Eco responsibility & Eco tourism: our ecological commitments
Eco-responsibility can’t be decreed! There’s always someone more eco-responsible than you, just as there’s always someone less eco-responsible than you… So what kind of eco-responsible campsite are we and what are our ecological commitments?
Nature, a fundamental value of campsites
Finally, a campsite is almost by definition attached to the value of ‘nature’. If I dared to play on words, I’d say that a family holiday on a campsite is an eco-responsible holiday by nature. For a campsite manager, respecting the environment to the best of their ability is a personal reflex combined with a necessary professional conscience.
On the subject of eco-responsibility, I’d like to say that we’re doing our best. But we’re certainly far from perfect. So far from perfect that you won’t find an eco-label attached to the 3-star Iscle de Prelles campsite! It’s a conscious choice. Obtaining the Green Key label, for example, is not one of our objectives. It is however a reference in the field, reputed to be serious and very demanding. But “Being eco-responsible cannot be decreed” is the 1st sentence on this page, and it’s also our conviction.
I’m aware that starting the page on eco-responsibility in this way can be counter-intuitive! Having said that, I can reassure you that you will discover in the following paragraphs that we are, I think, pretty good at managing the park, the many activities and the range of services.
Our golden rule: buy local...
A simple menu
If you dine at the snack bar, you’ll be eating mainly local produce cooked in-house. The menu is simple but delicious. Fruit and vegetables are of course bought locally. All the cheeses and charcuterie are produced in the Hautes Alpes. Even the wine list features only wines with a Hautes Alpes PDO! We’re not talking vintage wines, but there are some very pleasant surprises, to be consumed in moderation, of course.
Special evenings
Of course, we also organise special evenings at the snack bar. On these occasions the rule is simple: 100% local. No mussels and chips or paella evenings! Instead, we offer “boites chaudes”, a speciality of melted local cheese served with potatoes and cold meats… Just like Mont d’Or, but better! Or a barbecue evening, during which you can sample different cuts of meat reared and processed in our region…
Fresh bred
Still on the subject of responsible consumption, we have chosen to work with the local artisan baker for our bakery service. There’s no question of selling you frozen baguettes and Viennese pastries. Working with one of Briançon’s industrial bakeries is out of the question. For the campsite’s holidaymakers, we want good home-made bread from an artisan bakery that uses local flour…
Mobility, a major challenge for eco-tourism
We’ll pick you up at the station…
I’d like to start with a subject that may seem anecdotal, but isn’t really. Quite often, when we look at the overall ecological footprint of a holiday, it’s travel, and in particular journeys between home and holiday, and vice versa, that cause the most pollution. So, if you decide to come by public transport, as our valleys are served by bus and train, particularly the night train, we’ll come and pick you up at the station… It’s nothing we don’t get to do on a regular basis. On days when you need a car, you’ll easily find a hire car close to the campsite.
A particularly “slow” fleet…
To get around the campsite, our fleet of vehicles is made up exclusively of electric engines. The “technical vehicle” is a particularly practical electric scooter, made in France. The “household vehicle” and “reception vehicle” are electric bicycles, each towing a cart! It’s simple, but highly effective.
Electric vehicle charging points...
In just a few years, it has become essential to offer this service. More and more of you are coming on holiday in electric cars. It’s so natural that you should be able to recharge your car at your holiday destination that we have equipped the campsite with this service since 2023.
The investment was all the more urgent as it is very dangerous to charge an electric vehicle in an outlet not designed for this purpose. Since then, it has been strictly forbidden to plug a vehicle into an unsecured socket on the campsite.
Waste management
Highly selective sorting and compost bins…
As far as waste management is concerned, you’ll find as many bins as you need in the rubbish bin to ensure you sort your waste properly! There are also compost bins. If you have bulky items such as a gas stove that has given up the ghost, we’ll take care of it… if possible, head for a local recycling centre.
Cot cot cot codec !
Chickens! What could be more eco-responsible than having a henhouse with chickens in it! And what’s more, children love it. Even better than compost, which transforms organic matter into humus, hens transform some of the same organic matter, particularly vegetable peelings, into eggs! Unfortunately, the law forbids us to do anything with these eggs. This is normal, as we have no health controls on them. Of course, we can’t sell them or use them in the pancake batter at the snack bar, but we can’t even give them away! The only solution is to eat them ourselves…
We can also talk about investments...
Since 2023, the heated swimming pool has been covered by a retractable cover that considerably reduces heat loss at night. Since 2024, the water has been heated by the latest generation of much more efficient heat pumps. Since 2024, we have also been using an automatic chlorine and ph water treatment system. The objectives of these investments were neither specifically nor primarily ecological, but the results are there. The pool opens earlier and closes later in the season. The water temperature is stable. Water quality is metronomic. The amount of time spent working on the pool every day has been reduced. And what’s more, we’re saving energy!
In 2022, in order to cope with the explosion in electricity prices and maintain the caravan park’s winter activity, all the heating appliances in the buildings open in winter were replaced. In our valleys, nights can drop to -15°C! Heating is a serious matter! Toaster-style convector heaters are a thing of the past. In the reception area, bathrooms and all the chalets, the radiators are now energy-saving inertia heaters, with many options, such as turning off the heating when an open window is detected. But the most effective option is undoubtedly the ability to set a maximum temperature for each room! In practical terms, if you’re coming to a chalet in winter, you can set the heating temperature of the living room radiator to a maximum of 21°C. If you want more, you can of course unblock it, but blocking it “a priori” produces spectacular results.
Nothing to do with heating, let’s talk about air conditioning… It’s simple, there’s none at Iscle de Prelles! We’re in the mountains, at an altitude of 1100m. In summer it can get very hot during the day, that’s for sure, but in our valleys the word “heatwave” doesn’t exist. Whatever happens, at night the temperatures drop again. In the morning, even at the height of the summer season, you’ll certainly enjoy breakfast in shorts and flip-flops, but still with a little wool…
In bulk, what else can be said about eco-responsibility...
When it comes to household products, we prefer professional ranges with eco-labels. We do not use any insecticides in the park, with the exception, when necessary, of a particularly effective ant repellent. In winter, we do not use salt to clear the roads of snow. That’s what a family campsite in the mountains is all about in winter.
Generally speaking, the 4 hectares of the campsite are left in as natural a state as possible. For example, there are more than 500 trees, so it’s the natural position of the trees that delimits both the pitches and the rental accommodation plots. Some pitches are not very straight, but overall, as is often the case, nature does things well. In this way, there are no hedges artificially criss-crossing the natural terrain. I should point out, however, that the pitches are mown as often as necessary, to make sure you’re comfortable without the morning dew tickling your calves!
I’ll end this page as I began it: when it comes to sustainable tourism, there’s always room for improvement. And I would add that doing what makes sense, as best you can and within your means, is not bad…
Would you like to find out more about the campsite ? All the activities, all the services, the swimming pool, the children’s club, the snack bar, if you want to know everything about the campsite, this is where your visit continues…
Would you like to see our pitches ? It’s only natural. In our 4 hectare park, you will find the ideal pitch for your tent, motor home or caravan, for a short or long stay.
Would you like to see our rental accommodations ? For all budgets, between our chalets, our mobile homes and our unusual accommodations, you will find what you are looking for for a Relax’Tonic holiday
