Nature and people benefit from improvements to Dartmoor haven

Visitors and wildlife at a Dartmoor nature reserve have been the beneficiaries of a generous funder.

Help from the SUEZ Communities Trust has enabled Devon Wildlife Trust to make some significant improvement to its Bellever Moor and Meadows nature reserve. The reserve covers 72 hectares of mainly wildflower-rich hay meadows and moorland near Postbrige on Dartmoor. It became one of Devon Wildlife Trust’s 50 nature reserves as recently as 2015.

A funding grant of £13,340 from SUEZ Communities Trust, which supports community and environmental improvement projects through the Landfill Communities Fund, has allowed the conservation charity to install nearly a mile of new fencing and replace eight dilapidated field gates. The grant also provided the resources with which local volunteers were able to repair traditional stone walls.

Steve Hussey of Devon Wildlife Trust said:

“Fencing and the repair of stone walls doesn’t sound the most glamorous types of conservation work, yet they are vital if we are going to properly manage Bellever Moor and Meadows for wildlife. Stock proof fields allow us to introduce grazing livestock which then control grasses and allow wildflowers and other wildlife to flourish.”

“We also think the repaired traditional stone walls look magnificent in this moorland setting. They were the work of local volunteers, all trained in the skills needed through financial help from the SUEZ Communities Trust.”

Support from SUEZ Communities Trust has also allowed Devon Wildlife Trust to improve public access to the reserve. Two new kissing gates have been built on main routes, while discrete signage now welcomes and directs visitors.

The charity’s Steve Hussey said:

“We’re especially proud of a new bench which gives visitors a place to pause and enjoy local nature and some stunning moorland views. Subtle illustrations on the bench let visitors know about the wildlife they can hope to see.     

Support from the SUEZ Communities Trust has helped us improve this wonderful part of Dartmoor for people and wildlife. We’ve been able to make it easier for locals and visitors to the area to access Bellever Moor and Meadows and when they do visit they will find the nature reserve in better shape than it has been for a generation.”

Marianne Ivin of SUEZ Communities Trust added:

“This is another wonderful project funded through our Accessing Nature fund. Being able to open up new areas of the site to allow the public to gain access to some beautiful wildflower meadows is very exciting for us to be part of. SUEZ Communities Trust provides grants through the Landfill Communities Fund. This important source of funding has been available since 1997 and has provided such worthy projects with more than £1.4 billion.”

People can plan their visit to Devon Wildlife Trust’s Bellever Moor and Meadows at www.devonwildlifetrust.org/reserves

Bellever Moor and Meadows Nature Reserve Photo copyright Devon Wildlife Trust (All rights reserved)

New bench at Laughter Hole, Bellever Moor and Meadows. Photo copyright Devon Wildlife Trust (All rights reserved)

About SUEZ Communities Trust (formerly SITA Trust)

SUEZ Communities Trust is an independent funding body set up in 1997 to provide funding through the Landfill Communities Fund. To date SUEZ Communities Trust has supported more than 3,900 projects to a combined value of over £110 million using tax credits donated by SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK (formerly SITA UK).

SUEZ Communities Trust funds improve vital public recreation facilities such as village halls, community centres, sport, heritage, green spaces and play areas.

For information on how to apply for funding from SUEZ Communities Trust call (01454) 262910 or visit www.suezcommunitiestrust.org.uk

About Landfill Tax and the Landfill Communities Fund

The Landfill Communities Fund is an innovative tax credit scheme enabling Landfill Operators (LOs) to contribute money to organisations enrolled with the scheme regulator, ENTRUST, as Environmental Bodies (EBs) EBs use this funding for a wide range of community and environmental projects in the vicinity of landfill sites. LOs are able to claim a credit (currently 5.7%) against the landfill tax liability for 90% of the contributions they make.

