L – A-Z of Commoning and the New Forest

Love the forest is a scheme launched by the New Forest Trust, giving you the chance to get involved in helping to preserve the Forest’s ancient traditions and conserving this special place.

Find out more about how to make a donation to the scheme, what your money will go towards, and the difference you can make at our Love the Forest page.

Lawns are the areas of the New Forest that have been completely grazed down. They are very special to the look of the area, and exist only because of the commoners’ animals. Without the animals the lawns would quickly go back to being scrubland, and the distinctive character of the New Forest would be changed. That’s one of the reasons why commoning is encouraged and supported here. The Forest lawns are a unique eco-system, of special interest to natural science, so they are strongly protected by law.