Lottery grant of £227k for rare Dartmoor habitat

A Devon charity has been awarded a large grant to help protect and restore an ecologically important area of marshy grassland.

The Shallowford Farm Trust on Dartmoor provides children from inner-city areas with the chance to experience life on East Shallowford Farm.

The trust has secured a grant of £227,166 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to safeguard and restore its rare rhos pasture habitat - a wet grassland ecosystem characterised by purple moor grass and rushes.

Alison Kohler, one of the charity's trustees, said the money would be spent working to inspire the next generation to care for the natural world.

She said: "We want fifty new volunteers to help us manage the land.

"We want to engage more young people in accessing that land, learning about it, and helping us to manage it.

"Hopefully they will go away with a care and concern about the habitat and the species that it supports."

Ms Kohler added the farm plans to spend the money over the next two years.

According to the charity, 20 percent of the UK's rhos pasture is found on Dartmoor and it is a crucial habitat for species like the threatened marsh fritillary butterfly.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].