Chairman of the Epping Forest and Commons Committee: January 2025
Firstly, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy New Year. I hope you all managed to find time to get out and enjoy the Forest over the festive season.
We recently spent some time reflecting on our achievements in 2024 and were delighted to present ‘A Year in Review’.
At the outset of each new year, many turn their attentions to health and fitness to aid recovery from post-Christmas indulgences! The Forest offers a range of opportunities for recreation. From walking, running, golf and football, to cycling and horse riding – Epping Forest can help you to get active and keep those New Year’s resolutions a reality!
If you’re looking for a new challenge this year, and hope to get out in the open air, why not look at the many volunteering opportunities we offer? We have so many varied and rewarding activities to get involved in and would love to hear from you. Send us an email or visit the volunteering section of our website to find out more.
Looking ahead, we are excited for our event season to commence in February. To start, there will be a brand-new exhibition in the Lower Gallery at our Chingford Visitor Centre, which will celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester, Ranger of Epping Forest. The exhibition will also show some of the Forest’s other historic Royal associations. We are looking look forward to a series of events honouring The Duke’s 50 years as Ranger in the weeks ahead.
Many of you have asked about how we protect wildlife as the temperature drops. Of course, the majority of our wild animals are well adapted to winter. We have, however, recently invested over £400,000 to improve the facilities for our much-loved heard of English Longhorn cattle. This has allowed us to harvest more rainwater and build more covered areas in our outside yards to store hay bales. Not only does this reduce the level of plastic wrapping needed to keep them dry, but also prevents rainwater mixing with cattle dung, which causes a type of agricultural pollution.
This week, we hope to finalise our five-year Business Plan for Epping Forest, which will set out our priorities and how we hope to achieve them. As you can imagine, we have a long list of important projects and activities planned to ensure that Epping Forest continues to contribute environmentally and socially for generations to come. But we will need your support – so watch this space or follow the Epping Forest social media channels to find out more!