Blog Archives
Pine martens return to the south of England
A very rewarding project that we’ve supported was the study that confirmed that pine martens, a species previously only thought to have survived in the North of England, have established a population in the New Forest . Our grant enabled the team from Wild New Forest to conduct DNA analysis of pine marten ‘scats’, or droppings, to help determine the number of individual animals present in various areas.
Common Cause: Shared Forest
Funding has been provided to help support the Shared Forest Project, which aims to increase public awareness of commoning as a modern farming system and as an important part of the New Forest’s cultural heritage. It also aims to encourage local residents and visitors to better understand commoning and help safeguard animals grazing on the open Forest.
More information about the project can be found at: www.newforestcommoners.com/
Educating local and inner city children
Our funding is helping over 3,300 children from local and inner city schools learn about the culture and heritage of the New Forest, become more aware of the importance of conservation and gain new skills.
Attending the education programme at the New Forest Heritage Centre the children take part in interactive sessions including outdoor group work, visits to the Verderers Court and opportunities to explore Museum handling collections.
New Forest Smooth Snake Survey
One of the projects we are supporting is the New Forest Smooth Snake survey. The smooth snake is Britain’s rarest reptile and one of the few places it can be found is the New Forest.
This is a volunteer based project which aims to further the distribution knowledge of the smooth snake in the New Forest National Park.
More about this project can found at: www.arc-trust.org/new-forest-smooth-snake-survey
Animal Safety – New Forest Tour Buses
The New Forest Trust supports the animal safety message on the back of the New Forest Tour buses to help reduce the number of accidents involving livestock on the Forest.
More information on animal accidents and what is being done to help prevent them can be found at: www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/conservation/supporting-commoning/annimal-accidents
