Wilder for Water – Supporting Responsible Access to the New Forest
The New Forest is the second smallest National Park in England, yet it is also one of the most visited, with more than 6,000 camping pitch spaces per day during the summer months. Through our Wilder for Water programme, Freshwater Habitats Trust are raising awareness of the special qualities of the New Forest freshwater landscape and promoting a best practice ‘clean water standard’ for communities and tourism to alleviate the pressure of tourism on the Forest’s freshwater habitats.
With the Forest’s freshwater habitats under increasing pressure from visitors, we’re promoting responsible access by outlining easy steps in our New Forest Water Code that individuals can take to reduce their impact on freshwater wildlife whilst exploring all that the Forest has to offer. We also work closely with recreational facilities and communities, providing free and impartial advice and guidance on water resource and water quality management.
One of the latest Wilder for Water projects is Think Tank, which is funded by the EA’s Water Environment Improvement Fund and aims to reduce the impact of off-mains sewage systems across the National Park using a multi-faceted approach. This includes an awareness campaign on the environmental impacts of offline sewage systems, targeted water quality monitoring and working with local communities to establish suitable options for collective pump out and maintenance schemes.
Education and upskilling the next generation of conservationists is also central to Wilder for Water. Through the Youth for Climate and Nature (YouCAN) project, which is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund, we’re furthering the freshwater expertise within the Forest through offering Train the Trainer sessions to local organisations and conservation groups, and free training and development workshops for early careers conservationists.
Citizen Science also forms an important part of our engagement work, providing meaningful opportunities for volunteers to support conservation in the New Forest whilst also providing valuable data on the distribution of iconic species at a landscape scale.
If you’re interested in keeping up with our work, or if you’d like to learn more, please do follow us on social media (FHT New Forest) and sign up to receive Waternews, our Catchment Partnership newsletter.
Waternews – New Forest Catchment Partnership
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For enquiries, please contact info@freshwaterhabitats.org.uk.
