Godshill meadow gifted to New Forest National Park Authority

The meadow, which borders the open forest has been given to the New Forest NPA by three siblings, who want to remain anonymous.

Their grandparents were New Forest commoners who had passed it down to their family - but as they no longer live locally, they've bequeathed it to the New Forest Land Advice Service (NFLAS) for conservation work.

The donors told the National Park Authority:

"It is only in later life do we, who experienced life in this corner of the New Forest with our grandparents, uncle and parents, now appreciate what a unique privilege it was to be part of this culture for a brief period in our lives."

A video's been released explaining what will happen next:

Julie Melin-Stubbs, NPA Wildlife and Conservation Manager and Manager of NFLAS, said:

"We are proud and excited to become the guardians of this little piece of the New Forest. Our plan is to manage it in a way which will enhance its value for nature, particularly hedgerow birds, wildflowers, butterflies and other insects such as dragonflies, bees, crickets and grasshoppers."

She says they're 'grateful' to the donors for gifting the land to them, and says it will become a useful plot:

"We'll lay the hedges, we'll manage the grassland so that it's better for wildlife, but we'll use it as an education resource. We'll bring commoners, farmers and other landowners here and teach about soil management, hedgerow management and how to manage a grassland in a way that's best practice for nature conservation."