A straw house came up as a viable option.  Straw is not only a renewable resource, but also a farming by-product, which made it a popular choice for the researchers.  It can be locally grown and absorbs carbon monoxide, therefore buildings made from straw have zero or even a negative carbon footprint. It can potentially provide such good insulation that normal heating may not be necessary, keeping running costs low and minimising environmental impact.

The construction itself has been built using prefabricated panels, consisting of wooden frames filled with straw or hemp, then rendered with a breathable lime based system.

Research into alternative building materials is important as cement contributes up to 10% of all carbon dioxide emissions.  Hopefully this project, which over the year is to be monitored, will prove that straw is a sustainable building material. Let’s just hope it can withstand all the wolves huffing and puffing and trying to blow the house down!

Between the 1950’s and 1980’s agricultural pesticides leaked into the rivers and streams blinding the otters and damaging their immune systems.  In addition to this, the chemicals   also poisoned the fish the mammals fed on.

Thankfully, due to the combination of conservationists, farmers and water companies, the otter’s luck has changed.  There is now a 15m protection zone between agricultural land and the waterways, where the farmers cannot spray pesticides.  Consequently, the rivers have improved dramatically, plants grow again, insects flourish and this creates a healthy ecological state for everything else to grow and develop.

With healthier waterways, a ban on otter hunting and the pesticide exclusion zone, the otters are now happily regaining their original habitats.  However, there is one disgruntled party; the fishermen – they claim the mammals are stealing their fish and therefore threatening their livelihood. Well, probably true, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time!