Heroes of New Forest community life honoured at show in NPA and CLA awards
THE New Forest’s unsung heroes were saluted in a special New Forest Awards presentation at the New Forest Show.
The winners were selected by the New Forest NPA and the Country Land and Business Association, with trophies presented by Hallam Mills, president of the show’s society.
Trophies went to Christian Newman from Totton as Young Farmer/Commoner; Cottage Lodge Hotel, Brockenhurst as Best Supporter of Local Produce; Rebecca Gabzdyl of East Boldre Community Stores as Sustainability Champion: and Gemma Hobbs from Boldre as Young Environmental Champion.
Christian, whose ponies graze at Copythorne, won his award for his understanding and respect for the heritage of commoning, his drive to establish himself and to improve on tradition.
While he comes from a family of commoners, he started commoning from scratch only three years ago, researching his family’s stock bloodlines to reintroduce them today. The judges were impressed with how much he had achieved in such a short time and his long-term ambition for the Forest.
He said: “It feels great to have won this award. It’s important to support young commoners for the future of the New Forest. I started commoning from scratch, which hasn’t been easy at times, but it feels like my work and input into the Forest has been recognised and appreciated.”
Cottage Lodge Hotel in Brockenhurst won Best Supporter of Local Produce, with owner Maurizio Redaelli demonstrating “unwavering support” for a huge array of local food and drink producers.
The hotel supplies everything from local sausages and bacon, to jams, honey and English sparkling wine. Maurizio’s has a passion for educating guests in New Forest produce, and he has set up a separate website: Yellow Forest, selling local goods.
Sustainability Champion Rebecca Gabzdyl is the driving force behind East Boldre Community stores.
The shop, recently converted from a chapel, uses energy-efficient chillers, air source heating, salvaged materials and LED lighting, while solar panels have halved electricity bills.
It is stocked with local produce which reduces food miles across the park and is within walking distance to people in the community. The judges called East Boldre Community Stores “a shining example of what it means to be sustainable”.
Rebecca said: “It’s great that after five-and-a-half years of work our efforts to make our shop sustainable have been recognised.
“One of the drivers to keep the shop in the village was to reduce vehicle miles which we’re also doing by supporting local produce. Making the business energy efficient is essential to make it financially viable.”
Taking the Young Environmental Champion accolade was Gemma Hobbs, vice-chair of Beaulieu Young Farmers Club, whose passion for protecting the Forest “shone through”.
Gemma (17) comes from a commoning background, and looks to empower the younger generation to treasure the Forest’s landscape and wildlife whenever possible. She has given many talks on common land and its upkeep, as well as on the vital role of commoning.
This year’s Highly Commended were:
Young Farmer/Commoner – Peter Fogarty from Lepe, a previous winner who still shows a remarkable commitment to the New Forest and its commoning community, including a willingness to help all his fellow commoners.
Best Supporter of Local Produce – The Farmers Butcher, Bramshaw, for its continued support for local farmers, excellent online delivery service and expansion of its shop.
Sustainability Champion – Green Hill Farm Holiday Village, Landford, a tourism business providing solutions to reduce impact, help wildlife and engage visitors in how special the New Forest is for nature, and Kat Wilcox and Wendy Collyer, co-chairs of Eco Sway, for leading and inspiring the community on a journey to a more sustainable future.
