ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY AT HUNTINGDON

President Carol Peacock organised a recent Club Visit to Huntingdon Crematorium Glasshouses where Members were given an extremely informative and interesting Tour and Talk about the site by Philip Peacock, Huntingdon Town Clerk, together with the Head Groundsman, Peter Haynes. Huntingdon Crematorium is the UK’s second purpose built, environmentally friendly Crematorium.  It is the first site to be managed by a Town Council.  It houses 2 electric cremators as opposed to ones fired by gas.  Excess energy produced from the operation of the cremators is recycled to re-heat the crematorium building as well as the glass houses adjacent. These large industrial-sized glasshouses have been purposely built to enable Huntingdon Town Council to grow their own flowers and bedding plants on site, to be utilised throughout the Gardens and Town, managed by the Head Groundsman and his team of 7 full-time gardeners throughout the year.

Not only is the glasshouse heated via excess energy, it’s sustainability continues by using rain water harvesting, solar panels and the grounds team recycle all the green wste products and produce theirn compost. The Tour concluded with afternoon tea and cake,and a large decorative Planter was donated to the Club which raised extra funds towards the President’s Charity ‘British Heart Foundation’.