A hotel steeped in history with a vision for a better future, Sherwood’s ethos is underpinned by a care for the environment and the Queenstown community.

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In this episode of From the Ground Up:

• You’ll meet the team behind Sherwood, a hotel steeped in history with a vision for a better future.
• Discover how Sherwood’s passion for the environment and community is guiding everything they do.
• Learn how they’re growing produce for their restaurant to help them on their quest for zero waste.

Sherwood is a 1980s mock Tudor motor inn, repurposed and refit with a sustainable ethos. It’s a community hotel with kitchen gardens, regular live music, bee hives, a wellbeing space and delicious garden-to-table food at their restaurant.

General Manager, Hayley Scott explains how their sustainable ethos guides everything they do, “When a hotel is refurbished, usually there are big skips brought in and rooms are gutted. That's something we really wanted to avoid when we did the renovations. We took a lifecycle approach and retained and reused what we could.”

“We also thought really hard about what we were bringing into the rooms that would also be coming out quite quickly, such as single-use plastics. We removed the minibars in a traditional sense, replacing them with an in-room refillery and encourage guests to bring those bottles into the restaurant and get them filled with local wine or beer to enjoy back in their rooms or out in nature.”

Over the last eight years, Sherwood’s on-site garden and their new, larger gardens nearby at Mt Dewar have helped them procure produce as locally and as ethically as possible, up to 40% of what’s required in the restaurant. What’s more, all Sherwood’s food waste goes into compost, which goes full circle back to their garden.

The goal of the new garden is to reduce their reliance on outside providers, service the restaurant year-round, and provide organic vegetables to staff.

“We grow food 10 metres from the restaurant and what we grow is what people are eating. A real draw card for guests is they can come out here and wander through the space,” says Head Chef, Chris Scott.

“It's one of the best parts of the hotel. So many people who are interested in growing food. For them to be able to experience the restaurant and then tour the garden and see what's growing, the connection there is super powerful,” agrees Sherwood's horticulturalist, Tim.

“Our guests really love the ethos that we have and the fact that we are very genuine about pursuing it.” Hayley says, “It’s really important to appreciate that sustainability is a journey and we can't do everything perfectly. To be able to take people along on the journey with us and learn from each other towards this regenerative vision is really exciting.”

From The Ground Up video series digs deep into the stories of local businesses building a regenerative future within the Queenstown community. From pioneering world-firsts to grassroots initiatives, each episode celebrates those making a difference to the environment and their communities, from the ground up.

Hear from more changemakers making a difference to Queenstown’s environment and community – watch another episode of From the Ground Up.