Earth Week Update: Sustainable Dining
Posted by Grouse Mountain April 19, 2017
Grouse Mountain is an amazing place. It provides access and insight into BC's wilderness, culture and way of life. Keeping that naturalness and beauty is something we care about greatly. Leading up to Earth Day 2017 we want to share with you some of the ways we’re working to be more sustainable. While our journey is ongoing and there are always ways to improve, here’s a look at some of the steps we’re taking towards reducing our environmental footprint.
The Observatory and Altitudes Bistro are members of the Green Table Network, a group committed to responsible restaurant practices. Operating standards and targets are identified and guidelines have been established in five basic areas: solid waste, water conservation, energy conservation, pollution prevention and purchasing.
We are also proud members of Ocean Wise, the Vancouver Aquarium's conservation program. Through this program, fish selections are endorsed as being ecologically sustainable and ocean-friendly.
By working with local growers and suppliers, we are also working to shorten the distance in our product sourcing. Not only is this more sustainable, it's also fresher and tastier! We work with responsible suppliers to ensure the products we offer leave the smallest footprint possible.
One of the ways we shorten the distance of supply is by producing ingredients right here on the Mountain! That’s right, in the summer our chefs can regularly be seen out harvesting herbs, kales and lettuces that they incorporate in a number of the dishes on our menu. This summer we are increasing our gardens around the Altitudes Patio area and testing out some new crops. These gardens are just one of the ways that we are working to produce our own ingredients on the Mountain.
In summer 2015, Grouse Mountain launched its beehive program. Working with local experts, we've been working to grow and strengthen the bee colonies and to responsibly harvest honey to use within our food and beverage operation. The Observatory menu has featured honey produced by our bees and we look forward to opportunities to expand our Grouse Mountain honey into our other outlets in the coming years. Sweet!
