Calshot Nature Club was set up in 2011 to involve local families in learning about the local area and wider New Forest through weekly term-time outdoor activities. Funded by a grant from Hampshire County Council (Extended Learning) and linked to Fawley Infant and Blackfield Primary Schools, this first year of the Club was a great success and on the strength of this, a further grant was awarded, th
is time from the New Forest National Park Sustainability Fund for two years. This grant has actually been stretched to three years (by prudent spending on the Club and gaining some more matched funding!) but now we are in the position of seeking funding for another year or closing the Club. Over the last three years, the Club has gained support from families in Calshot and surrounds and some families have supported us now for 4 years! The range of successful activities that we have run include visits to a local commoners smallholding, marine activities at Lepe Country Park and Calshot beach and the setting up of a mini wildflower meadow and garden area outside St George's Hall. The Club is different to any other activities in offering informal learning activities for families and in making full use of local resources. The Club still has a great deal of potential to draw in new families and further promote learning about the New Forest. This year we gained some matched funding from Exxon, Fawley which has enabled us to offer off-site visits including Lepe Country Park, Testwood Lakes and the Treehouse Centre, Beaulieu.