Since its inception, in 1996, over £1.4 billion has been spent on more than 53,000 projects across the UK. For more information please visit www.entrust.org.uk

Volunteers make the difference at Dartmoor wildlife haven

Six months hard work by volunteers has made a crucial difference for wildlife and people at one of Dartmoor's premier nature reserves. Volunteers and staff of Devon Wildlife Trust have together undertaken 110 days of labour during the past spring and summer at the charity's Emsworthy Mire nature reserve, which sits between Widecombe-in-the-Moor and Manaton. Together they have worked to increase public access and improve the reserve's mix of wildlife-rich mires, wet-woodlands and riverbanks.

The work has been made possible by funding of £14,640 from Viridor Credits Environmental Company through the Landfill Communities Fund, together with a contribution from the Parishscapes project, part of the Heritage Lottery Fund-supported Moor Than Meets The Eye scheme led by Dartmoor National Park Authority.   ¾ of a mile of new fencing will allow the charity to control the

numbers of grazing animals entering the reserve's mires, thus protecting their delicate communities of plants which include butterwort, cotton-grass and the insect-eating sundew.

Nine new gates were also installed, while paths have been cut through previously impenetrable gorse and scrub. The gates and paths now provide walks to parts of the reserve and along sections of its riverbank which were once off-limits to visitors. Boardwalks and way markers have also been added so that nearly 4 miles of trails now explore the reserve's 110 hectares of beautiful Dartmoor valley.

Andrew Taylor is one of 50 local volunteers who have worked hard to make the improvements. The Manaton man, who is also Devon Wildlife Trust's volunteer nature reserve warden for Emsworthy Mire, said:

"Emsworthy Mire is a big and very varied nature reserve with spectacular views of the surrounding Dartmoor tors. For four years I had it pretty much to myself as nobody else could find their way in, out or around it. This project has struck the right balance - the funders and Devon Wildlife Trust's volunteers have made it possible and enjoyable for people to explore Emsworthy and its amazing wildlife,but a visit here will always be an adventure".

Gareth Williams, Funded Projects Manager at Viridor Credits said:

"I am delighted to work again with our partners at Devon Wildlife Trust to not only enhance the wildlife value at Emsworthy but to also ensure that the access improvements mean it is accessible to as many people as possible to enjoy."

Community Heritage Officer Emma Stockley, who runs Parishscapes said:

"Parishscapes helps support local communities to run heritage projects and this has been a great opportunity to use a Parishscapes grant to help DWT and local volunteers make fantastic improvements to the Emsworthy site".

Like most of Devon Wildlife Trust's 49 nature reserves around the county, Emsworthy Mire is open 365 days a year and is free to enter. The charity recommends that visitors be prepared for some wet and muddy sections when going to Emsworthy Mire nature reserve, especially during autumn and winter.

Local volunteers laying boardwalks through Devon Wildlife Trust's Emsworthy Mire nature reserve, Dartmoor

Emsworthy Mire nature reserve. Photo copyright Simon Williams (All rights reserved)

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Visiting Emsworthy Mire Nature Reserve

To explore the reserve you can start at grid reference SX 748 761, Saddle Tor car park (head down into the network of stone-walled fields); or at SX 739 779, the layby at Holwell Lawn (look out for the new five-bar gate with Devon Wildlife Trust signs). Both of these entrances are on the seasonal Haytor Hoppa bus route. Mounted maps by the gateways show a network of paths which you can follow using arrowed marker posts and a series of boardwalks.

To plan a visit to this and other Devon Wildlife Trust nature reserves go to

www.devonwildlifetrust.org

Shining a light on hidden side of the moor

A new community project is to bring to life the 'hidden' side of Dartmoor, the internationally important blanket bogs which cover around 10% of the moor

The Magnificent Mires project will highlight, for both local residents and visitors, the wealth of wildlife that relies on this threatened habitat and the many services Dartmoor's mires provide for people.

