AUTUMN has truly arrived and the Forest looks, feels and smells incredible.

I really love the spider’s webs which carpet the bogs and gorse bushes at this time of year.

I have been lucky enough to get out in the Forest this week with the children at Hyde Primary School.

Working towards their John Muir Award the children and I have been learning about just how special the ephemeral ponds of the New Forest are, particularly how extraordinary fairy shrimps are!

Did you know their eggs can lay dormant for years in the mud when the ponds dry out, and a few hatch each time the pond refills with water.

To find out more have a look at the Freshwater Habitats Trust website, some of the species which we see regularly and take for granted in the Forest are actually quite special, many of which are dependent on grazing for their survival.

The first strong winds of the autumn have brought down the chestnuts and acorns.

As kids we always went hunting for chestnuts- never the largest but a real treat to toast on the fire and mum always froze some for the Christmas stuffing. Our cattle have moved from the lawns to the woods which is a sign that they are hunting for acorns, so time to bring them home.

The heifers came home this week and over the weekend we will try and get the rest home.

The twins are hoping to be allowed to ride their ponies to gather the cattle. Cows are a little slower than the ponies so are a good starting point for young commoners!

I have been working really hard to encourage local schools to teach about the Forest within the curriculum. Ospreys class at Netley Marsh Infant School have been learning about the Forest and wanted to share their learning with you:

“We have been doing stick weaving.”

“We have also found out who named the New Forest; it was William the Conqueror.”

“We did a bit of acting, pretending to be William and his wife Queen Matilda.”

“We found out that Rufus Stone is in the New Forest; this is where William Rufus died after an arrow bounced off a tree that had been shot by Walter Tyrell.”

“We have been learning about New Forest commoners. They own animals like pigs, ponies, donkeys, sheep and cows which they can let out to live in the New Forest.”

“We are trying to earn our Forest badge by learning all about the New Forest.”

“We really enjoyed designing car stickers to put in our cars and remind people to drive safely and look out for animals on the road. We want to keep learning about our forest so that the animals and the people can stay safe and the New Forest can stay there for ever.”

Their car stickers were amazing and it was a great idea to stick them in their own car windows.

Did you know that putting a sticker in your window helps to build a culture of careful driving?

Lyndsey Stride

Commoning Family

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