January 10, 2016

Wildlife and the Environment

We understand that one of the main reasons people come to St Davids is to enjoy its outstanding natural environment and coastline.

baby seal

At Caerfai Bay we are committed to preserving the stunning natural Pembrokeshire environment and we help our guests to support us. We are surrounded on all sides by organic farm land and respect for this environment and the Pembrokeshire Coastline is a key part of running our park. We strive to minimise our impact on the natural environment in the following ways:

The Grounds

Whilst much of the Park requires the grass to be kept short, where possible we allow the hedge boundaries and hedges to grow encouraging wild flowers, insects and other animals to thrive. We don’t use any weed killers, pesticides or artificial fertilisers on our site – in the summer you may notice us out and about weeding by hand. We have lots of natural pollinators that visit our Park during the spring and summer months and we are committed to the organic ethos promoted by Caerfai Farm and do not wish to unsettle the natural balance disrupted by use of weed killers. All timber work surrounding caravans, timber fences, gates and the like are only treated with water based preservatives. This is a coastal Park and we regularly consider appropriate planting and monitor the progress of shrubs and trees that have been planted in the last five years. Our static caravans are painted green and our amenity blocks/reception are painted brown, in keeping with the colours of the landscape. Our aim, to be more sympathetic and unobtrusive to the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastline.

Energy

Wherever possible we use renewable sustainable energy. Solar panels on all the amenity blocks heat the water for wash basins and sinks; when necessary in high season, we do use oil back-ups so you’ll always have a hot shower/water. The electricity used to power our office is generated by photo voltaic cells. A ground source heat pump harnesses geothermal energy for heating hot water and underfloor heating in the larger amenity block. We try to minimise our consumption of energy by using low energy lighting where practical and our field lights are designed to reduce light pollution. We have future plans to install motion sensors for the internal lighting in our toilet and shower blocks to reduce the electricity that would have been used during the small hours when nobody is using these units.

RecyclingSolar panels and flower pots from reused shower basins

We provide recycling opportunities on the Park for glass, paper, cans, plastic, cardboard and food waste. It is our aim to continue to increase the amount we recycle and reduce the amount we send to landfill – you will notice dotted round our site our “upcycled” flower pots, originally washbasins and shower basins.
We produce our own compost with our grass cuttings and food compost waste. To reduce our consumption of paper and printed materials we are increasing our use of electronic communications.

Wildlife

We are surrounded by farmland and have the occasional visitors – rabbits, foxes and badgers. It is important that these animals are allowed to pursue their wild feeding regime. Food left outside tents, or even inside tents and awnings can be an attraction to badgers at night and seagulls during the day. Do not leave refuse bags outside your tent or caravan as rubbish may be strewn across the field by seagulls. Please put your food in suitable, hard containers and your recycling in the bins provided. Don’t leave food scraps lying around and make sure your tent is zipped up at bedtime to ensure your food stocks aren’t raided by wildlife.

Economy

We try and support the local economy by promoting local businesses and attractions, most are tried and tested and family favourites. We do not have any endorsement agreements with any attractions – we’ve really enjoyed them and think you may too. We try, wherever possible, to source products and services from local suppliers and to use products with a low environmental impact.

What you can do

Reduce.

Please help us to reduce our paper consumption – we are a small site and can find your booking by name or reference number; we do not need to see printed documents/details. The site is well signposted and most “sat navs” will bring you to the park – just remember we are past Caerfai Farm on the right and you will not need to print off a map. All information about our terms and conditions, things to do and where to eat is on our website, on information boards in the amenity blocks and in our information room.

Reuse.

Bringing your own bags when shopping is habit in Wales as we’ve had to pay for bags for the past few years. Please remember to bring reusable bags for shopping.

Recycle.

We have two recycling areas, one in the refuse area of the caravan field and the other in the refuse area in the first camping field. Glass bottles/jars, plastic bottles, tin cans, newspapers/magazines and cardboard can be recycled. We also have food recycling bins and vegetable peeling bins (we pop these in our composters on site) in the dish-wash areas in both the camping and caravanning amenity blocks.

Non-recyclable waste is collected by a private firm in the large green skip bins, located in the refuse compounds, below the caravan amenities block, opposite the Park office and below the tent field amenity complex.

 Glass Bottles  yes  In green wheelie bins in refuse compounds
 Plastic and Cans  yes  In green wheelie bins in refuse compounds
 Plastic wrappers, sheets, etc  no  Placed in ordinary skip bins in refuse compounds
 News papers and magazines  yes  In paper/card skip bins in refuse compound
 Vegetable peelings  yes Container in the dishwash
 Cardboard  yes  If made into flat packs, can be placed in paper/card skip bins

Get out of the car!

Travel green, travel better! If you are coming by car, try to bring only one car. This has many green benefits: fewer cars on the highways, and fewer cars on the holiday park. Use public transport where possible. Walking, cycling and riding are great ways to see St Davids and Pembrokeshire without adding to traffic. Try to use public transport when possible, but start by exploring using the Coastal Path that runs adjacent to Caerfai Bay Caravan and Tent Park– there are some fantastic places to see right on our doorstep… just ask!

Stay Local, Eat Local, Buy Local, See Local

Purchasing local goods and services enhances the local economy. St Davids has a regular Farmers’ Market on Thursdays and there are plenty of farm shops, village stores, pubs and cafes in and around St Davids specialising in local, home grown or freshly caught produce. Caerfai Farm, an organic farm, pretty much on our doorstep produces and sells organic milk and cheese (both unpasteurised), organic honey and eggs.

Chill out – Switch Off!

You can see the stars at night in Caerfai! Help us reduce light pollution, energy use and CO2 emissions by switching off lights and all those standby buttons when you don’t need them. Help us reduce water consumption by using just the water you need; and then sit back and enjoy the stars.

Leave only Footprints, Take only Memories…

When in Pembrokeshire try to have as little impact on the environment as possible, enjoy what has made St. Davids and the surrounding coastline a special and spectacular place to come and visit.