Digby, Nova Scotia
Sure, we are all now accustomed to hotel rooms admonishing us to leave the towels on the rack so they can be reused. And occasionally, we come across two waste baskets in the room, one for recycling paper. And we feel so good about ourselves when we do so.
We rarely encounter the European standard of motion-controlled hallway lighting. Or placing the room key into a slot that turns on the lights and AC when we enter, and turns them off when we leave. Too many Americans, it seems, prefer to have their rooms already chilled and lit when they return.
So the Green Suite at Digby Pines in Nova Scotia, Canada is an anomaly. Okay, so not really a U.S. phenomenon but close enough at least so that we can lay claim a little just by leaning over the border. And how often is a room on the itinerary of a property inspection simply because of its environmental attributes? I was virtually jumping up and down on the bamboo-infused bed linens with excitement at my newly discovered eco-friendly accommodations!
Bamboo, it seems, is a natural fabric that is very hyper-allergenic so the fibers are used in the towels and sheets; bamboo shutters adorn the windows. The headboard is made from a re-cycled door. The cooling and heating system is more energy efficient than normal AC/heating methods. And a
Headboard made from a door
recycling trash bin is divided into four units — one each for paper, plastic, garbage and compost. Now
Four container recycling
Natural decorations or driftwood and stones
admittedly, I didn’t know whether the saran-type wrap protecting the plastic cups in the bathroom should be put into garbage, paper or…maybe even plastic. But I loved having the choice and only regretted not ordering in pizza so I could at least have SOMETHING to compost. Much of the furniture was refinished or made without carbon footprints and natural decorations of stone and driftwood and local artwork added pizzazz to the room. The de rigueur dual-flush toilet was just an added bonus.
I initially cringed when I saw the 1200 watt hair dryer knowing how long it takes my 1875 watt version at home to dry my hair. I’m still at a loss to understand how the tiny implement managed to dry my hair in record time. And there were a lot of other less-obvious and more scientific nods to environmental awareness that cumulatively I knew made a huge difference. I was eco-humbled.
And fortunately, the eco-friendly efforts extended beyond the Green Suite. Low-level electricity is used throughout the hotel with an emphasis on natural light; the kitchen recycles to such a degree that nothing, I was told, ever goes to a landfill; the chef grows his own herbs, and there’s a green roof atop the spa that in addition to providing home to a vast number of plants also impacts building sound and heat insulation, improves air quality, retains storm water as well as provides other environmental benefits. I wanted to jump on the roof as well!
Spa has environmentally friendly cork flooring and vegetation roof
The spa, warm and quiet under its green roof, uses Aveda all-natural products which ostensibly are the greenest on the market (Aveda apparently uses wind power to manufacture their products). The spa also has cork flooring, which not only helps with noise reduction, but is kind to the feet of masseuses and hairstylists standing for long periods of time. Very happy feet there.
In cabins with fireplaces, compressed sawdust replaces wood because it has a zero percent carbon footprint. Natural gas has replaced oil, and the hotel now closes down for the winter which it did not do in the past. There is even a “Green Team” comprised of staff members assigned to come up with new ways to save energy. The composting bin in the Green Suite was one of their ideas.
Digby Pines may not yet have equaled European standards but they’re trying.
Of course, even the most eco-friendly of rooms is not enough reason to stay in one, so I ventured out to explore the town.
Both the town of Digby and its namesake hotel sit on the Bay of Fundy which lends them their inevitable charm. Digby is known for two things not usually found on your standard travel itinerary. The Bay has the highest tides in the world, at times approximating a 52-foot drop between high and low tides, the latter resulting in literal mud flats at your feet; in Digby, the difference measures a mere 20-30 feet of water. But that’s impressive enough. The Changing Tide Diner, Raising Tide Café, Tidal Boatyards and other similarly named businesses provide constant reminders of the cosmic peculiarities of the town. The other Digby phenomenon is that it is the Scallop Capital of the World.
The town is a combination of a working fishing village combined with quiet tourist getaway — even in the middle of the summer season, which resident businesses probably bemoan — where visitors and locals easily mingle. The Nothing Fancy Furniture Store sets the tone for the town. Also the lifestyle.
As for those scallops? Well, they’re everywhere — on pasta and pizza, in chowders and salads, in rolls and in wraps. On one dinner menu at Digby Pines, they were served breaded, grilled, bacon wrapped, pan seared and as a salad add-on. I didn’t see any scallop ice cream but it’s probably because I didn’t look hard enough.Even the local Shell gas station got into the act by renaming itself “The Scallop Shell”… By this time, my eyes were definitely beginning to roll. And the last thing I wanted to eat was a scallop!
An yes, there are many other areas of interest around, but I chose, like the tides and the scallops, to remain local — and happily returned to my bamboo-laden, hyper-allergenic, compost-craving, energy saving room. It’s sure going to be hard to stay at a regular Holiday Inn the next time I travel: What am I going to do with my left-over pizza?
For more information, visit www.digbypines.ca.
About the Author:
Fyllis Hockman, a frequent contributor to FAB Senior Travel, lives in the Washington D.C. area. She is an established, award-winning travel writer and a member of Society of American Travel Writers member since 1992. She has been traveling and writing for almost 30 years.