Thanks to a grant of £57,800 from Heritage Lottery Fund, the one-year project is to be launched later this month by Devon Wildlife Trust and project partners, Dartmoor National Park Authority, The Duchy of Cornwall and Dartmoor Preservation Society.

Dartmoor has the largest expanse of upland peat in southern England and supports a unique mix of Devon's wildlife. Carnivorous plants such as sundews and butterworts, as well as the rare bog orchid, thrive in the wet ground. This flora supports a wide range of wildlife including scarce insects like the bog hoverfly and the marsh fritillary butterfly. Birds on the mires include the most southerly breeding

population of dunlin in the world.

This rich landscape performs important functions which are crucial to our daily lives. Peatlands are a vital carbon store: Dartmoor alone stores an estimated 10 million tonnes of carbon in its peatland soils - equivalent to an entire year of carbon dioxide emissions from UK industry.

Bogs also act as sponges, absorbing water in times of flood and delivering clean, naturally filtered supplies in times of drought. Almost half of the 157 billion litres of water annually supplied by South West Water is extracted from rivers and reservoirs that have their source on Dartmoor's mires.

The wild blanket bogs of Dartmoor have attracted myth and folklore over the centuries and have provided inspiration for many writers, from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles to the poetry of Ted Hughes.

Dartmoor's peatlands began life as much as 10,000 years ago steadily forming a blanket swathing the high moorland landscape. Dartmoor supports the largest concentrations of archaeological remains in Europe from Neolithic through to Medieval, as well as remains from more recent mining industries now often cloaked within the mosses and heathers. This cultural landscape has been, and continues to be, shaped by human activity through extensive livestock farming and tells a fascinating story which the new project will bring to life.

But Dartmoor's bogs are often perceived as barren, inaccessible and simply too wild to explore safely. The Magnificent Mires project will bring people to the bogs through a programme of wildlife walks and other events at sites such as DWT Emsworthy Mire nature reserve, near Widecombe.

The project will also bring the bogs to people with a Bog Garden, managed and funded by the Dartmoor Preservation Association and the National Park Authority at the National Park Visitor Centre at Princetown, as well as hands-on interpretation materials that will reveal the crucial role the mires play in supporting our everyday lives.

An education programme will invite schools to be 'champions' of their moorland rivers - the Dart, Tavy, Okement, Bovey and Teign - celebrating the blanket bogs at the headwaters, and taking positive action to care for their local patch, including a 'Bog in a Box' for each school. The important role that farmers play in managing the land through extensive stock grazing will be brought to life.

While there are still some areas of high quality blanket bog, the future of much of Dartmoor's peatlands is uncertain. There are concerns about the health of mires in some areas due to drying out and possible erosion, along with uncertainty over the impact of climate change.

But in the words of Sir David Attenborough: "No one will protect what they don't care about - and no one will care about what they have never experienced". The most recent survey of visitor activity on Dartmoor shows that 82% of people walk less than 5 miles. The blanket bogs are mostly found in remote locations and so are rarely experienced, while knowledge of their importance for wildlife and people remains low.

By providing a variety of ways to experience and learn about Dartmoor's Magnificent Mires, the project aims to engage people with these unique places, encourage them to explore and learn more, and inspire them to care about halting the decline of the blanket bogs and securing their future.

Peter Burgess, Director of Development, Policy and Research at Devon Wildlife Trust, said: "Dartmoor's blanket bogs are alive with some of the most special wildlife in the country, our most southerly breeding dunlin and carpets of carnivorous sundew. Through the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund the partnership will reveal these hidden treasures and reconnect people with the stunning sights and sounds of the high Moor."

Phil Hutt of Dartmoor Preservation Association said: "The Dartmoor blanket bogs are a hugely significant environment, act as a critically important carbon store and deliver an enormous amount of clean water to the South-west. The Magnificent Mires project will help to change the public perception of this wonderful, fragile habitat and reinforce the need to protect it for the benefit of future generations."

