The New Forest Awakening Festival, the first of which took place last year, runs throughout February featuring events both online and in person.

Several thousand people took part in the 28 online events in 2021, while messages about the climate and nature emergencies reached 815,000 people.

This year it’s back and bigger than before with even more events, talks, guides and workshops showing what local organisations and community groups are doing to tackle the twin crises, and how we can all help. There will be wildlife talks and walks (Covid permitting) to a tree nursery visit, and workshops on how to reduce our own carbon footprint. There’ll also be family-focused events to engage children about the New Forest’s rare habitats, and the chance to find out more about local New Forest Marque producers.

The New Forest has the largest area of lowland heath in Western Europe, shaped by the free-roaming animals owned by commoners.

The rare heathland and wetland habitats in the New Forest are havens for wildlife, some of which are declining in other parts of the UK. Ground-nesting birds such as the curlew, Dartford warbler and mystical nightjar can all be found in the New Forest.

All six species of the UK’s native reptiles live there too, as well as 63 per cent of Britain’s 24,000 types of insects, 75 per cent of all dragonfly species and over 2,700 types of fungi.

The climate emergency is putting these fragile landscapes and habitats under threat, with hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters changing nature’s balance in the future. The global crisis for nature is mainly due to land management practices, pollution and urban expansion. It is being worsened by a changing climate that is driving changes in the numbers and distribution of our wildlife species.

Land in the national park is essential to mitigate climate change; sequestering and storing carbon, supporting wildlife, providing clean water and preventing flooding.

New Forest National Park Authority chairman, Gavin Parker, said: “We can all take action immediately to start reducing our carbon emissions, actions that will protect the National Park for future generations and help reach the target of the National Park being ‘Net Zero with Nature’ by 2050.

“The festival is a real community effort with lots of opportunities to find out what people are already doing near you and how you can help make a difference, as well as discovering more about the New Forest.”

The New Forest Awakening Festival programme, with more events being added daily, is available at: www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/awakening.