The Queen is UNESCO certified as a sustainable property in Bellefonte, PA. We are very passionate about reducing waste and providing green travel lodging at our eco-friendly bed and breakfast. We hope to spread awareness to our guests, inspiring them to adopt their own sustainable practices when they return home.
The Queen has been a Centre County Green Business Partner Emerald Award winner since 2022 for our exceptional green efforts.
Our Sustainability Practices are as follows:
Reusable water bottles filled with our fresh local spring water are provided in each room.
Several accessible recycling options are located throughout the property, highlighting the importance of each person doing their part to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic materials.
Guests will appreciate the importance and beauty of an “unkempt” garden, harboring next spring’s pollinators, sheltering wildlife through cold winter months, and providing nutritious food for birds.
Guests will appreciate our beautiful pollinator gardens with minimal lawn space and certified backyard wildlife habitat, highlighting the importance of local pollinator species.
Guests will enjoy our beautiful native Audubon pollinator gardens with lush greenery and vibrant flowers.
Delicious honey is collected from our own beehives and is provided to our guests for tea or toast. This provides us an opportunity to educate them about the importance of bees and pollinators, and potentially spark an interest in beekeeping.
Our hydroponic garden tower allows guests to enjoy fresh salad greens, tomatoes, berries, and herbs year round- as well as expanding their knowledge about hydroponic gardening practices.
Products like our toilet tissue, cleaning products, and laundry detergent have been chosen because they do not have any harsh chemicals or perfumes added.
Sheets are changed every third or fourth day. Upon your request, they can be changed daily.
Towels are changed every other day, but may be changed daily if preferred.
Food and kitchen waste are separated for composting onsite to be used in our gardens.
We use only fair-trade coffee and are currently converting to compostable K-cups.
We reduce the use of plastics in the kitchen (i.e. no plastic cutting boards or bowls) to eliminate micro plastics in our food.
An induction burner is used to cook breakfast, reducing use of fossil fuels emitted and lowering household energy use.
We grow our own pesticide-free tomatoes, herbs, and berries and buy locally grown ingredients as much as we can.
Rain barrels are used to collect rain water, which we use to water the plants in our gardens.
Use electronic distribution of materials in lieu of printing/copying whenever possible.
Paperless billing and/or paperless receipts are used.
We use recycled paper in our printer, and we purchase paper with at least 30% post-consumer recycled content.
Reuse packaging/shipping materials to pack up items purchased from our Gift Shop.
We do NOT use paper plates, paper cups, or paper towels. (We do offer compostable paper cups for “to go” coffee and paper towels in our rooms for the convenience of our guests.)
We use full-size refillable amenities to reduce waste and disposal of plastic.
Materials are purchased in bulk when possible.
We use on-demand hot water heaters to avoid storing unneeded hot water. This also ensures that our guests will not run out of hot water.
Most things in The Queen were someone else’s first. Furnishings and accessories are antiques, yard sale finds, or family heirlooms.
The Queen herself has been recycled from an abandoned shell to her former beauty.
Winter room temperatures are kept at 60°F, allowing each guest to heat their room to their comfort level with their fireplace.
The first floor of The Queen is heated with a radiant floor system allowing us to keep lower temperatures while your feet are nice and toasty.
Guest rooms are equipped with ceiling fans, and windows may be opened in the summer. If the humidity is high, you may want to keep the windows closed so you can use the available air conditioning.
We use LED bulbs wherever feasible.
Motion sensors are used to turn some lights on and off without the need for you to find the switch.
Some outdoor lighting has been converted to solar.
