Events & Entertainment, New Forest | Posted on July 9th, 2026 | return to news

Climate action event for Ringwood

Carvers Recreation Ground hosted the New Forest Thrive Festival which included African activities and a Bee Circus.

The New Forest Thrive Festival held at Carvers Recreation Ground in Ringwood on 4 July attracted more than 500 people.

The nature-themed festival was full of performances, which included: acrobatic storytelling from ‘Joli Vyann’; drumming workshops and a ‘story in a suitcase’ from African Activities, celebrating the New Forest’s link to West Africa through the migration of the rare nightjar bird; and animatronic bees from the Bee Circus.

New Forest inclusive cycling charity PEDALL also ran a go kart-style cycle loop adding to its 10,000km for £10k summer-long fundraising challenge.

New Forest Thrive Festival took place after Urban Wild, a similar event held in Southampton from 23–31 May.

New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) member and chairperson of the YouCAN partnership board, James Wylor-Owen, said: “Both New Forest Thrive and Urban Wild showcased the importance of local community in responding to the climate and nature emergencies and how we can start by connecting with and making space for the nature on our doorsteps.

“You can be inspired by nature whether in the National Park or its urban surrounds. Climate action, nature and people don’t stop at the National Park boundaries and that’s why it’s important we foster those connections with each other now to build more climate change resilient communities for the future.”

New Forest Thrive was led by the NPA, while Urban Wild was organised by SNPC, with support from the NPA. This is the second year both events have been run as part of the wider NPA-led Youth for Climate and Nature (YouCAN) scheme, made possible by the National Lottery Community Fund.