At Chapel Gate, we’re committed to inspiring, celebrating and advancing the critical role that education plays in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals, through the SDG Accord commitment.
As a result, we’re constantly striving to make our site as sustainable as possible and are achieving this in a number of ways:
Energy
We source all electricity from green tariffs, and our sustainability team continue to explore other options to reduce our carbon emissions. This includes the installation of Air Source Heat Pumps in our changing room renovation, so we use less fossil fuel gas to heat our water.
Bournemouth University Community Business (BUCB) is exploring a number of potential installations that could help to further reduce the carbon footprint at Chapel Gate, including changing all internal lighting to LED, to match the external LED lighting that we already use on our outdoor pitches.
There is a longer-term desire to move away from the use of LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) onsite, and to use more sustainable methods of energy production to provide heating and hot water.
Waste
You’ll find recycling and general waste bins around the site, so you can easily separate your waste. We also send our food waste for recycling through anaerobic digestion. Any general waste that can’t be recycled is sent to an Energy from Waste facility to avoid landfill.
Travel
Active travel, including walking and cycling, are not only sustainable options, they’re also great for your health, and even your mood! We’re home to the Beryl Bike scheme where pay-as-you-go bike and electric scooter hire has never been easier. We also have secure bike parking on site.
A number of More Bus routes run to Parley Cross, which is within walking distance of our site. If you’re a BU student or staff member, you can catch the new U5 bus route which travels between Talbot and Lansdowne Campus and Chapel Gate on Wednesdays.
Nature
We’re helping biodiversity within our 65-acre site in a number of ways:
- We’re letting non-playing surfaces grow and won’t use fertiliser or herbicide treatments in these areas
- We’re taking a gentle approach to our woodland areas so they can thrive
- We’re planting native species to help create more natural boundaries
- We have installed bird and bat boxes to encourage more wildlife to the area. You can take a look at the live bird feeder and bird box at any time to see the wildlife in action
- We have provided areas to encourage you to connect with nature.
Chapel Gate Nature Connection
Research has proven time and again that being out in nature is good for us, both physically and mentally. We’ve developed outdoor experience packages that help you better connect with nature whilst helping you to build on skills that can be applied to your personal and professional life.
Our outdoor sessions can be tailored to suit the needs of your group and we’ll work with you to meet your aims and objectives for the session, whether it’s a children’s party or a corporate team building experience. The outdoor communal area is also available for booking as a meeting space if you’re looking for that functional space with a twist.
Please visit the SportBU website to find out more about these packages.