The New Forest is a special place, it’s a vital home for wildlife. Even a small donation helps us to shape and care for the New Forest – now and for generations to come.
Forestry England manages nearly half of the area, including much of the best-known ancient woodlands, wetlands and open heathlands, which are home to many rare species of plants and wildlife.
In fact, we looks after more land and more trees than any other organisation. We are a public body, but we receive limited public funding and generate most of our revenue ourselves. The money we get from our valued supporters is vital, and goes back into enhancing beautiful forests, such as Blackwater, with its wonderful tree collection, the Reptile Centre and the inspiring landscape of Bolderwood, supporting wildlife, and people’s wellbeing.
We used every penny raised wisely, helping to pay for site maintenance to keep visitors safe, a ranger presence on site every day to protect the New Forest, way-marked trails and picnic facilities. Some of the work we do is visible and includes providing footpaths and trail maintenance, while other projects are less visible but equally as important, such as monitoring tree health and enhancing habitats for wildlife.
Without your support we wouldn’t be able to achieve all of this. Thank you for your valuable contribution.
What makes the New Forest so special?
Some of the oldest and tallest trees in the country can be found in the New Forest. Trees help us to breathe, they’re home to a wonderful variety of wildlife and they supply home-grown timber for the nation.
We love trees, they have a key role to play in addressing climate change, but of course planting them is only really a first step. All trees need to be looked after to ensure they can reach maturity.
Here in the New Forest, Forestry England’s local teams tend to the young trees planted inside the inclosures, stopping them from becoming overgrown, ensuring they get right amount of light, and guarding them against damage from deer, rabbits and other animals.
As our climate changes, the trees in our forests must be fit for the future and we are actively taking part in research to learn how to best help them to adapt. Our work doesn’t stop there, ensuring healthy and resilient forests is about much, much more than just trees. It also means we must work hard to look after the wider nature and critical habitats they support.
Here in the New Forest, we have a unique landscape and mixture of habitats that are simply not found anywhere else on this scale. An incredible 75% of lowland heaths left in North Western Europe are here in this one small corner of the UK. These open areas of the forest provide habitats relied upon by some of our most endangered wildlife now lost from many other parts of the country. Our teams are working hard to protect these heathland areas and the nature they support.
The New Forest has a wonderful network of ponds and waterways that are ideal habitats for wildlife. An incredible 75% of all species of dragonflies and damselflies including the extremely rare southern damselfly and great crested newts.
Also, it’s home to all six UK native reptiles; sand lizards, adders, slow worms, grass snakes, smooth snakes, and common lizards. Sand lizards have been declining across the UK and are now one of its rarest reptiles. Only found in a handful of places across the country the New Forest is a stronghold for this species and an important breeding ground.
The New Forest is a Special Protection Area for birds, and one of the last places in the UK where rare and endangered species including the Nightjar, Woodlark, Dartford Warbler, and the Curlew – now globally threatened with extinction, come in significant numbers to breed here.
Deer have been living in the Forest since the era of William Conqueror when it was a Royal hunting ground. Today there are five different types of deer here including the mighty red deer, the UK’s largest mammal.
Please visit the Forestry England website to find out more.