A LOCAL camp site has found itself at the forefront of a county-wide climate campaign.

Cwtch Cabins and Camping in Much Marcle near Ross-on-Wye has been selected to join the Greener Footprints 30 for 2030 campaign, helping to lead the way towards lowering carbon emissions and bolstering natural resources.

The 30 for 2030 initiative puts the spotlight on 30 Herefordshire employers from the private, public, and third sectors, and tracking their progress towards net zero by the end of the decade.

As part of the Greener Footprints campaign, businesses share the successes and challenges of their sustainability journeys with the aim of inspiring other local organisations to follow their lead.

Cwtch Cabins and Camping was set up by Ruth and James Rennick just two years ago. After many years of family camping and caravan holidays in Wales and France, they decided to turn their dream of running a camp site into a reality, establishing a “back to nature” site with sustainability as a core principle from the start.

As members of the 30 for 2030 initiative, Ruth and James continue to work towards reducing their own carbon footprint while sharing ideas and providing a model for other local businesses.

Ruth said: “We signed up to support Greener Footprints because we truly believe that any action is better than none and those that can do more to address the climate crisis must do so to mitigate those that can’t. We have always been very environmentally conscientious and when we created the opportunity to build new, there was no excuse not to be off grid and sustainable.”

The camp site is off grid for everything except water, so it runs totally on green energy, with hot water for the camp site showers heated by a solar thermal system. A recent switch from paper towels to reusable flannels will save 100 bags of waste from landfill annually, while new planting and a pond on site means that insect, amphibian, small mammal and bird-life has increased hugely in just the two years that the site has been operating. Even products bought for cleaning and consumption are ethically sourced.

Ruth added: “We hope that some of the steps taken at Cwtch Cabins and Camping will rub off on guests even if it is just small changes made at home.”

The Greener Footprints campaign was launched at the start of the year and is set to play an important role in Herefordshire achieving its zero carbon ambitions by 2030. It is designed to encourage those living, working, and running businesses across the county to be part of a wider movement of positive action which will make the county more environmentally sustainable. There’s still time for more businesses to sign up to the campaign.