Green Adrenalin In West Wales

Voluntourism is the latest buzz word when it comes to ethical vacations, but take an eco-trip to West Wales and the only thing you'll have to volunteer to do, is take a leap off a cliff.

St David's is Britain's smallest city. Tucked away in Pembrokeshire National Park and blessed with miles of pristine beaches, scenic cliff top walks and more than its fair share of wildlife – which is why the city is becoming a top eco-destination.

Cycling, hiking, kayaking, surfing – most activities in the area are human powered, including the one activity the area is famous for creating – coasteering.

Whatever the weather coasteerers don a wetsuit, old pair of sneakers and a helmet, and take to the cliffs in an adventure sport that combines climbing, gorge walking, swimming and if you're up for it, a spot of underwater caving. Scrambling up rocks, leaping into the waves and getting very, very wet is all part of the fun, and it is, of course, an eco-friendly way to explore the coastline.

The TYF adventure company, who run the coasteering trips, are taking the lead in an effort to transform St David's into a eco-friendly vacation destination. As well as the activities TYF run Wales’ first organic certified hotel – a converted water mill with 12 rooms, stacked full of green features.

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Rooms come with natural bathroom products and wind up radios and torches for guests to try, the honor bar is stocked with a range of organic beers, wines and spirits, the breakfasts are made with organic, locally sourced ingredients, and the entire hotel is carbon neutral.

TYF is also helping push forward the ‘St David's eco-city project’ which aims to make St David's Britain's first carbon neutral city – and considering the size of the city, (it only takes five minutes to cross), they do have a head start over their rivals. As part of the eco-city project a bio-diesel pump has been installed, the café at Whitesands beach is now part powered by solar and wind generators and plans have been drawn up for a tidal power generator.

What St David's lacks in size it certainly makes up for in innovation. Not settling with being the creators of coasteering, the town looks set to become one of Britain's greenest destinations.

Further information

Bed and Breakfast rates at the TYF Hotel start from $60 per night. TYF activities are available as half day, full day or weekend adventures.

Visit tyf.com for more details.

City Parks Take To The Skies

Urban parks are on the rise, literally. Across the globe public parks are sprouting on the roofs of skyscrapers and high-rises, transforming barren swathes of concrete into green oases with scenic views and clean air – and all far above the busy city streets.

City roof gardens are nothing new of course, the Kensington Roof Gardens, for instance, famous for its pink flamingos, has offered a green retreat for Londoner’s since the 1930’s; and offices and apartment blocks the world over are adorned with tufts of green grass - but while many of these gardens are private or for members only, a trend is now emerging for large, public parks perched on the city skyline.

In Osaka, Japan, clusters of trees, gentle streams and green lawns sit on the roof of the Namba shopping center, reaching up to eight floors at its highest point. Similar rooftop parks, three or four stories above street level, have also been opened in Singapore and New York, and now plans have been revealed for the world’s first true skyscraper parks.

In London a sky park with botanical gardens, terraces, a café and a restaurant 35 stories above the ground will feature as part of the 20 Fenchurch Street development. The office building, which has already been dubbed the walkie-talkie due to its top heavy design, is due to be completed in 2010, and unlike many of London’s roof gardens the Skypark will be accessible to the public.

Work is also underway on a 50 storey high skypark in Singapore. The two acre park will form part of the vast Marina Bay Sands development due to open in 2009, and will traverse the roofs of three 1000-room tower hotels. As well as offering 360-degree views of the city and sea the park will feature jogging paths, swimming pools, spas and gardens.

With Central Park worth an estimated $529 billion in land value, according to New York magazine, it’s no surprise that developers and taking the need for new parks upwards – but vertical parks aren’t the only solution, as new skyparks are also being created on abandoned, elevated railway lines.

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Paris is home to the first of these elongated parks - the Promenade Plantée, a 2.8 mile elevated park, built on an abandoned 19th-century railway viaduct. The park provides pedestrians a tree lined, scenic route to Paris’ eastern suburbs and has also sparked the creation of an arts neighborhood, with workshops and galleries housed between the viaduct arches.

Similar projects are planned in Chicago, Leeds and Rotterdam – but the most high profile of these projects is in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The High Line, a 1.45 mile stretch of 1920’s elevated rail line was at risk of demolition, but after nearly a decade of campaigning and the backing of celebrities such as David Bowie and Edward Norton, the line is now being converted into a public park, with the first public areas expected to be completed in Spring 2008.

With 50% of the world’s population now living in cities the need for new green spaces to breathe fresh air into the concrete jungle is becoming increasingly important – and skyparks provide an ideal, space saving solution, but as well as scenic views, skyparks also offer a host of environmental benefits.

Studies have shown that roof gardens soak up CO2 and absorb rainwater - which dramatically reduces stormwater runoff and therefore the risk of floods. Green roofs also naturally insulate buildings in the winter and can also play an important role in cooling urban temperatures in the summer. While concrete and tarmac absorb heat and push temperatures in city centers' five degrees higher than surrounding suburbs, green roofs cool the air around them and can help negate this ‘heat island effect’.

Such are the environmental benefits of green roofs that cities including Berlin, Tokyo, Singapore, San Francisco and Chicago have all already introduced green building legislation to encourage green roofs, and with developers seeking eco-certification such as LEED, skyparks have the potential to become not only the green attractions of the future, but part of the solution to reducing urban pollution.

