Representing New Forest Friends of the Earth, I met today with Rachel Smith, Centre Manager at Lymington Community Centre, and Councillor Jack Davies, former Mayor of Lymington, for filming by the BBC following the correction of a serious foul waste misconnection at the Community Centre’s Phoenix building. Foul waste from the Phoenix building had been incorrectly routed into the surface water drainage system, meaning untreated sewage was discharging into the Lymington River.

It’s not over yet. Our ongoing water quality monitoring at the Lymington River outfall continues to show that sewage is still reaching the river — despite efforts to tackle the problem. During the autumn, Southern Water carried out work at Brunswick Place to divert sewage from that housing area into the proper foul sewer. That was a positive step, but there are still other sources discharging untreated sewage into the river. One of these is the Phoenix Room at Lymington Commu

Support the Good Business Matters Pledge Protect people and nature from corporate harm – ask our MPs to act! What is the Pledge? The Good Business Matters Pledge asks MPs to support a new UK law requiring businesses to:    •   Check for and prevent human rights abuses and environmental harm in supply chains    •   Be held accountable when harm occurs    •   Go beyond voluntary codes, with enforcement and access to justice for victims Why it matters Voluntary rules aren’t enou

Despite earlier repair work by Southern Water, our latest tests show that  E. coli  contamination has returned to the Lymington River outfall. The problem may lie in trapped sewage residues within the surface water system, and until the network is properly cleaned, the pollution isn’t going anywhere. Earlier this year, Southern Water corrected a long-standing drainage problem from Brunswick Place by installing a new foul sewer. During the work, a temporary inflatable bung was

Major Progress in Our Water Testing Campaign SOUTHERN WATER HAVE ARRIVED! We’re very grateful for the coverage of our water testing in...

Over the equinox weekend, members of New Forest Friends of the Earth and friends fanned out across the Forest, from Fordingbridge to...

On the first Saturday in September, New Forest Friends of the Earth ran a very successful stall at New Milton’s VJ 80 celebrations. Our...

New Forest Friends of the Earth’s latest water testing has revealed catastrophic E. coli levels of 78,312 CFU. This is an increase on our...

Still a Stink

Our own water testing results have revealed serious pollution concerns in local rivers and reedbeds — including dangerously high E. coli...

Something is terribly wrong with our water. In March this year, we experienced a couple of days of intense rainfall, and the result was...

Members of NFFoE joined other local FoE groups in Westminster on July 9th to support The Climate Coalition "Act Now Change Forever"...

In June  2025, the  i  newspaper published a powerful investigation into the state of England’s Blue Flag beaches, warning that many are...

Last week at the allotment, we made a small but important seasonal switch: our Asian hornet trap has now been changed from the ‘queen’...

On May 11, we were delighted to take part in the CET (Climate Emergency Team) event – a day of networking, sharing, and strengthening...

Over our Water Blitz weekend, New Forest Friends of the Earth led a wide-ranging survey of local rivers, streams and brooks—from Chewton...

Help us protect our New Forest water courses Between April 25 and 28, New Forest Friends of the Earth will once again be heading out to...

Everyone who attended our ‘Rethink Recycling’ event left with a simple list. ‘Where Next’ showed where each of the 27 items we collected...

Last Saturday, St Marks Church Hall in Pennington buzzed with activity as residents came together for the Rethink! Recycling event,...

New Forest Friends of the Earth members with New Forest MPs, Sir Desmond Swayne and Sir Julian Lewis Members of local environmental...

Can you smell it? Our visiting speaker, Bea Udale-Smith, was invited to speak to us about the problems that wood burning are causing in...

There are few of us who live in brand-new homes so we were pleased to welcome Bea Udale-Smith from The Environment Centre (tEC) to...

We’re making a United for Warm Homes scarf, to call for urgent government action so that everyone can have a warm home.   We’ll be adding...

We’ve been working on the Warm Homes campaign since it was started by Friends of the Earth HQ. This year, we are making scarves as part...

Festive Food Waste in Pennington We have been collecting uncooked food waste for composting from 40 households on our community allotment...

Our beaches are in trouble. While microplastics have remained a problem on Highcliffe and Barton-on-Sea beaches in the last few years,...

Last Saturday, members of New Forest Friends of the Earth joined other other organisations and supporters in RIngwood at the March for...

We’re making a United for Warm Homes scarf, to call for urgent government action so that everyone can have a warm home.   We’ll be adding...

Although a commitment to end fossil fuel burning was agreed in principle at the last COP, there has been little movement. Carbon...

Testing for Earthwatch and Imperial College Members of New Forest Friends of the Earth joined the call to test local water bodies for...