At Top of the Woods glamping campsite in Pembrokeshire Wales we love our trees!
In 10 years, we have planted over 3,500 trees and created a new native Welsh woodland with the help of our camping and glamping guests.
When we created Top of the Woods glamping campsite in Pembrokeshire, our dream was to make a sustainable, enriching & unique campsite for our guests to come on holiday and to have a positive impact on our natural environment. Not only did we want to protect the 27 acres site and mange it as sustainably as possibly, we also wanted to create new environment opportunities for wildlife to thrive in.
One of those projects was to plant a new native woodland at the campsite with the help of our guests.
When our guests book a camping or glamping holiday at Top of the Woods in Wales, we make a commitment to plant a tree for every booking made. We also run a tree sponsorship programme, where people can sponsor a tree in the woodlands to mark a special anniversary and plant a new tree for a person they love. In addition, as part of our 10-year anniversary of creating Top of the Woods glamping campsite in Pembrokeshire, we will be gifting every guest who visits in 2023 a sessile Welsh oak sapling to plant at home or at their schools.
This means, everyone who stays with us has created the new native woodland at Top of the Woods campsite in Pembrokeshire Wales and has made a positive small sustainable step towards a better future!
Trees are amazing and have fantastic benefits to us, the environment, and our community. Here are 3 brilliant reasons why you should love trees too!
No 1.
Trees have a positive impact on our mental, physical well-being and make us happy!
By cleaning the air, we breathe.
Without trees we would literally not be able to breathe. This is because they remove toxins in the air and produce cleaner oxygen, through the process of photosynthesis. The trees absorb carbon dioxide and other nasties that are poisonous to humans and release cleaner oxygen into the atmosphere, helping to clean the air we breathe and reducing the many risks associated with respiratory illnesses.
They reduce our stress, improve physical and mental health.
Spending time in nature, including around trees, has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety levels. Walking in the woods can make you feel calmer & reduces stress levels by providing a sense of tranquillity and calmness. Walking in the woods is also great exercise to help keep you physically active and encourage physical activity, such as walking, hiking, or biking. Regular exercise has numerous health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
In Japan, they practise ‘forest bathing’ known as Shinrin-yoku, where people walk in the forest and woods as a popular type of preventative health care and healing in Japanese medicine
Connecting with each other in nature
In the fast paced ‘always on’ technology-driven world we live in we can feel disconnected with the people around us and our emotions. When we spend time in the woods it makes us connect to our natural environment & promotes happiness by being in the moment. When we share these spaces, it can bring us closer together away from all the demands of modern life with a sense of freedom to enjoy and being in nature.
Trees can play an important role in promoting physical and mental well-being. Their ability to clean the air we breathe, reduce stress levels, and provide a sense of community are just a few of the ways in which they contribute to our overall health and happiness
Make the most of your camping stay with us at Top of the Woods in Pembrokeshire, as well as creating a new native guest woodland on site we are also next to 325 acres of woodland with many public footpaths and bridleways for you to explore.
Use our self-guided map to have a woodland adventure and see if you can find the waterfall in the heart of the woods!
No 2.
Trees are important for sustainability & managing climate change.
Storing carbon, also know as carbon sequestration.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their trunks, roots, and leaves. This helps to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and mitigate against climate change and rising temperatures.
Soil conservation.
Trees help to prevent soil erosion and conserve soil moisture, which is essential for growing crops and maintaining healthy ecosystems. They improve soil quality, by providing nutrients and increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil.
Assist in flood management.
Trees minimise damage by flood management as they act as natural flood barriers & their roots stop soil being washed away & causing landslides as climates become more unpredictable.
Regulating water cycles.
Trees play a crucial role in regulating the water cycle. They absorb water from the soil and release it back into the atmosphere through a process known as transpiration. This helps to regulate the water cycle and prevent flooding and erosion.
Cleaner air quality.
Trees help to improve air quality by absorbing pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, and reduces C02 that are harmful to most living species on the planet.
Keeping the planet cooler.
Trees can help to reduce the temperature in urban areas by providing shade and releasing water vapour through the process of evapotranspiration. Water is released from the leaves of trees, cooling the surrounding air, and increasing humidity which can help to lower surrounding temperatures. Trees in turn provide shade, which reduces the amount of direct sunlight that reaches the ground. This will lower the temperature in urban areas, where a lot of heat is absorbed in pavement and buildings.
Trees are critical part of the key solutions for sustainability and managing climate change. They help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, regulate the water cycle, prevent soil erosion, and regulate local climates. So, planting native trees is a small step we can all be part of to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
When you book your stay with us we plant a tree for every booking made !
No 3.
Trees are a critical for a healthy ecosystem, creating habitat & bio-diversity!
Some of the key ways in which trees contribute to healthy ecosystems are:
Create habitat, shelter & food.
They provide critical habitat for a wide variety of animals and other organisms. They provide shelter and nesting sites for birds, mammals, and insects, as well as food and other resources that creatures need to survive.
Each tree species has its unique niche in a woodland and supports many more living species. Some trees blossom in early spring like Willow, native cherries, Hawthorne & Blackthorne to provide food for insects, which feeds mammals, native & migratory birds. Some are referred to as pioneer trees that establish a new woodland quickly, like the birch tree family, that brings wildlife in quickly, whilist the slow growing trees have time to grow and establish. Each tree species has its own beautiful value in our woodlands, which is important through out all of the seasons.
Enhance biodiversity.
They enhance the biodiversity of any ecosystem by providing a home & food for a wide variety of species, which in turn helps to maintain the overall health and stability of the ecosystem. By planting new native trees improves local habitat for native species that have disappeared due to intensive agricultural & animal production.
Did you know - The Welsh sessile & English oak trees species support the most bio-diversity than any other tree in the UK. Each oak tree is can support 2300 species of insects lichen, fungi and provides food and shelter for other woodland mammals and birds!
Prevent soil erosion
Trees play a critical role in preventing soil erosion by stabilizing the soil with their roots. This helps to keep the soil in place and prevents sediment from washing into rivers and streams, which can have negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems.
Overall, trees are an important part of healthy ecosystems, providing habitat, enhancing biodiversity and preventing soil erosion. Their presence is essential for maintaining the health and well-being of both humans and other living organisms.
To celebrate 10 years of Top of the Woods we are gifting each guest who stays with with us in 2023 a Welsh sessile oak sapling to plant at home or at school. Find out more & dont forget to pick yours up!
Top of the Woods Provides the Best Eco Luxury Glamping & Camping Holidays in Pembrokeshire and Cardigan Bay in Wales, UK. Sustainable Staycations. Beaches. Nature. Woodlands. Dog Friendly.