Sustainability at Drusillas Park

We are increasingly aware of the part that we play in helping the environment and are working hard to make positive changes. This is a gradual process and a complete switch is going to take time, however, we are committed to continuing down this path. 

This is what we are currently doing at Drusillas Park:

• We have launched the Drusillas Park app, free for all visitors, meaning we no longer print paper maps and are switching all our members to digital membership cards so that we can stop producing plastic cards.
• We grow our own bamboo and browse for the animals, who love to munch on them. Our red pandas Maja and Mulan munch their way through two kilograms of bamboo a day- that's 20,000 leaves! It means transportation and emissions are kept to a minimum. We also collect browse from hedgerows nearby which helps maintain them.
• We receive deliveries of surplus vegetables from local supermarkets which means nothing goes to waste.
• We've installed two twin 7kw chargers, powered by Pod Point, which means the Park now offers four electric or hybrid vehicle charger points for visitors.
• All our electricity on site comes from 100% renewable energy.
• We only use natural materials for our animal enrichment - so you'll often see our residents foraging in wooden feeding trays or swinging on a natural rope swing.
• We are using coir in many of our animals enclosure for bedding, which is sustainable.
• We have digitalised our ticket bookings for day ticket, experiences and memberships, and moved all booking forms online. This has reduced the amount of paper used and printing carried out.
• We have digitalised our maintenance management system and removed the paper system
• We have no plastic straws on site, we've replaced all our straws with paper ones.
• Our disposable cutlery is all biodegradable and compostable – they have a slightly plastic look in appearance, but they are made from environmentally-friendly materials.
• Our coffee cups are all recyclable and our food boxes are made from cardboard and can be recycled. Please dispose of your rubbish responsibly. 
• In all our toilets, the paper is 100% recycled.
• We are currently experimenting with environmentally friendly cleaning products.
• In the zoo we have reduced the number of bin bags we use when cleaning animal exhibits by instead using washable plastic tubs that can be used over and over again.
• We welcome visitors to bring their own re-usable cups and are very happy serving your coffee or tea in them.
• We have re-usable cups in our shops to purchase. 
• We encourage all our staff to use re-usable water bottles and coffee cups. 
• We have replaced all plastic bags in our retail outlets with recyclable paper ones.
• We have lots of recycling bins around the Park and back of house to encourage recycling at all times.
• All our coffee and tea around the Park is Fairtrade 
• 0% of our waste at Drusillas goes into landfill. Our waste is either recycled or generated into renewable energy. 
• We have replaced all sauce sachets in our catering outlets with dispensers.
• We've removed all plastic pens from our Zoolympics trail and replaced with wooden pencils.
• We have ranges of eco-gifts available in our retails outlets. We are constantly reviewing suppliers to try and ensure we continue to reduce packaging.

Here's what we are researching now, so we can make more changes in the future:

• Solar panels for renewable energy.
• Looking at making all remaining items in our catering outlets plastic-free and environmentally friendly.
• We are looking into borehole and water harvesting ideas.
• The Park are exploring more ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

Public Transport

We are promoting a new bus service to the Park, to encourage more of our visitors to choose public transport over driving.

Cuckmere Buses call at Drusillas with the following services:

• Saturdays: Service 25 from Eastbourne, Polegate and Lewes.
• Sundays and Bank Holidays: Service 26 from Eastbourne, Polegate and Seaford.
• Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays during British Summer Time: an hourly service, known as The Rambler, from Berwick Station and Seaford.