Alison Kohler, Director of Conservation and Communities at Dartmoor National Park Authority said: "We are pleased to be part of this project to celebrate the fantastic mires we have here in Dartmoor National Park. We hope people of all ages will get involved and take advantage of this opportunity to get up close and learn about the history and wildlife associated with this habitat and its ongoing management by local farmers."

Tom Stratton of The Duchy of Cornwall said: "This project will bring to life the special qualities of Dartmoor's blanket bogs - a little known resource to many - and demonstrate the important role that they have in terms of biodiversity, water management and carbon sequestration. The Duchy of Cornwall is pleased to provide its support."

Nerys Watts from Heritage Lottery Fund said: "Dartmoor's blanket bogs are important for any number of reasons, be it as a carbon store or wildlife habitat. By connecting people to these areas, and opening them up for exploration and discovery, this National Lottery support will increase understanding and interest in these hidden parts of the legendary moor and ensure they are protected for the future."

Photos of well-managed Dartmoor mire at DWT Emsworthy Mire nature reserve, near

Widecombe copyright Simon Williams (All Rights Reserved)

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The Magnificent Mires Project is managed by a partnership led by Devon Wildlife Trust, with Dartmoor National Park

Dartmoor beauty spot wins lottery

Access to a Dartmoor beauty spot is set to see big improvements thanks to funding from the People's Postcode Lottery. Devon Wildlife Trust's Emsworthy Mire nature reserve is known to many Dartmoor visitors for its impressive carpet of bluebells which appear in May and June each year. The reserve covers 100 hectares of a shallow valley between Widecombe-in-the Moor and Haytor. Now, £10,000 from the People's Postcode Trust - a grant-giving charity, funded entirely by players of People's Postcode Lottery - is set to open up another side of the nature reserve.

As the name suggests, Emsworthy Mire is a wet place - much of it too wet to allow easy access for people. But this new funding will help to change this. Among the main changes secured by funding will be the installation of 130 metres of wooden boardwalk. The new walkways will allow visitors to tour the reserve without sinking in to knee-high mud. In other parts of the reserve easy-access gates are being provided, while new paths are to be cut through dense bracken.

To ensure that visitors know where to explore new way markers and entrance signage are also being introduced. It's the job of Devon Wildlife Trust's Jackie Gage to look after Emsworthy Mire for wildlife and people. Jackie said: 'Funding from the People's Postcode Lottery is a tremendous boost for this special corner of Dartmoor. Some parts of the site are well-known to walkers and day-trippers, but other parts, especially those that are very wet and boggy, have largely been off-limits to visitors. Now we hope to let people into see the butterflies, bog plants, birds and dragonflies that make this such a wonderful place.' However, the Trust is being careful to balance the needs of people with those of the precious moorland wildlife that lives at Emsworthy Mire. Jackie explained:

 'Despite the changes, we're making sure that there are enough parts of the nature reserve which will remain undisturbed by people. The new boardwalks and waymarks will be discreet and in keeping with this wild place.'

Work to bring about greater access to the nature reserve has already begun. In recent weeks teams of local volunteers and students from Duchy College have helped lay boardwalk over some of its swampiest areas. A new easy access gate has also been installed. The remainder of the work will be finished later this year. When complete the new boardwalks and paths will link the nature reserve with a popular local footpath from nearby Hound Tor. 

One local volunteer who has helped in the project is Andrew Taylor. Andrew, who lives in nearby Manaton, spoke of the affection for the nature reserve and its wildlife which inspired him to get involved. 

'Emsworthy Mire is a special place with some spectacular wildlife. In spring and summer its bluebells and cotton grass make for a wonderful sight. The rare marsh fritillary butterfly has made a home here, alongside at least a dozen species of dragonfly. The nature reserve is also one of the most reliable places to see and hear cuckoos - one of several species that is declining across much of our countryside, but which still thrives at Emsworthy Mire.'