Skyparks will never reach the acreage of famous green spaces such as Central Park or Regent’s Park, but they are sure to become visitor attractions in their own right, and help make our cities become cleaner, greener places.

The Rise Of Urban Green Hotels

Fully stocked mini bar, trouser press, complimentary shampoo – all standard features for many city hotels, but for those of us who don’t care if our jeans have a crease there’s often little to choose from between urban hotels – but that could soon be about to change.

The green hotel industry, once the preserve of rainforest eco-lodges and countryside yurt retreats, is beginning to creep into towns and cities across the globe, with hotels introducing plans that range from four minute shower timers for guests staying in areas with water shortages, to offering discount rates for drivers of hybrid cars.

It’s not all about saving the environment, of course. Several recent surveys have suggested that holiday-makers would be willing to pay more to stay in a green hotel, and hotels which try something new stand to gain an edge on the competition.

According to Alastair Sawday, owner of Special Places to Stay guidebooks, “To stay in a hotel that makes imaginative efforts to reduce its impact on the environment is like meeting an interesting and worthwhile fellow-traveller." Claims Alastair Sawday, owner of Special Places to Stay guidebooks, "who would choose to swim in an oil-heated pool if there was a solar-heated alternative?” To eat imported food if the local food was equally delicious? Each of those alternatives, when chosen, adds something special to a holiday.”

The increased demand for green accommodation has also triggered a rise in popularity for green hotel ratings, which reward properties for their environmental practices rather than whether they boast Egyptian cotton sheets and fresh pineapple at the breakfast buffet.

In Canada, for instance, hotels can apply for a Green Key rating, with five keys given to the most eco-friendly properties. Over 500 hotels have already signed up for the Green Key scheme with 700 more expected to join by the end of the year.

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“Our Green Key program is becoming a standard across Canada,” says Anthony Pollard, president of the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC). “After running the program for 10 years, it is now taking off like gangbusters.”

To achieve a Green Key rating, hotels must excel in areas such as energy management, water conservation, waste management, air quality and community involvement.

Similar schemes are in place across the world. In Wales, for instance, hotel owners can apply for a Green Dragon rating, in central America eco-friendly hotels are awarded with up to five Green Leaves, and the Green Globe scheme operates in over 50 countries.

Although many top rated green hotels are currently located in wilderness locations, there are plans for new eco-friendly city hotels across the world. Geothermal heating and cooling systems will be used in the ALT hotel in Montreal and the boutique Greenhouse 26 in New York, and the hotel chain Starwood will introduce the new eco-friendly hotel brand, Aloft, in 2008.

Aloft hotels, which will open in cities including Beijing, Sydney, Mumbai and Toronto will feature materials such as recycled teak, will offer hybrid only parking zones and grassy back yard areas and will make use of eco-friendly detergents in the laundries and swimming pools.

It may be some time before green ratings become an industry standard, but as long as consumer demand for green accommodation remains, it won’t be long before you can choose to stay at a city hotel with organic cotton sheets and offers FairTrade pineapple at the breakfast buffet.

The I-junk Generation

A few years ago travelling with music involved carting around a brick sized walkman and a bag full of mix-tapes; but now travellers are able to carry their entire music collection on on an MP3 player the size of a stick of gum - with an increasing number of people digitising their music, however, it does leave one problem - what to do with all the old CD's.

Around 800,000 CDs were sold worldwide when they were first introduced in 1983, and by 2004 that figure had risen to 3.5 billion a year - but leaving unused CDs to gather dust isn't the only option for unwanted albums.

CDs, jewel cases and the inserts can all be recycled - although there are currently few facilities able to handle CDs. One organisation that does is the London based Laundry, who gather CD's sent in by post, and send them off to be transformed into coat hangers, key fobs, packaging foam and even shiny, new CD cases.

Records, CD's and cassettes aren't the only musical iJunk, of course. The rapid release of new technology means that the iPod you bought a couple of years ago is out of date just in time for Christmas, when the new range of tiny music players hit the market.

Ipods in particular have come under criticism for their short lives - with batteries prone to giving up and fragile screens cracking after only a year's use. But new EU legislation could encourage manufacturers to create products with much longer life expectancy - as they will be responsible for recycling gadgets when they die.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive is due to come into force in the UK on 1 July 2007, and will allow shoppers to hand in old electronics, such as music players and mobile phones, at the store where they buy their new gadgets.

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The Take Back schemes could result in a new wave of electronics that use less materials, last longer and use alternative energy sources and materials; and some manufacturers are already exploring alternatives.

Sony, for instance, has been using corn-based plastics in the casings of CD and DVD players for several years. The material is just as tough as oil-based plastic, yet will biodegrade without releasing harmful toxins; but here's the catch 22 for tree huggers - this environmentally friendly plastic is made using genetically modified plants.

Hemp-based plastics are also used to make CD and DVD cases, and Taiwanese firm MFI are currently developing the world's first MP3 player with built in solar panels, but the first truly eco-friendly MP3 player has yet to arrive.

Electrical goods are the biggest growing waste source in the UK, but the future is looking brighter, and the iJunk mountain may soon begin to shrink.