Our Estate is a very special resource that covers nearly 5,000 hectares. Our grounds encompass Blenheim Palace (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), housing, farmland, rivers, and some of Europe’s most important ancient oak woodlands, which first took root more than 900 years ago. Our land is a source of spring water, and home to hundreds of wildlife species.
Climate change and the dangers it brings are self-evident. The real question now is how much we can do to lessen its impact. We recognise that Blenheim has both a significant responsibility to help and an opportunity to make a real difference.
Carbon reduction is the primary focus at Blenheim. We will work as hard as we can to reduce our carbon emissions, but we also need to invest in projects that will help us offset the carbon we cannot eliminate. Being a landed estate, we have a number of initiatives that will enable us to begin offsetting carbon:
Stage Zero
Stage Zero is a partnership between the Environment Agency, the Evenlode Catchment Partnership, Thames Water, and Blenheim, to recreate the impact that beavers would have on a flood plain. The project will allow water to naturally spill out of the River Dorn (when at high flow) to the surrounding water meadows. Stage Zero was a successful Restoration Project and has resulted in a brand new flood plain and has also dramatically reduced the amount of sild flowing into the Queen Pool.
Solar Park
Our 6.5 hectare site just north east of Woodstock, will generate 93.8 gigawatt hours over 15 years, which means nearly 15,000 tonnes of CO2 will be avoided. It will provide enough power for 721 homes (based on average annual household demand).