Sustainable Agriculture and Pollination Programs

Southall’s agricultural practices integrate sustainability at every step:

• Apple Orchard: With thousands of apple trees with dozens of varietals, Southall’s orchard balances productivity with biodiversity. Disease-resistant and climate-suited varieties, like Southern heirloom apples, are being introduced to reduce pest and disease pressures.
• Grafting Success: An in-house tree grafting program achieved a 77% success rate, ensuring better control over the orchard’s development.
• Pollination Efforts: Southall’s pollination program combines honeybee and native bee management to support apple production, farm production and biodiversity. Highlights include eight apiaries containing 140 hives on average; millions of honeybees; the installation of 140 native bee nesting houses containing 10,000 native bee reeds; and the creation of the largest native pollinator wall in the state of Tennessee. All honeybee colonies are Bluetooth-monitored and remotely tracked. These monitors reduce emissions by reducing travel required to monitor hive health.

Water Conservation Practices

Southall has implemented a range of water conservation strategies designed to preserve this critical
resource:

• Terrace Systems: One-degree terraces carved into the ridge housing the apple orchard and silvopasture slow water flow, allowing it to percolate into the soil before collecting in our retention pond and man-made lake for irrigation of the remaining property.
• Stormwater Management: Stormwater from roofs is channeled into the lake, reducing reliance on external water sources.
• Rainwater Collection: Greenhouses utilize a rainwater harvesting system to irrigate plants and maintain the courtyard.
• Low Flow Fixtures: Southall employees low flow faucets and fixtures throughout our property to reduce water usage across the board.

These efforts not only conserve water but also create thriving ecosystems that enhance Southall’s broader environmental goals. For example, the ponds established through these practices provide habitats for cattails, frogs, and other wildlife, contributing to biodiversity and fostering a more resilient local ecosystem. These ecosystems also help to stabilize soil, improve water quality, and support pollinators, aligning with Southall’s overarching commitment to sustainability.

Energy Conservation Practices

Southall leverages innovative technologies to reduce its energy footprint:

• Geothermal Systems: A geothermal network beneath the parking lot acts as the heat sink for Southall HVAC systems and produces hot water using the earth’s stable temperature.
• Building Automation: Lutron and Johnson FX systems automate lighting and HVAC controls to reduce energy use, employing occupancy sensors and programmable settings.
• Electric Carts: Southall employs electric carts to service the property, further reducing on-site carbon emissions.
• Energy Partnerships: Southall collaborates with Middle Tennessee Electric and TVA to explore energy reduction strategies and grid contributions.

Forestry and Habitat Conservation

Southall’s forestry management efforts ensure the health of its hundreds of acres of land:

• Invasive Species Removal: Continuous maintenance eradicates invasive plants, while fallen trees are processed into firewood.
• Native Grasses: Over 30 acres of native grasses have been cultivated, providing habitat for pollinators and wildlife while restoring biodiversity.
• Sustainable Firewood Practices: The “Full Circle” initiative repurposes trees removed during forestry projects as firewood for guest and and culinary operations. Ashes from these processes are added to compost, which is applied to lawns, gardens, and the farm.

Restoration Agricultural Practices

Southall integrates practices initially inspired by Mark Shepard’s principles of Restoration Agriculture to enhance its farming systems:

• Natural Ecosystems: Designing agricultural landscapes that emulate natural ecosystems to improve biodiversity and restore environmental health.
• Perennial Crops: Cultivating pecans, chestnuts, apples, and other perennial plants suited to the local environment, which promote soil restoration and reduce erosion.
• Livestock Integration: Southall currently raises chickens and turkeys outdoors on pasture for culinary use, rotating to fresh grass daily to allow the land to recover and provide a great life for our birds. As the farm develops, we plan to extend our operations to working with sheep and goats to help manage undergrowth and trails as partners in our ecosystem management.
• Avoidance of Synthetics: Southall strives to avoid reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, employing naturally occurring and organic processes for soil and crop management.
• Self-Sustaining Systems: Reducing reliance on external inputs by creating resilient, self-sustaining agricultural systems that prioritize ecological stewardship.
• Building Our Soil: On the farm, we keep soil covered and disturb it as little as possible: bare soil leads to erosion, loss of carbon and poor water infiltration. We use organic mulches like compost, woodchips and straw to protect the soil, and we avoid mechanical tillage so our soil microbiome can develop its capacity to support plant life, infiltrate water and sequester carbon

Operational Sustainability Practices

• Waste Management: Reusable aluminum water bottles replace disposable plastics, and composting programs process produce food scraps and brown materials from around the property for use in soil improvement. While Southall is very limited in its use of disposable materials, the few Southall does employ are fully recyclable or compostable.
• Multi-Stream Recycling: Recycling streams for glass, cardboard, paper, aluminum, and batteries are carefully managed.
• Culinary Food Program: All produce that is propagated and grown on-site is harvested and distributed to our kitchen teams for use in our restaurants. Surplus produce is locally, contributing to food security in the Nashville area. Viable leftovers and scraps are incorporated into our compost and then returned to the soil.
• Plastic reduction: No bottled waters on property. Southall provides one personalized aluminum PATH water bottle to each guest upon arrival for refillable use throughout their stay. Each guest room is outfitted with large glass water canisters filled with filtered water daily. We purposely select operating supplies that are not of single use plastic.
• Energy Star Equipment: Prioritizing the purchase and use of Energy Star Equipment in our operations.
• Sustainability in Purchasing: We intentionally seek out sustainability focused brands, companies and products.
• Giving back to the Community: In addition to our food donations to The Store in Nashville and Grace Works here in Franklin, partially used amenities like shampoo, body wash and conditioner along with decommissioned bedding and other linens from our guestrooms and spa are donated to Thistle Farms – click here to learn more or for interest in supporting. Decommissioned linens are also donated to the Williamson County Animal Shelter. This effort further supports our community and diverts these items from landfills and oceans.

Carbon Offset Contributions

Preliminary estimates suggest that Southall’s efforts offset hundreds of metric tons of CO2annually, with ongoing initiatives expected to increase this figure in the future. Through its various sustainability practices, Southall makes significant contributions to carbon offset. Key initiatives include:

• Native Grass and Tree Plantings: Over 30 acres of native grasses and thousands of trees sequester carbon, reducing atmospheric CO2 levels.
• Geothermal Systems: Using geothermal technology reduces reliance on fossil fuels, lowering carbon emissions.
• Electric Carts: Employing electric carts for property operations minimizes emissions from traditional vehicles.
• Restoration Agriculture: Practices such as perennial cropping, rotational grazing, and avoidance of synthetic inputs enhance soil’s ability to store carbon.