Local Sustainability

The oldest part of the Centre at FSC Rhyd-y-creuau, situated in the Conwy Valley in Snowdonia National Park

When you hear people talk about sustainability it can sound like a very lovely, warm and fluffy idea. In a two hundred year old Georgian House, being in a picturesque part of Snowdonia National Park with the planning restrictions which come with that and the financial restrictions all charities face, we find it a challenge. However, we think sustainability is critically important. The Field Studies Council aims to increase people's environmental awareness, and at Rhyd-y-Creuau we attempt to demonstrate ways to become more sustainable. We do not always get it right, and we hope visitors can learn from our mistakes as well as our successes.

We became the first Welsh Eco-Centre in 1999.  We aim to reduce, recycle and reuse as much as we can. We recycle plastic, paper and aluminium cans used by the centre, as well as cardboard, wood and metal. Recent developments aimed at reducing our energy consumption and CO₂include:

• low energy lighting in corridors linked to movement sensors to ensure they only come on when they are needed

• a new extractor system from the kitchen which allows us to use that heat to warm other parts of the building

• attempting to do as much correspondence with our visitors electronically, rather than by post and paper, as possible.

• 3 new roofs, all of which have included significant additional amounts of insulation

'The team' who collect and process garden material for our community compost scheme

We run a community based composting scheme for local residents of Betws-y-Coed. We regularly pick up green waste from local residents and then can receive compost mulch back. To find out more or become a member of the scheme please e-mail us at enquiries.rc@field-studies-council.org or phone us on 01690 710494.

A key element of sustainability is local community involvement. As well as the community composting scheme we aim to work in partnership with other local organisations, and some of the services we are able to provide include:

• Subsidised day courses for local school and college groups

• Summer holiday conservation and adventure courses for 16-18 year olds

• Professional development courses for people working in biodiversity, heritage and environmental education sector (including discounts  for PGCE students, Teachers and NATUR members)

• Fully susbsidised courses for Welsh children with Visual Impairments. Part funded by the National Lottery, this project is allowing young people from across Wales to access some of the spectacular environments of Snowdonia who otherwise could not explore these places.

A PGCE course, with participants exploring different fieldwork activities which can be used to aid learning in the post glaciated valley of Nant Ffrancon

A group of visually impaired students exploring the mountains of Snowdonia, near Cwm Idwal and visiting the organic farm of Blaen-y-nant

Young people on a Duke of Edinburgh course, undertaking conservation task next to the centre

We are fortunate to have received funding from The Draper's Company, who helped to set up the centre by paying some of the initial renovation costs and more recently have contributed to our local Community and Sustainability projects.

We are situated in Snowdonia National Park, at the very heart of North Wales, and Welsh plays a very important role in the centre. We encourage visitors to immerse themselves in the Welsh culture. Approximately 50% of our staff here at the Centre speak Welsh as their first language, and Welsh is prominent within the local area. Cultural sustainability promotes the use of Welsh. By involving the whole community we can encourage a deeper understanding of sustainability and current environmental issues both locally and globally.  

We are always open to new ideas and as such encourage our visitors to find out more about our sustainability and community projects and suggest ways we can improve when visiting the Centre.

In the 2011 and 2012 we would like to:

• Make use of one of our plentiful local resources: install a rain water harvesting system, meaning we need to use less mains water for showers and loos (which has a high CO₂ footprint as it needs treating and pumping to us, both of which require energy).

• Aim to double the local produce we use in our kitchens for our 6,500 visitors every year, to reduce the food miles in the food we serve. We also aim to work out the CO₂ footprint of each meal option and share this with our customers.

• Build a compost loo to demonstrate and educate visitors on the different ways society can sustainably manage water supplies and sewage.