Look to the Future

It means caring about where we live too.

Our ‘Look to the Future’ team meets regularly to talk about ways we can make a difference. This is sometimes about saving energy, sometimes about recycling, and sometimes about how we can help our community.

In 2016 we were delighted to be awarded the “Green Key” accreditation which recognises our commitment to being environmentally responsible and provides our visitors with the confidence they’re visiting a sustainable tourist attraction and we’ve retained it ever since. Here’s a few examples of the things we’re doing to try and change our small part of the world.

Biomass heating

We’ve invested £700,000 in a biomass heating system using wood chip that is 100% renewable. It heats our fairground, Carousel Woods indoor play area, Jolly Barn, the Hungry Farmer restaurant and Tropical Trails exhibit, as well as our gift shop and staff offices. It also supplies our hot water. The system saves 700 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. A second biomass system has been built to service our Holiday Park too. So, when you stay with us you be sure that the heating and hot water is sustainable too.

Solar panels

We’ve invested £250,000 in solar panels on our funfair roof to make our own electricity using the power of the sun. This means we’re generating all the electricity needed to run Folly Farm without having to use the power supply for our local area. We even power our sustainable electric go-karts using the electricity generated through these panels!

Hand driers

We’ve also invested in “eco” hand dryers for the toilets and hand washing areas across the park. These environmentally friendly dryers not only use less electricity but they reduce waste from the use of paper towels. We also went one step further and fitted auto-sensors on all the lights in our toilet blocks so they turn off when they’re not in use.

Light bulbs

We use a lot of light bulbs in our vintage fairground – a whopping 10,000. So it seemed obvious to replace them all with low energy versions – saving 70% of the energy needed.

Willow

We’ve got our own willow plantation because this is what our giraffes in particular, and many of our other animals, like to munch on. Now we don’t have to have to have it delivered which means fewer vehicles on the road and we’re making good use of our land. Best of all when the giraffes have finished eating all the leaves and even the bark (it’s a great dental workout for them!), we chip what remains and re-use it for bedding for our animals. How about that for a no-waste regime?!

We have our own willow plantation – so we’re self-sufficient in browse for our animals.

Poo

Yes that’s right, poo! We’ve got a lot of it so when we clean out our animals, we collect it and spread it on our land to grow the willow and other vegetation for our animals. It goes full-circle.

Green Key award

We’re proud holders of the Green Key environmental accreditation. The eco-accreditation promotes sustainable tourism and guides businesses towards best environmental practices. We adhere to National and International Green Key criteria that have been designed to be easily understood by visitors, feasible for the tourism industry, and can be clearly verified through control checks.