A DARTMOOR charity has been awarded a sizeable grant from the National Lottery to engage young people and volunteers and protect threatened habitats on the moor.

The Shallowford Trust, which oversees Shallowford Farm in East Dartmoor, gratefully received £227,166 for the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The funding will be used to protect and improve rhos pasture habitat and the species that it supports, including the threatened marsh fritillary butterfly.

The grant means Shallowford can recruit and support new volunteers to undertake practical conservation work, and provide access and inspiration for more than 500 young people and school groups who can now visit the project.

In the longer-term, the project will ensure a sustainable future for Shallowford providing a vast range of opportunities by working with partners across the whole valley delivering conservation and inspiring young people about nature and how to take care of our natural world.

The farm’s Sowing Seeds Project will ‘enthuse and educate’ a wide range of young people and volunteers, helping deliver this crucial work and sharing how special this habitat is.

The organisation will equip children and young people with the skills, knowledge and confidence to secure a more meaningful and sustainable future for themselves, nature and for the farm.

Alison Adlam, Chairman of the Shallowford Trust said: ‘We are thrilled to have received this support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

‘Thanks to National Lottery players more people will be able to visit, learn about and care for the special habitats and species that are part of Shallowford Farm, delivering a brighter future for people and nature.

‘This is a significant grant for us which will make a real difference to the work that we do in the future.’

The farm is part of the West Webburn Valley internationally rare Rhos pasture habitat and home for the marsh fritillary butterfly.

Rhos pasture habitat is wet grasslands that commonly has purple moor grass and/or rushes, along with a variety of wild flowers and other grasses.

Twenty percent of rhos pasture in the UK is found on Dartmoor - it needs very specific management and is very hard to access.

Without the funding, this scarce resource would become further threatened and remain inaccessible to many, the farms says.

Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: ‘Landscapes and nature form the bedrock of our culture and heritage, and we must do everything we can to protect it for the next generation.

‘That’s why we’re proud to support Shallowford Farm with this important project, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players. It will not only protect and enhance the wildlife and biodiversity of this amazing landscape, but it will allow more people to reconnect with the natural heritage on their doorstep.’