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Ecotourism Products, Services and Information - EcoJaunt

Alaska’s Ridgewood Wilderness Lodge - In Kachemak Bay State Park

by ecodavez on March 1, 2010

in Alaska

We would like to introduce ourselves to you. We are Kevin and Lucinda, and Bowman and Jessica Sidelinger, the owners and hosts of Alaska’s Ridgewood Wilderness Lodge, a full-service destination lodge in Halibut Cove, Alaska. Halibut Cove is located 8 miles across Kachemak Bay from the end of the Homer Spit. The Cove is also the home of the Saltry Restaurant, Diana Tillion’s Cove Gallery and the Halibut Cove Experience Gallery.

We have lived adjacent to the Kachemak Bay State Park for over 32 years.
For the last 16 years we have made our living oyster farming. Our oyster farm is one of the leading producers in the state of Alaska, and in 2007, Kevin was one of three finalists for the Global Food Award.

Designed to be in harmony with the surrounding environment, as an eco lodge Alaska’s Ridgewood utilizes local businesses and all of our guides and employees are Alaskans. We maintain a vegetable garden, and support our local Natural Foods Stores and Farmers Market. We also support our local environmental organizations.

We are situated in a semi remote location, adjacent to the Kachemak Bay State Park but we do not sacrifice luxury or comfort. We have preserved as much native vegetation surrounding our property as possible enhancing and conserving the local ecology. We have reincorporated trees and shrubs that will encourage birds and other wildlife to nest and rest here.

Our facility was designed and planned carefully. All of our appliances are modern and were selected for their energy efficiency. For example our washing machine is a front loader which uses a fraction of the water that a top loader does. And as a note, new sales in California mandate this style of washer. Our toilets are all low water flush, and conserve additional water.

We do not use bleach or other harmful chemicals and all of our soaps and detergents are free of animal fats.

The biggest challenge facing a wilderness eco lodge is how to deal with all of the water borne waste, before it is discharged into the environment, in an ecologically friendly way. Your health and safety is important to us, and with this in mind, our system was designed by career professionals, experts in their field of interest and was approved by The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Developed in 1982 in Australia our system is a compact, aerated waste water treatment system. These systems are in use in Alaska, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and elsewhere. This system biologically treats all waste water from the Lodge on site in a six chamber fully contained system. A clean, clear filtered and odorless effluent is discharged into the drain field, and is easily assimilated into the earth. No porta potties which amount to human waste being stored in your room, no environ toilets which are noisy and consume a lot of electricity or home made septic systems.

Our philosophy also extends to our oyster farm. With the cooperation of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and other local oyster farmers, together we sponsor an annual program designed to certify and guarantee the quality of the water. This is accomplished by taking water samples and tissue samples of wild mollusks five times annually. Our oysters are also tested weekly from May 1st through October, and monthly from November 1st through April. These farms are considered in the environmental community as “the canary in the coal mine”. In summary these oyster farms are a valuable addition to the local eco system.

The timber-framed lodge was designed and built by Kevin and has a 10 guest capacity. We are open year around. Included in the reservation cost is use of lodge facilities, rooms with private baths, high-speed wireless internet, house keeping and complimentary laundry services. All meals are served by your hosts.

Alaska’s Ridgewood Wilderness Lodge is what Alaskan fantasy is all about. We are an ideal destination for experiencing Alaska in luxurious comfort as well as having countless adventurous activities readily available. Guests will share in a positive and energetic Alaskan lifestyle with four truly “seasoned” Alaskans.

Lucinda and Jessica would be happy to help arrange any activities guests are interested in, which include brown bear photography, trophy salmon and halibut charters, fly-fishing for rainbow trout, hiking, bird-watching, and many more.

If you are interested in reservations at our Lodge, please contact us for further information.

We invite you to check out our website at www.ridgewoodlodge.com

Thank you for taking the time to learn about us.

Kevin & Lucinda, and Bowman & Jessica Sidelinger

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Ecotourism Products, Services and Information - EcoJaunt

Connecticut Eco-Friendly B&Bs Inns

by ecodebbieg on April 6, 2009

in Bed and Breakfast, ecotourism


IMG_4717.jpg

Originally uploaded by conallob

Wallingford Victorian Bed and Breakfast

Wallingford, CT

Environmental Awareness
Reduce-Reuse-Recycle
Energy Efficiency
Responsible Transportation
Supporting Local Communities

Recreation and Places of Interest

Connecticut has numerous recreational facilities. Swimming, boating, and other water sports are popular along the coastal beaches and at lakes. Facilities for hiking, camping, and other activities are provided in a statewide system of public parks and forests, and skiing and other winter sports are popular. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association, a private organization, maintains miles of hiking trails.

National Sites

American Impressionist painter J. Alden Weir summered at what is now Weir Farm National Historic Site. The 24-hectare (60-acre) park includes Weir’s home, studio, barns and outbuildings, a visitor center, and a second studio built by sculptor Mahonri Young. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail traverses the northwest corner of the state.

State Parks and Forests

There are 91 state parks in Connecticut as well as dozens of parks and historical sites maintained by municipalities. While not all of the state’s parks are developed, there are recreational facilities in every region. Hammonasset Beach State Park is the largest of the parks that border the shore of Long Island Sound. On a clear day, a person can see four states from Heublein Tower at Talcott Mountain State Park in the heart of the Farmington River Valley. Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park preserves the site where in 1781 British troops massacred American troops. A stair pathway adjacent the Kent Falls makes this state park a popular picnic site. Dinosaur tracks about 185 million years old are housed under a giant geodesic dome at the Dinosaur State Park, in Rocky Hill. Pine Knob Loop Trail at Housatonic Meadows State Park joins the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

Most of the 30 state forests do not permit camping but almost all are open for fishing, hiking, and other daytime activities.

Museums

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, in Hartford, is considered one of the finest art museums in the United States. Other art museums in Connecticut are the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, in New London; the Slater Museum, at the Norwich Free Academy in Norwich; the Yale University Art Gallery, in New Haven; and the New Britain Museum of American Art, in New Britain. The Hill-Stead Museum, in Farmington, has a major art collection, and there are special historical art collections in Hartford, Waterbury, and many other cities. Among the other outstanding museums in Connecticut are Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History and the Yale Center for British Art. The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, opened in 1998 in Mashantucket, includes innovative interpretive displays and re-creations that depict the cultural heritage of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.

Other Places to Visit

Connecticut has many places of historical interest. At Webb House, at the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield, George Washington met with the French General Jean Baptiste de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau during the American Revolution to plan the strategy that led to the Yorktown campaign. At Lebanon is the Revolutionary War Office, where Governor Jonathan Trumbull conferred with Washington, Benjamin Franklin, the Marquis de Lafayette, and other leaders. The Fundamental Orders and one of the two original copies of the 1662 charter are on display at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford. Mystic Seaport, a re-created village, features a restored seaport street of the early 19th century and the last of the old-time whaling ships. Other places of historic interest in Connecticut include Keeler Tavern, in Ridgefield, where a British cannonball fired during the revolution is embedded in the wall; the Old State House in Hartford, where Connecticut’s early legislature met; the Tapping-Reeve House and Law School, in Litchfield, where America’s first law school was founded in 1773; and Old New-Gate Prison, a prison dating from the revolution, in East Granby.

Source: MSN Encarta: Online Encyclopedia

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