Highland Lake Inn is devoted to protecting and preserving our environment. We are also passionate about sustainability and organic gardening. As a proud member of the Green Hotels Association, we adhere to their guidelines, as well as our own, to institute programs that save water, save energy and reduce solid waste - all in an effort to protect the Earth. On staff, we have a "Green Team" that meets regularly for the purpose of furthering our knowledge about green practices. We will continue to find more efficient and environmentally sensitive ways to use our energy resources and to offer our guests an environmentally friendly place to stay for years to come.

	Solar Thermal Water Heating Panels Installed In The Woodward House The solar thermal panels will convert the sun's energy to heat the water used in the Woodward House, as well as the laundry facilities, which are also housed in the inn. By harnessing the sun's power, Highland Lake Inn will not only save money on fuel costs, but will also displace 10.5 tons of carbon dioxide over the 30-year lifetime of the system. This savings is also equivalent to adding 9.7 acres of forest carbon storage, and not driving 2.5 cars for one year. To read the news release about the installation of the thermal panels, click here.
	Season's Restaurant & Our Organic Garden Our 2-acre organic garden, when in season, provides the freshest ingredients possible for our award-winning restaurant, Season's. We also use local growers products in our menus. Highland Lake Inn provides special Organic Garden Tours and Lunches throughout the summer and early fall to educate our guests about how to grow, harvest, and then cook the vegetables, fresh herbs and flowers in their meals. Season's Restaurant and Highland Lake Inn use composting, and also use a drip irrigation system from our 40 acre lake to water the organic garden. Season's participates in the sustainable seafood program to ensure that the seafood we purchase is not environmentally destructive seafood harvesting.
	Recycling We have recycling bins in all of our lodging areas that recycle paper, plastic, and glass. Our office supplies are recycled, and Highland Lake Inn uses recycled paper for our printing products whenever possible. We use brown, unbleached paper towels and also use recycled toilet paper. Season's recycles cardboard, plastic, metal cans, aluminum cans, and brown and green glass. The restaurant also uses a grease/oily liquids recycling bin. We use ceramic coffee cups instead of plastic or Styrofoam. We don't use any Styrofoam containers on our property.
	In-Room Environmental Practices All of our facilities are non-smoking. We use "Save Our Planet" signage in all of our rooms to encourage guests to use their towels multiple times before housekeeping picks them up to clean. We use no phosphates in our laundry. Biodegradable products are used for room cleaning. Using bulk amenities dispensers for soaps and shampoos eliminates the use (and waste) of small plastic bottles. Motion sensor technology is being used throughout the property, as well as the use of compact fluorescent bulbs whenever possible. Low flow shower heads are used to save water usage. Adjustable toilet valves are also used.
	Other Energy Saving Practices Highland Lake Inn uses rechargeable batteries and also uses energy-efficient appliances for all new purchases. New HVAC units all have a SEER rating of 13 or higher. All new window purchases are dual pane and energy efficient. All of our exit signs use energy efficient LED bulbs. We have digital programmable set-back thermostats throughout the property. Reversible ceiling fans are used in our lodging, office, and restaurant to preserve heating costs in the colder months. There are also no motorized boats used on our 40-acre lake.
	What You Can Do To Help The Environment Climatecrisis.net: Take Action World Wildlife Fund: Consumer Awareness & Easy Ways to Help (with wallet cards) Earthday.net: Climate Change Solutions OceansAlive.com: Best & Worst Seafood Choices Find An Energy Saving Light Blub NRDC Green Living Toolkit Home Energy Audit Tool
	Organizations We Support Highland Lake Inn is happy to support these organizations that do so much to protect our earth, animals, and environment. Nature Conservancy Environmental Defense Sierra Club Natural Resources Defense Council World Wildlife Fund
	Carbon Offsets: What are they? Greenhouse gases that cause global warming are produced from the burning of fossil fuels (gas and coal) that we use every day. Carbon offsets help balance carbon dioxide emissions by giving people the opportunity to purchase a product or service that either saves or stores the same equivalent of carbon dioxide, thereby offsetting the amount of CO2 emissions an individual produces. We encourage all of our guests to conserve first, and if you choose to offset, listed below are two companies that can help and inform you about making good decisions about this process. Carbonfund.org SustainableTravelInternational.org