Nanuku Auberge Resort’s ‘Planet Auberge’ concept, continues to prove a major success with the resort’s guests, staff and local people alike.

In a nutshell, the ‘Planet Auberge’ programme, launched in mid-2017, extends from the way the company builds, operates and maintains its 10 resort properties around the world.

Its targeted initiatives focused on minimising the properties’ ecological footprints, improving their surrounding environments and communities while at the same time enhancing guest experiences.

And the Nanuku staff, joined by a very enthusiastic general manager, Sascha Hemmann have been implementing the programme with gusto.

In recent months, the staff, led by on-resort Fijian marine scientist Kelly Dawn Bentley, who is regularly joined by guests, have implemented an environmental programme focused on coral planting, reef conservation, Mangrove replanting and shore protection activity and community outreach.

For day-to-day operations, the resort has introduced various methods to reduce its energy consumption including the installation of light-emitting diode (LED) energy saver bulbs throughout the resort along with the distribution of solar lights around beach villas and surrounding gardens.

-Environmentally-oriented programmes

Steps have also been taken to reduce the resort’s environmental impact – from the recycling of all plastic bottles in the resort nursery, now used for mangrove seedlings, and the replacement of Styrofoam containers and plastic straws with eco-friendly, bio-degradable paper straws and bamboo pulp containers.

Locally-made refillable pump bottles have replaced all single use amenity bottles in the resort while bicycles have also replaced the use of motorised resort carts for guests throughout the resort.

Flip top bottles too have introduced instead of plastic water bottles plus the guest room refrigerators now all feature water dispensers.

The ‘Planet Auberge’ initiative includes several environmental programmes at the resort including two weekly programmes which guests can take an active part in – coral and mangrove planting.

Coral planting is conducted on Nanuku’s house reef making for a good snorkelling spot and a pistine habitat for ever-expanding numbers of marine life.

Mangrove planting is carried out in the resort nursery and transplanted to surrounding communities.

Planting mangroves plays a key role in helping to sustain the fish populations in the area and to date Kelly Dawn and her team have transplanted 430 mangroves into nearby Culanuku Village while continuing to work with the community to set up its own mangrove nursery.

This is intended to provide community educational awareness and also encourage the recycling of bottles used throughout the village and surroundings.

The resort has also offered to pay for mangrove seedlings grown in the village nursery providing a source of much-needed income for the community.

The resort’s most recent partnership is with ‘The Earth Care Agency’ and Ranadi Regenerative Organic Plantation in nearby Deuba allowing for the removal and composting of all Green Waste as well as paper waste.

-Community outreach

In addition to all these environmentally-oriented programmes, the ‘Planet Auberge’ initiative also focuses on community outreach.

This includes active involvement in villa clean-up activity, an adopt a beach’ programme, helping local artisans sell their handicraft, encouraging guests to donate school supplies and educational materials for local schools and arranging guest visits.

Nanuku is also actively involved with several local charities including the nearby Dilkusha children’s home (orphanage) and assists the local Rheumatic Heart Disease Foundation with resort vouchers to assist with fund raising initiatives.

Source: Nanuku Auberge Resort