  'New funding will allow more people to enjoy Emsworthy's wonderful wildlife'. Photo copyright 'Simon Williams' (All rights reserved)

Volunteers are helping Devon Wildlife Trust construct new boardwalks at the Dartmoor beauty spot, Emsworthy Mire. Photo copyright DevonWildlife Trust (All rights reserved)

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Devon Wildlife Trust Emsworthy Moor  Grid ref SX 747 764

The nature reserve is open 365 days a year and is free to enter. It can be found off the B3387 Bovey Tracey to Widecombe-in-the-Moor road, past Hay Tor. There is a small car park on the right hand side just beyond Saddle Tor. From here there it is a 100m walk downhill to a gate at the south east entrance to the reserve. 

Dartmoor jewel becomes new nature reserve

70 hectares of wildlife-rich land close to one of Dartmoor's most popular recreation sites is set to become a brand new nature reserve thanks to a partnership between Devon Wildlife Trust and the Forestry Commission. The nature reserve, which is to be called Bellever Moor and Meadow, is owned by the Forestry Commission and is close to the moorland village of Postbridge and the well-known Bellever Forest picnic site. The land, which is made up of a patchwork of traditional hay-meadows, wet grassland and moorland, is set to become the latest of nearly 50 nature reserves cared for by local charity, the Devon Wildlife Trust. Bellever Moor and Meadow has been leased to Devon Wildlife Trust by the Forestry Commission under a 25 year management agreement. The Forestry Commission identified the opportunity for the land to be managed more effectively for wildlife and approached Devon Wildlife Trust to propose the partnership agreement. It will be open to the public to explore and enjoy for free, 365 days a year. And like all of Devon Wildlife Trust's nature reserves, it will be managed as a haven for local wildlife.
Devon Wildlife Trust's Nature Reserves Manager, Matt Boydell, was part of the team that worked with the Forestry Commission to agree the lease. He said: "Bellever Moor and Meadow is a stunning site and provides a wonderful opportunity for Devon Wildlife Trust to become more actively involved in the very heart of Dartmoor. The nature reserve also gives us a chance to put the skills we've gained over the last 20 years in restoring and re-creating grassland to use on Dartmoor in the restoration of nationally rare upland hay meadows."
Robert Harris, Land Agent at the Forestry Commission said: "We are delighted that Devon Wildlife Trust agreed to take on the management of this area and look forward to working with them. We will continue to manage Bellever Forest, which is also rich with wildlife as well as archaeological features, so the whole area will be managed effectively as part of the wider Dartmoor landscape." It will be the job of Devon Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve officer Ian Chadwick to look after the new site day-to-day. Ian has more than ten years of experience managing wildlife reserves in the South West. Ian said: "This really is exciting! It's a jewel of a place. Over the next few months we will ensure we get out on to the nature reserve as much as is possible and to start to develop an understanding of the plant and other species currently found there. It will also be an opportunity to speak with local people and find out more about the history and potential of this stunning location."
Matt Boydell looked ahead to an exciting future. He said: "The wildlife value of the nature reserve is already good. Parts of it are rich in wildflowers which were once much more common across the moor. Plants such as eyebright, heath spotted orchids, southern marsh orchids, ragged robin and yellow hay rattle are all there. In other parts of the nature reserve our plan is to restore a network of traditionally managed hay meadows. In turn these will attract insects, birds and mammals including bees, butterflies, bats and barn owls. It's a very exciting project."
Bellever Moor and Meadow nature reserve is located close to the Bellever Youth Hostel, near Postbridge, Dartmoor. Visitors are welcome but paths are rough and as yet unmarked. This reflects the newness of the site and Devon Wildlife Trust's desire to keep the place as part of Dartmoor's wild landscape. 

Butterfly Orchid on the Bellever Moor and Meadow Nature Reserve - Photo copyright DWT (All Rights reserved)

Looking across Bellever Moor and Meadow Nature Reserve towards Postbridge - Photo copyright DWT (All rights reserved)