ROADFORD Lake, part of the Westcountry charity, South West Lakes Trust, has been awarded its fifth consecutive ‘Gold’ award for Green Tourism.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme is the national sustainable tourism certification scheme for the UK. Businesses opting to join Green Tourism are assessed by a qualified grading advisor against a rigorous set of criteria covering a range of areas, such as energy and water efficiency, waste management, biodiversity and more.

Under the scheme, sites are assessed every two years and in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 Roadford Lake received Gold. The Green Tourism certification is important in today’s world as consumers are becoming increasingly aware of sustainability-related issues and tourism needs to be sustainable to ensure its future viability.

A qualified assessor for Green Tourism, who undertook the accreditation grading visit at Roadford, praised everyone for doing a great job at retaining the prestigious Gold award.

The activities offered at the lake have ensured it remains a key part of the community and focuses on encouraging families and people to explore the great outdoors. At Roadford, the trust also continues to give back to the community through various school group visits and works in partnership with other local charities.

Other examples of good practice mentioned by the assessor included: the use of local suppliers, Ecoffee cups and Vegware for take away cups in the café, as well as ‘green conferences’ and the installation of dormouse and bat boxes on site. Roadford has a wealth of wildlife including otters, bats, dormice and the rare ‘Marsh Fritillary’ butterfly.

Colin Vallance, the charity’s heritage and environment director, said: “The trust is committed to ensuring that environmental sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. This award demonstrates just how much has been achieved through the hard work and dedication of our team of employees and volunteers at Roadford Lake and we are all extremely proud to have received this recognition for a fifth time.”

More information about the Green Tourism scheme can be found on their website at www.green-tourism.com