International effort to help care for the New Forest

International effort to help care for the New Forest

People of all nationalities can find it easier to help care for the New Forest National Park thanks to the simple New Forest code which is now available in 10 languages.

The languages the code has been translated into are Arabic, Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Pashto, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Ukrainian and Urdu.

The New Forest is a unique place with rare wildlife and free-roaming animals. The New Forest code was designed so that you can help protect the animals and plants by doing the following:

• Keep your distance from the animals – don’t feed or touch them.
• Take home litter and dog waste.
• No fires, stoves or barbecues.
• Keep dogs under control. Don’t let dogs approach or chase any animals.
• Park only in car parks.
• No wild camping.
• Stick to the permitted cycle tracks.
• Drive with care – animals on the road!
• Help wildlife by keeping to the main tracks.

In July, two new Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) were introduced by New Forest District Council, supported by Forestry England, the New Forest National Park Authority and the Verderers of the New Forest. Using BBQs and fires in the Forest and feeding and petting ponies or donkeys are all banned, with those failing to comply liable to a fixed penalty fine or prosecution.

John Allison is from volunteer group New Forest for Ukraine, which organises local aid collections for Ukraine. He said: ‘What a fantastic initiative. Most Ukrainian children understand our language, but most parents are on a steep learning curve. Presenting the code in their home language is both valuable and respectful. Thank you.’

In 2022 The New Forest National Park Authority and key partner organisations launched a five year partnership plan, Re:New Forest. This set out a collaborative vision of a New Forest moving towards net zero, with wildlife habitats restored, thriving local communities, and more people caring for the Forest and benefiting from connecting with nature.

One of the key objectives of Re:New Forest is an inclusive National Park, to encourage people of all backgrounds, abilities and socio-economic groups to value the National Park as an important part of their lives and want to care for it. Making the New Forest code available in different languages will help to achieve this aim.

Prof Gavin Parker, New Forest National Park Authority Chair, said: ‘We want to welcome people of all backgrounds to the Forest and ensure they can find out how special it is and what they can do to help care for it.

‘By making the New Forest code available in various languages, barriers to different communities are broken down. This is a key objective of our Partnership Plan, and I am delighted to see it in action.’

The translations and designs were made by Southampton-based GottaBe! Ethnic, an independent marketing agency, specialising in multicultural marketing.

The New Forest code is available to download in a range of formats, including the translated versions, on our website.