Herald - Issue 405

v FOR GOOD ADVICE, ASK YOUR LOCAL SPECIALISTS v 22nd April 2021 • The HERALD • Page 49 Telephone Richard 023 8084 9637 | Grass Cutting | Edges Trimmed | Hedge Trimming | PRESSURE WASHING OF DECKS, PATIOS & DRIVES | FENCE & SHEDS PAINTED QuickSmart Garden Services Professional & Reliable Fred Hurst 023 8084 2191 or 07761 467217 • Grass Cutting • Garden Clearance • Hedge Cutting • Fallen Trees Cleared • Mini Digger Hire with Operator • Property Clearance • Small Demolition • Tractor Flail Cutting FULLY INSURED v FREE QUOTATIONS | DOWN THE GARDEN PATH | New Forest organisations are calling on people to ‘care for the Forest, care for each other’ in a joint action plan to manage the increasing visitor numbers expected this year. e group aims to ensure the New Forest can play a positive and active role in helping people recover from lockdown in the great outdoors while also caring for this special place. e plan has been developed jointly by Forestry England, the New Forest National Park Authority, New Forest District Council, and tourism body Go New Forest with support from e Verderers, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, and Hampshire Constabulary. Last year was exceptional in many ways and saw greater numbers of people spending time in the countryside. Unfortunately, some did not respect these landscapes, and the New Forest, like many other places around the country, experienced anti-social behaviour. Forest organisations, emergency services and communities worked to address these issues. Teams were pooled to increase the impact of patrols, over 50 local retailers agreed to ban disposable BBQs, and over 400 New Forest Ambassadors were recruited with parish councils to help support the Forest. Joint patrols and putting hundreds of warning stickers on vehicles were used to discourage verge parking and gateway blocking, and joint communications about caring for the Forest reached over six million people. With large numbers of people expected again this year as lockdown measures are gradually eased, the plan focuses on sharing resources in a concerted e ort to support visitors to the area and encourage care for the Forest amongst all those spending time here. Key aspects of the action plan are: Increased patrols & focus on visitor hotspots Greater numbers of sta across all organisations will be available for patrol duties with joint patrols focused on key locations and visitor hotspots. is highly visible and coordinated approach will make the best use of nite resources by focusing on the distribution of visitors at these key pressure points. When the easing of restrictions allows, these sta will also be boosted by Forestry England’s team of Volunteer Rangers. New Forest Ambassadors, led by the National Park Authority and parish councils, will also be helping with litter picking, reporting irresponsible parking and creating a greater awareness of the New Forest Code. Organisations will closely monitor levels and types of littering and, similar to last year, collections will be increased to help manage this. At coastal sites free litter bags will be made available making it easier for people to do the right thing and take their litter home. Visitor communication A joint visitor campaign is being rolled out with the area’s o cial tourism body, Go New Forest and its membership of tourism providers. is will provide key information for visitors to be aware of both before and during their visit, and how they can help care for the Forest. www.thenewforest.co.uk Core to the campaign will be e New Forest Code – a clear set of actions and guidance on how to care for the Forest. ese include parking only in o cial car parks, keeping a distance from Forest animals, and no wild res or wild camping. www.newforestnpa. gov.uk/news/new-forest-code e 10 Camping in the Forest sites are planning to open this year, in line with government guidance and timetables. ese locations together with other key visitor campsites and accommodation providers will also be targeted with this information and patrols. Increased and more prominent signage e campaign will include prominent signage and targeted communications to all those spending time in the Forest. ese will be highly visible in Forestry England car parks, key visitor hotspots, and the main gateways to the New Forest. Fire Safety – BBQ & fire ban Last year saw a signi cant rise in the irresponsible use of BBQs, presenting a major risk of wild re with potentially devastating e ects. In just one weekend rangers working with the re service extinguished over 60 unsafe BBQs. To reduce this risk the New Forest Crown Lands have now been declared a complete no BBQ and re zone. ese are no longer permitted in car parks or any areas of the Forest managed by Forestry England . All BBQ facilities at Forestry England sites have been removed and prominent no BBQ signs are being installed at Forestry England car parks and information points. e ban will be widely communicated and joint patrols with the re service carried out across the Forest at periods of peak re risk. The New Forest National Park Authority’s campaign to encourage retailers to ban the sale of disposable BBQs is ongoing with the aim of recruiting additional outlets this year. Supporting the working Forest Greater support will be provided to the commoning community so that the working Forest can continue to operate with as little disruption as possible. is will include providing additional patrol resources around key events such as dri s, and targeted information to discourage feeding and petting livestock, and promote animal safety. Working together A task force of organisations will meet weekly to review the joint action plan Volunteers Needed! Enjoy gardening? Want to help your local community?. How about volunteering at the Jewell Community Garden in Fawley. ey would welcome volunteers to help with garden maintenance and if you would be willing to help with raking, planting, weeding and perhaps the occasional mow then they would love to hear from you. Any time you can spare would be a great help and greatly appreciated. Pop up to the garden, which is located next to the Falcon Pub car park (behind the old public conveniences) and have a chat with one of the helpers or see their Facebook page: Jewell Community Garden at Fawley. Most people are aware of the bene ts to be gained from composting, and it’s easy to get into the habit of creating your own nutritious compost for your garden. Just buy or build a compost bin in your garden, and then use it to compost all your fruit peelings, vegetable scraps, and garden cuttings. Composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a nutrient-rich food for your garden that will improve your soil structure and condition to maintain moisture levels and provide all the right nutrients – your plants and owers will love you for it! GET COMPOSTING Blackfield Flower Club are looking forward to Spring and Summer and less restrictions now that the vaccination programme is proceeding at such a rate and they hope will be able to have meetings again after 21st June. With this in mind, they are planning to have a social meeting on Tuesday 13th July , if restrictions allow, to catch up with the members. More details about this nearer the time. e Club have plans for demonstrations, etc. up to December but this will be very much dependent on the situation a er the Summer. In the meantime they can all enjoy better weather and a bit more freedom to get out and about and appreciate the delights of Spring. For more information please call Jan Gordon on: 023 8084 4835. Blackfield Flower Club Update Creating your own nutritious compost Action Plan Put in Place to Encourage Care for The New Forest Continued on page 50