Year of Green Action events and activities
Here are details of the events and activities across the New Forest which took place in 2019 helping people connect, protect and enhance nature as part of the nationwide Year of Green Action.
January
- The 12 Green Challenges launched, giving people easy ways to take green actions throughout 2019
- New Forest National Park Volunteer Fair featured hundreds of volunteer opportunities from 50 local groups, with a record 750 people attending
- Campaign for National Parks photo competition celebrating the beauty and importance of National Parks
- New Forest National Park staff were joined by local accommodation providers, the managers and club members of the New Forest Paddle Sport Company, and Lymington Triathlon Club members at Hurst beach, Milford-on-Sea. In total 11 large bags of litter, including hundreds of pieces of plastic fragments, cut rope, fishing line, used syringes and several lumps of palm oil, were collected from the tidelines along Hurst Spit
- A major new documentary ‘New Forest: a year in the wild woods’ exploring the landscapes, history and wildlife that make the New Forest one of the UK’s most important ancient woodlands aired on BBC Four on Wednesday 9 January 2019. Presented by writer and environmentalist Peter Owen-Jones, the programme worked in collaboration with us, Forestry England and Commoners Defence Association.
February
- Practical conservation days for volunteers to improve habitats for nature ran throughout late winter and early spring
- Stunning photography by Chris Nesbitt formed the basis of social media activity celebrating the wonders of the New Forest’s dark night skies and encouraging people to try stargazing
- Screenings of ‘A Plastic Ocean’ took place across the New Forest to encourage people to reduce their plastic use.
March
- Our Green Action grants for schools and groups opened for applications – 43 bid for money to support their green action project
- Great British Spring Clean events were held throughout the New Forest from 22 March to 23 April
- Litter assemblies were run for hundreds of local children to help them learn how to look after their local area
- A new online volunteer role finder tool was launched, making it easier than ever for potential volunteers to find their perfect role enhancing the environment.
- The ‘spudFILM Competition‘ entitled ‘WASTED: Global Issues – Local Solutions’ was launched with the theme about all forms of waste.
April
- Discover National Parks fortnight ran from 6 to 21 April, including Wild Play Day – the first of three wild play days to connect children with the natural world.
May
- A special wildlife edition of our residents newspaper Park Life was distributed across the Forest
- The Big Pedall Ride Out for all abilities took place on 15 May from Brockenhurst to Burley.
June
- The winner of the ‘spudFILM Competition’ was announced at the Film: New Forest Festival
- Homeowners could find out how to improve their green credentials at the Big Green Weekend.
July
- A new wild play site in Sway was officially launched
- Fun in the Forest event with our rangers took place on 25 July
- Our stand at the New Forest Show featured inspiring green activities for all ages. National Parks Minister Lord Gardiner attended a reception and cut a cake to celebrate Year of Green Action, 70 years of the National Parks and 100 years of the Forestry Commission (now Forestry England)
- The winner of the new Young Environmental Champion award was announced by Lord Gardiner at the New Forest Show.
August
- Marine Wonders event with the rangers was held at Lepe Country Park on 7 and 8 August
- Fun in the Forest event with our rangers was held on 15 and 29 August
- Summer Wild Play Day event with the rangers was held on 20 August
- Ashurst Wild Play site was officially opened on 28 August.
September
- Hundreds of people took part in green activities at the Lymington Keyhaven Nature Reserve open day on 15 September.
October
- The Building Design Awards with a new Green Building category was be launched
- New Forest Walking Festival returns from Saturday 12 October to Sunday 3 November with dozens of walks to help more people connect with nature
- The autumn Wild Play Day took place on 30 October.
November
- Family Trees event for people to plant a tree to celebrate a loved one or life event .
