Read our green judge's questionnaire on Mill on the Brue

"What do you think of the roof?," Matt asked of his impressive new building. "Lovely. Is it Welsh or Chinese slate?". I was hoping to catch him out.

"Neither. The tiles are recycled car tyres".

True enough, they could bend almost in half without breaking but looked just like the real thing.

It is this sort of detail that marks Mill on the Brue Activity Centre out as such an impressive nomination. Matt and his parents, who rescued this little corner of Somerset from its former life as a golf course, have an impressively holistic approach to running their business.

Let me illustrate: after learning how to build shelters and light a fire from scratch, visiting kids sit down in the Longhouse - a brand new, award-winning eco building - to eat food they have picked from the organic garden behind the kitchens. (This produces 85% of all the veg eaten on site, the rest coming almost entirely from local suppliers).

They may even drink juice from apples they picked and pressed that morning. Scribbled next to each item on the menu board is the number of miles the ingredients have traveled.

The kids then leave via the back of the kitchen where boldly painted recycling bins are put on display as part of the subtle educational process. Food waste goes up into composting bins by the garden, where it ends up nourishing next season’s haul of fresh goodies.

But that is only part of the story. In the 25 years since the last golf ball was thwacked across a lifeless fairway, hedgerows have been reintroduced, 4000 trees planted and an organic vineyard has been coaxed into producing over a thousand bottles of wine - on a good year.

The straw bale Apple Store, an environmental education centre, is lit by power from a small wind turbine and roofed with Cornish shingles. But the crowning glory is the Longhouse.

Thickly insulated with sheep’s wool, it uses timber from the Stourhead Estate (5 miles away and is decorated with natural paints. A vast rainwater harvesting system that feeds the loos, motion-sensor lighting switches on only when needed and underfloor heating draws warmth from deep under the gardens via a ground-source heat pump.

Matt and his parents are all deeply involved in the local community and in the promotion of sustainable tourism in the wider area and have won recognition for their commitment to training their staff, almost all of whom are local.

Need to know: the centre runs day visits (£39 per child, £70 per child), children's residential camps (£213 for 4 days; £499 for 7 days) and company team building days (£141 per person). Activities include zip wire, high ropes and canoeing. The Longhouse is available for weddings for £3,500 (no corkage charges).

Bunk bed accommodation in dorms. Other accommodation available nearby at www.lowerfarm.org.uk (B&B) or www.charltonhouse.com (hotel). More available on request.

Getting there: trains run from London to Bruton (changing at Westbury or Bath Spa) and take 1 hour 53 minutes. Tickets from www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk. The centre runs an accompanied train ride service from Paddington to Bruton for children travelling on their own.

Contact: 01749 812307, www.millonthebrue.co.uk

NOMINATED BY: I’ve just come back from supporting an adventure holiday for blind and partially sighted children at this wonderful outdoor activity centre where ecology and personal achievement go hand in hand. Formerly a nine-hole golf course in the stunning valley of the River Brue it has been converted into a centre where vegetables, herbs and fruit are grown on site, food-miles are shown on the menu board and food waste is composted.

Rainwater is used to flush the loos in the newly built “longhouse” dining area which is roofed with recycled tyres and heated using a geothermal system. The grounds are managed to conserve wildlife, including the rare “oil beetle”. The support for the remarkable personal achievements of the group of blind and partially sighted children who stayed at Mill on the Brue, and the ecological achievements of the centre make it a very special place indeed - Judy Bell, Wolverhampton

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