Going Green!
We are proud to announce that Shorefield Country Park has been awarded a Silver Accreditation in the newly launched New Forest Green Leaf Tourism Business Scheme. The scheme is run by Go New Forest (GNF), a not for profit Community Interest Company providing a destination-wide partnership to manage and develop tourism and the visitor economy throughout the New Forest National Park and wider district.
GNF puts ‘forest first’ tourism at the heart of all activities, and supports business members in the New Forest’s journey to becoming net zero, and in turn becoming the UK’s greenest destination.
Shorefield Country Park was recently awarded the New Forest Green Leaf Tourism Silver Accreditation as part of the latest campaign to celebrate local businesses putting the planet first. This status was achieved through Shorefield Holidays’ ongoing commitment to a number of environmentally minded practices, whilst encouraging guests to adopt this approach during their stay.
From cycle-friendly facilities and electric vehicle charging points, to free group transport for staff and reduced Health Club fees for fitness club members who don’t drive to the gym, Shorefield Country Park rewards those who choose to get around in a sustainable way. We also offer walking and cycling route guides to champion getting around on foot or on wheels, to keep our air clean, as well as being a regular stop on the New Forest Tour, allowing guests to hop on and off around the local and wider New Forest area.
The park is also energy efficient, using green and renewable energy sources for fuel and heating. We've stopped printing our visitor welcome booklet/guide and have developed our own park app's containing all the useful information for when visiting any of our parks - saving around 208,000 pages each year! (Roughly 15 trees each year).
In terms of what’s being eaten on site, food is locally and sustainably sourced as much as possible, as we like to keep it local, with lots of produce bought from our friends at nearby farms, butchers and dairies, reducing the road mileage on our meals. Shorefield Country Park is proud to be a New Forest Marque member, supporting New Forest-based businesses and enterprises by stocking and supporting local produce which has been grown, reared, caught, brewed, produced or processed within the New Forest.
There’s also very little waste on site; both food and garden waste is composted and even our coffee grounds find a new life as insect repellent! Luxury Hampers for Treehouse arrivals come from the New Forest Hamper Company, and the on-site shop stocks and sells local products and produce. Anything our guests eat or use has not travelled far. Recycling is also very important to the team, there’s no single-use plastics at the park, and behind the scenes our offices are going paperless, moving to digital documents and electronic signature software whenever possible.
The team at Shorefield Country Park, which is located within walking distance of Milford-on-sea beach, look to ensure that the surrounding nature landscape is respected and preserved throughout the year, so that flora, fauna, trees and wildlife can flourish in all their glory year round! We leave grass uncut in certain areas to provide for bees and other pollinators to make themselves at home, using the phrase: 'Pardon the weeds we are feeding the bees'.
With the spotlight firmly on how we can live a more sustainable lifestyle, the New Forest Green Leaf Tourism Business Scheme highlights that holidaying can still be a time to respect and protect the planet. So, join us on our journey to net zero at Shorefield Country Park, whilst enjoying the New Forest at its finest and greenest! Discover more about our green initiatives and how we are doing our bit to promote sustainable holidays.
