Family-owned business launches sustainable skating rink
Family-run business, The Barn at Berryfields, has taken on yet another diversification challenge by launching a 20 by 10 metre eco-skating rink this Christmas.
The independent business, owned by Tom, Joe and Will Barber, has launched the rink as part of the team 's festive offering, including their very own reindeer and festive street food, which adds to their existing a la carte restaurant, private function space, tepee, farm shop, bakery and livestock farm.
The rink is 'eco ' due to the fact it is not actually made of ice and is instead made from a synthetic material, which gives just as much 'glidability ' as traditional ice.
The same material has been used across a multitude of professional environments, including the Winter Olympics and NHL hockey games, among others - many of these professionals in fact install this same material in their homes for skating practice.
For each two by one metre section, a tree is planted to offset the production process, but the major benefits lie in the upkeep of the rink itself. Not only is there zero water waste (a rink of this size would typically use around 10,000 litres of water and would need replenishing with additional water after a few days use), but zero power is used to maintain the ice.
Over a month of use, a rink of this size would use around 200 households of energy, or almost 5 tonnes of CO2 emissions, that is a lot of wasted energy.
Going further, The Barn at Berryfields then in fact use their 96kW solar panel complex to power the lights and music in the event shed.
Joe Barber, one of the three brothers who own the Berryfields site, said: "We hear a lot these days about carbon neutrality and what we can all do to help reduce our impact on the environment, but it really is a surprise just how much carbon some things produce.
"I have spent many happy (albeit wobbly) sessions ice skating with my children, but never really considered just how damaging it could be to the environment. When we researched putting in our very own rink, we of course thought of the traditional ice rink first, but soon learned it had some downsides from an ownership perspective when considering our carbon status, not to mention just how expensive energy is right now!"
For more information, including opening times, click here
Pictured: Tom Barber on the eco-rink with two skate aids