CAT news
Welcoming everyone back to CAT John Challen, Head of Eco Centre
O
n 19 August visitors arrived at CAT for the first time since the start of the lockdown at the end of March. It was a wonderful feeling to welcome them on to the site after weeks of planning and hard work by CAT staff. In order to get to that point, our challenge had been twofold. Firstly to reclaim the site after months of only essential maintenance and make it presentable; secondly to put in place the systems required to make it a safe place to work and visit, taking into account the COVID-19 social distancing and enhanced hygiene guidance. In doing so, we knew we would also be laying some of the groundwork that would allow us to welcome students back to site in September.
Essential maintenance
Basic site checks during the site closure were covered by Neilson Stirling and Guy Morrell from our Estates Team, working to a rota. In June, our gardener Petra
Weinmann returned, and at the beginning of August the rest of the Estates Team came back and set to work helping bring the site back to life. One crucial task was a thorough flushing through of our off-grid water system, as well as carrying out substantial repairs to paths and driveways that had been damaged by heavy rainfall. The greatest visual impact of closure on the site, however, was the lush vegetation that greeted staff as they returned. You can read Petra’s account of the challenges this presented in the box overleaf.
We’re good to go
Opening up to visitors again has meant risk assessing all aspects of the visitor experience and putting in place the safe systems required to minimise the risk of COVID transmission. This has allowed us to achieve ‘We’re good to go’ status, a national tourism sector scheme that allows us to demonstrate that CAT is adhering to government and public health guidance,
Displays Gardener Petra has been taming the overgrown beds and polytunnels.
6 Clean Slate
that we have carried out COVID-19 risk assessments, and that the required processes are in place. A great help in this have been the various networks CAT is part of, including the Mid Wales Tourism Association, the Association of Science and Discovery Centres and the Eco Attractions Group which together have provided a useful pool of shared experience.
Pre-booked visits
The result of this planning has been that all visitors now pre-book their arrival slot and pre-pay through the CAT website. This ensures that there is no queuing as they arrive and that they receive a warm, unhurried welcome and a safety briefing from our receptionists before walking up to the site. The decision was made not to operate the water balance railway this year given the lateness in the season and the restricted passenger numbers it would be able to carry.
