Growing Up Commoning Exhibition

About the event

Join us at New Forest Heritage Centre this autumn for 'Growing Up Commoning', a display curated by Hannah Warrick in consultation with Young Commoners, exploring the lives of young commoners and the commoning tradition in the New Forest.

The Project: Exhibition on the life of a Young Commoner in the New Forest

Following the It Takes a Forest project, Culture in Common has commissioned the curator, Hannah Warrick, to refresh the Commoning section of the permanent exhibition at the New Forest Heritage Centre, portraying the life of Young Commoners in the New Forest today.

The display will explore the following themes:

• 01 Growing up:

Examining the responsibilities of a young commoner and a brief introduction to commoning in the New Forest

• 02 Learning the Forest:

Exploring how commoners learn about the forest, from parents, by observation, through mistakes and responsibility, education, reading animals and the landscape

• 03 Animals and Responsibility:

Looking at relationships with animals, care for animals, passion, protection and the pride of being a commoner

• 04 Community and Identity:

Exploring ideas around belonging and friendship, and those that juggle full time jobs alongside being a commoner

• 05 It Takes a Forest:

Showing how Commoners interact with other forest workers e.g. vets, rangers, Verderers, Forestry England

• 06 The Future of Commoning:

Digging into the challenges of commoning, climate change and environmental pressures, tourism impact, new approaches, and what young commoners want for the future

When: Opening Friday 2nd October 2026

Where: New Forest Heritage Centre, Lyndhurst SO43 7NY

The display will be located in the main exhibition rooms at the Heritage Centre and is expected to remain in place indefinitely.

This exhibition is the culmination of over a year of liaison between the Culture in Common team and Young Commoners of the New Forest. So far, the project has included a visioning session, a hedge laying day course, a drone photograph event and many meetings. The planned exhibition is driven by a positive vision that aims to inspire and educate the general public on how to behave around the animals but also captures the positive camaraderie of Young Commoners and their hope for the future.

This project has been part-funded by a New Forest Trust Grant.