I recall the New Forest in childhood and explored it in the 1950s. It has been my home and I have been involved in its affairs since 1960 when almost by accident I found myself working in the Nature Conservancy (since 1974 the NCC). The Forest has not been my only professional concern or research interest since then, but it has been of constant and absorbing interest. The absorption grows with time – partly because over long time spans, it becomes possible to measure and witness changes which illuminate the relationships between soils, vegetation, animals and management in ways which no short-term study can achieve; and partly because time increases rather than diminishes the degree of spiritual renewal and intellectual wonder to be derived from the familiar woods and heaths.展开