20 most innovative ecotourism projects 2011

Cornwall's Little White Alice

Greentraveller publishes its tops of the 2011 tops

Sleek contemporary furnishings and boutique bathrooms are all well and good say Greentraveller, but for many of Britain's upmarket holiday companies – not to mention their customers – green credentials are now as important as designer add-ons.

The 2011 green list ranges from places to stay to transport initiatives, festivals, and adventure and conservation holidays. All are pushing the boundaries of what green travel means.

PLACES TO STAY:

Little White Alice, Cornwall
The houses are a mix of wood and stone, sleeping two to eight; some have wood-burners, private decks, wet rooms and bespoke willow work, and there's an art studio offering lessons. A wind turbine produces most of the cottages' electricity, ground source heat pumps provide underfloor heating, and solar panels hot water.

Tregulland, Cornwall
The place is effectively off-grid for heating and water, thanks to a huge biomass boiler that keeps the indoor freshwater pool at a balmy 26C, as well as heating a steam room and outdoor hot tub. Its 16 acres of woodland stream and lake are great for spotting otters and migrating birds. 15 minutes to the beach at Trebarwith Strand and a little further to Crackington Haven for cliff-top walks.

The Green House, Dorset
Solid wood furniture was made using trees felled by storms or tree surgeons, rain water's harvested for irrigation, and the restaurant uses local, organic food, and only organic and biodynamic wines – energy comes from solar panels and a combined heat and power unit.

Fattoria San Martino, Tuscany, Italy
Meals are organic, locally sourced and vegetarian; heating and hot water are solar-powered; and guests can relax by the property's natural pool.

SUSTAINABLE HOLIDAYS

La Ruta Moskitia, Honduras
Six indigenous communities host travellers in palm-thatched eco-lodges. They will transport you by dugout canoes through the rainforest as you tick off each adventure. Profits from the enterprise go direct to the villages.

Nature Travels, Sweden
Kayaking around the Koster Islands, ski touring on the Jämtland Triangle, and timber rafting down the Klarälven river are among the adventure holidays available with Nature Travels, a UK tour operator of small-scale, low-impact trips. It is operated in Sweden using local guides and services.

Sicilian Experience, Italy
The scheme encourages locals, especially the young, to take pride in their heritage and promote local traditions. Organic gardening is flourishing and you can expect to find local olive oil, preserved vegetables and organic jams in your apartment.

Traidcraft Meet the People Tours, worldwide
While exploring the country, you stay with the small-scale farmers who make fairtrade products.

Village Ways, India and Ethiopia
Beginning at Binsar, a wildlife sanctuary in the Himalayan foothills, you take gentle, guided walks from village to village, staying in guesthouses and eating home-grown vegetarian food. Village ways offers walking holidays in five locations in India and two in Ethiopia; a project in Kenya is under way for next year.

TRANSPORT

B-bug, Brecon Beacons
The cute open-sided b-bugs have a fabric roof, a top speed of 30mph and a range of 20 to 25 miles. They're charged using electricity generated by local micro-hydro schemes and use only 3kWh for every 20 miles, which the owners say equates to only three miles in a standard car.

Accrington Eco Station, Lancashire
The first truly "green" railway station building on the UK network opened in Accrington in December 2010. It was built from recycled stone, photovoltaic cells provide some of the station's electricity, hot water is solar-powered, and harvested rain water is used for flushing toilets. The building houses a ticket office (operated by Northern Rail), but its purpose is also to spread the green message, via an education resource centre.

Glastonbury Festival, Somerset
Ticket-holders who arrived at the 2011 festival by public transport or bike were given a Green Traveller lanyard which gave them discounts on meals and T-shirts, and access to solar showers and compost toilet

DAYS OUT/VISITOR ATTRACTIONS

California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, US
Partly solar-powered and insulated with recycled jeans, it houses the world's largest all-digital planetarium, its deepest living coral reef exhibition, and a four-storey-high rainforest. But its prize exhibit is its 2.5-acre living roof, the largest swath of native vegetation in San Francisco.

FARM:shop, Dalston, London
"The world's first farm in a shop", as FARM:shop Dalston describes itself, is an experiment in urban agriculture that combines a cafe and arts venue with a mini fish farm, rooftop chicken coops, indoor allotments and a polytunnel to grow as much food as possible in what was once a derelict shop. While the space hosts regular tastings, parties and events, the produce grown on the site is also served in the cafe, in dishes such as fresh tilapia with hydroponic chilli and tomato chutney. Devised by Something & Son, an eco-social design practice, it aims to roll out the concept around the UK.

Car Free Walks, UK
This is a website on which users share walking routes that can be reached by bus, train, coach or ferry. Grid reference, elevation profile and OS map link is given for each, with information on accommodation, pubs and cafes. Users can rate walks and add their own routes to the growing database. Prizes are offered for the best submissions.

Party Neuf, Monmouthshire
Party Neuf has pioneered the solar-powered music scene, providing non-fossil fuel energy for lights, PA systems and stages for 26 years at venues including Glastonbury.

Centre for Alternative Energy, Powys
CAT has evolved from a 1970s outdoor laboratory to an internationally renowned visitor centre, with dozens of exhibitions on just about every eco technology under the sun. There's a playground too, and it's an interesting place to visit even if you're not planning to live in a straw bale house any time soon. Come by train (the nearest station is Machynlleth) and entry is half price.

COMMUNITY AND CONSERVATION

Ewaso Lions Warrior Watch, Kenya
In Kenya's northern Samburu region, young men are trained to work in conservation as part of the Ewaso Lions Warrior Watch program, which aims to address the anomaly whereby the people who spend most time out in the bush are the ones who have least input into decision-making that affects that environment.

Great Gorilla Project tour, Uganda
One of several projects run by Way Out Experiences, a UK-based volunteering holiday specialist, the Great Gorilla Project tour puts a neat twist on the usual conservation holiday. Volunteers don't record data or monitor animals directly. It's all about spreading the message about gorilla conservation by taking a two-week trip to Uganda to help screen conservation documentaries.

Regional good food guide, Spain
The aim is to help its customers find local ingredients from shops and markets, and to point the way to the best local restaurants, from tapas bars and country tavernas to Michelin-starred restaurants. Guests can pick up some "fried milk" in a village bakery, or head for Mondoñedo to shop at Rei de las Tartas, the King of Cakes.

More info:http://www.greentraveller.co.uk/green-list

Valere Tjolle
Valere is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite 2011 Get your copy at a special offer price: HERE