Bassegoda Park is in the Alt Empordà region, at the entrance to the protected Alta Garrotxa Area of Natural Interest, surrounded by a huge number of animals. Environmentally friendly, Bassegoda Park is the first smart campsite in Spain with maximised energy efficiency and greatly reduced light and noise pollution.
When the actual owners bought the property in 2005, they bought a bad lightend campsites in most of the areas (dangerous for costumors) and overlightend in other areas (enormous light polution). This non eficient lighting plan caused multiples troubles such as very high electricity bills, dark areas in the campsites with easy injury danger at night and even a natural harmony disorder because the daybirds song at night when the big spots when on in the dark. Autocton butterflies as Graelsa Isabelae, who fly at night in the dark, had disappearded in the village of Albanya due to the light polution of the campsite. (A night butterfly how dies in the light)
Bassegoda Park invest in automotion tecnology to solve their lightning problems to achieve an avaiability to configure the lighting according to camping occupancy or seasons (high, low and middle). With this tecnology they can optimize the energy consumtion and better costumor service. The campsite replaces all lights with lower light polution lights (downwards lighting) and distributed more equaly around the resort. With the change of all streetlights into downwards streetlights they prevent the ligh polution.
With the same automation tecnology they also connected their accomodations so they can controle energy consumtions of the constumors, necessary in summer season when clients aren’t very respectful with air conditioning and be more eficient with energy consumption.
Finaly they added intermdiate electricy counters which allow to control every department’s and building’s consumtions
Nowardays, Bassegoda Park is the first camping in Spain that controls lighting by automation tecnology. There are 4 times more lighting points than in 2005 with the same enegry consumtion as 2005. (The resort uses 100 kW of contracted electricity/year)
The reduction of the light polution gave them a brighter and darker sky, sky and afterwards this provoced
the certification of the village Albanya by the Internacional Dark Sky Asociation. Furthermore- the
campsite also achived world’s first Starlight certification as a campsite. With these results they decided to invest in an astronomic observatorium which now allows them to deseasonalise their summer and winter season, and atrack new publics as education groups, scientists, astronomists, etc. all year around.
But also the costumors enjoy a higher conformt during their stay, as white light isn’t healty for the human eye, because it isn’t a natural light color.
Finally the company has a detailed consumtion control in accomodations, buildings, campsite areas, etc. which allows them to act fast in case of technical problems and prevent electricity leaks.
Enviromentally they celebrate the recovering of the local butterfly “Graelsa Isabelae” in his natural habitat, due to the reduction of the light polution.
How respecting the nature can give amazing results on long term. Taking away the light polution gave back a dark sky that now allows the campsite to be different and work all year around. Taking away the light polution brought bake the night butterfly in a portected natural area.
Master of sustainable outdoor hospitality management is a result of Eu founded project CAMPMASTER:
Project title: Development of european curriculum in the field of sustainable camping resort management
Project ID: KA203-E-1423370
Project duration: from 01.10.2020. until 30.09.2022.