New Forest Association Chairman Peter Roberts has taken part in a project to encourage more people from urban ethnic minority communities to visit national parks.
Peter and colleague Georgina Babey helped to lead a series of three-mile guided walks in the New Forest, taking in Dur Hill, near Burley, on Sunday September 11th. 70 volunteer community champions from the Campaign for National Parks Mosaic Project took part in the walks and in other activities in the Forest over the weekend.
The aim was to introduce the champions to the history, culture and ecology of the New Forest National Park and to promote the value of national parks to people from ethnic minority communities. The group stayed at the Avon Tyrell Activity Centre in the west of the New Forest.
The weekend was organised by the Campaign for National Parks and was hosted by the New Forest National Park Authority, with representatives from the New Forest Association taking part. Mosaic community champions are all volunteers who live in urban communities and who inspire other people to enjoy and look after national parks. Over the last two years the Mosaic project has recruited 191 community champions who have given over 1,800 volunteer days to the project and have introduced 6,000 new people to national parks.
“The volunteer champions were from all over England and from a variety of backgrounds and religions,” said Peter.
“Some of them had never been to any National Park or visited the New Forest before so it was wonderful to be able to introduce them to this special area. A variety of events were put on, including a visit to a commoner’s smallholding, an open top bus ride, boating along the coast, some sampling of local produce, conservation work and mountain biking.
“On the guided walk we talked about not only how the Forest works but also the importance of lowland heaths, grazing and the variety of flora and fauna that inhabit the Forest. The enthusiasm and sense of fun throughout the weekend was infectious. We wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Julian Johnson, Chair of the New Forest National Park Authority, spent the Friday evening with the community champions and commented: “It was a real pleasure to welcome people from right across England and to encourage them in their desire to learn more about national parks and how their communities can enjoy and help protect them.”
Nina Arwitz, Mosaic programme manager for the Campaign for National Parks, said it is important that national parks are enjoyed by as many people as possible.
“Ethnic minority communities are under-represented as visitors to national parks and research has shown that this is because of a lack of knowledge about national parks and what they have to offer, rather than an unwillingness to visit them.
“The Campaign for National Parks wants everyone to care about national parks both now and in the future so it is important that we reach everyone in contemporary Britain, including all the groups that are currently under-represented, such as young people and people with disabilities.
“The Mosaic Project is very successful but it is just one of many projects being delivered to encourage more people from under-represented groups to experience national parks, to enjoy them and to have an interest in what happens to them in the future.”
The Mosaic programme is funded by Natural England through Access to Nature as a part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme.
The New Forest Association, formed in 1867, is a charitable organisation which has over 140 years of experience in working to preserve, conserve and protect the New Forest. It was formed at a time when Government measures threatened to sell off the New Forest in the middle of the 19th century.
The Association is dedicated to the preservation, conservation and protection of the New Forest and is a membership-based organization. Further information can be found at www.newforestassociation.org.
You can find out more about the Mosaic programme at: http://www.mosaicnationalparks.org/
New Forest National Park Authority web pages about local Mosaic activities: http://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/looking-after/partnership-working/mosaic
