A NEW environmental award scheme is being launched in the New Forest in memory of a wildlife campaigner dubbed the Father of National Parks.

The Scottish-American naturalist John Muir was instrumental in the creation of the national parks movement in the United States in the late 1800s.

Now the John Muir Award has spread to the Forest – thanks to the Lymington-based National Park Authority (NPA).

To qualify for an award, entrants must identify a wild place, demonstrate how they intend to increase awareness and understanding of the area, conserve it by organising activities such as litter picks, and share their experience by describing it to others people.

People taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award-style scheme must spend at least four days completing the four challenges.

NPA ranger Craig Daters is promoting the project and providing information to would-be entrants.

He will be on hand at a Discover Your National Park Day at the New Forest Centre in Lyndhurst on May 29 and will also be leading activity sessions at Ashurst Campsite on June 25 and Hoburne Bashley Holiday Park, Sway, on July 24.

Craig said: “The opportunities are vast and the options are endless.

"You can choose to work towards your award anywhere within the national park.

"Parks, rivers, beaches, school grounds and woods are all great places for exploration and discovery.

"Popular subjects people want to learn about include habitats and wildlife and the animals that roam freely around the Forest.

"Some may be interested in the area’s rich cultural history such as the abundance of Bronze Age barrows and other remains or, more recently, the important role the area played in the two world wars.”

John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland, in 1838, but emigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of ten.

He continued to develop a passion for wild places and helped others understand the importance of wilderness areas, largely through his writing and campaigning.

He helped preserve environmentally-sensitive areas such as Yosemite Valley in California and also founded the Sierra Club, a leading conservation body in the US.

Dubbed the Father of National Parks following his role in setting up the movement he was also known as John of the Mountains.

The 211-mile John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada was named in his honour and a conservation charity also bears his name.