyteller

 Private park, garden, courtyard
 Quiet surroundings
 Private/Ensuite bathroom
 Tea and coffee making facilities