South Downs yurt holidays in Sussex, England
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Wildlife: Through our guided wildlife activities we raise awareness about the natural environment and encourage people to enjoy it in a responsible thoughtful way. Most of our guides are born and bred on the Downs and are passionate about the environment and keeping it preserved. Furthermore we limit use of the site to 20 people, in order to keep it in pristine condition.
Waste: All waste at the campsite is recycled at the Lewes recycling centre.
Energy: Apart from your transport to the site, we have a very low carbon footprint. There is no power at the site, our charcoal is FSC certified and the wood is locally gathered in a sustainable manner.
Water: we minimise water use by using eco compost toilets. Water for the site is accessed from the Firle aquifer which is treated at source.
Transport: We discourage vehicles, and all access to the site is on foot (apart from your luggage which is taken by 4x4). We encourage people to travel by rail and bike.
Buildings: All our structures are made from recycled wood wherever possible and all our bell tents, yurts and platforms are dismantled at the end of the season, in order to return the land to its natural state.
Suppliers: All our suppliers are local. This includes food for catered events which is all sourced locally.
Community
Safari Britain employs ten local people - mainly guides - all of whom are linked to the South Downs National Park and have a passion for the landscape and wildlife. Our guides include local foragers, bushcraft specialists, falconers, botanists, landscape historians, archaeologists and gamekeepers. Many of them were born and brought up on the Downs, so Safari Britain fosters a sense of community and provides a focus for wildlife expertise. This is very important to us.
The camp is an integral part of Firle village, many of whom have enjoyed using it. Every year Firle primary school, in conjunction with other local primary schools takes the site so that pupils can learn about the natural world with local guides. Safari Britain hopes soon to establish various wildlife courses to further this objective. In 2011 various one-off courses took place at the site – nightingale and botany walks as well as Downland folk music.
The camp is used by local communities to celebrate events. In this sense it provides a wonderful private place on the South Downs for local communities to enjoy the National Park.
Safari Britain is exploring working with a young offenders charity in 2012 to help young offenders learn new skills in the natural world.
Landscape
We are passionate about the South Downs, and are committed to keeping it unspoilt, alive with wildlife and to communicating the importance of keeping it special.
Our wildlife guides were hand-picked because of their specialist knowledge of the chalk Downland, which has a unique set of flora and fauna. Many of them are trained professionals and some of them are truly leaders in their field. As such they are uniquely qualified to guide and instruct and they have becoming very popular among groups staying at Safari Britain, some of whom have had little opportunity to discover and appreciate the natural world.
Our ethos is to show and share – and we believe it crucial in our rapidly urbanised and industrialised world that people get a chance to appreciate the beauties of the natural world. Only through knowledge can we prevent further degradation of the environment which desperately needs to be protected.
1of10
