Sustainability - Travel at Westonbirt

A small shuttle bus drives away from the camera with two visitors waving in the back.

We are a rural site and travel is a big part of emissions we are associated with (see: scope 1 and 3 emissions). To tackle what we can do to reduce emissions resulting from travel to and from Westonbirt requires a lot of planning and research, and we are working with the University of Gloucestershire on a travel plan. 

Visitors

 

  • Visitors can get 30% off for travelling to us by public transport, with a valid bus ticket, and this discount also applies to cyclists. 
  • We have bike racks available at the Welcome Building and the staff offices. 
  • Did you know that there are three buses that stop at Westonbirt, and Kemble train station is 20 minutes away. We are working with external partners and the local council on public travel provisions. We need your help by getting the bus now and again to prove to the council that we need the bus stop. 
  • We are looking into introducing EV charging points for visitors. This is subject to staff resource and electricity capacity. 
  • We also have an electric shuttle bus to help visitors get around site.
  • We have started charging for parking at events at Westonbirt to encourage people to come together - so bring a buddy or get one of our greener coach options to Forest Live. 
A member of the team in a high vis jacket waves a car through to a space in the car park.
A close up of a car that has the Forestry England logo next to an electric charging point
Photo credit: Alison Whaley

Staff and volunteers 
 

  • By taking part online in more frequent virtual meetings staff are now travelling less for business meetings. 
  • We allow staff to have 'blended working' options which not only allows for a good work life balance, but means less staff are travelling to work by working from home occasionally. 
  • We encourage staff to use our electric pool car for travelling to meetings and around site. 
  • We also encourage car sharing with staff members that live near each other.