There's Moor than meets the eye to this winning partnership
Communities and organisations in south east Dartmoor are celebrating a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and have been awarded a grant of nearly £2 million over the next five years, as part of a £3.8 million scheme of community heritage and conservation projects.
They have been working together over the last year as the Moor than meets the eye Landscape Partnership to show that there is indeed Moor than meets the eye to Dartmoor. They have developed the winning scheme of 28 integrated projects which will bring important benefits for Dartmoor's heritage. It will bring people together to explore Dartmoor's past, conserve its wildlife, improve understanding of the moor and develop and share the skills to look after it for generations to come.
The additional funding has come from the partnership which is made up of 13 public, private and voluntary sector organisations with interests on Dartmoor, with Dartmoor National Park Authority as the lead partner.
"We've formed this partnership because we can achieve more by working together than we can on our own" said Bill Hitchins, Chairman of Dartmoor National Park Authority.
"I am delighted that we have been successful in our bid for Heritage Lottery Fund investment. This is brilliant news for Dartmoor – a £3.8 million investment which will bring huge benefits to the heritage of Dartmoor. I'm sure our success is down to finding new ways for the organisations and communities involved to work together," said Tom Stratton, the Land Agent for the Duchy of Cornwall and Chair of the Moor than meets the eye Landscape Partnership Board.
Nerys Watts, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund South West, said: "Over the past decade, we've had great success with our Landscape Partnership Schemes, especially in the South West, and many threatened landscapes are already on the road to a more secure future.
Supporting projects such as Moor than meets the eye is particularly important for us at HLF as they bring together both community groups and public bodies with a shared passion of caring for our incredible natural environment. Today's HLF investment for this historically significant landscape will not only strengthen those partnerships but also capture the enthusiasm of local communities and help reconnect them with this wonderful slice of nature."
The scheme will help people to reveal how our ancestors lived and worked on Dartmoor.
Projects like "Unveiling the archaeology of the High moor" will involve them in research, archaeology and the conservation of some of our most important heritage assets. The "Parishscapes" project will provide grants and advice for communities to develop their own community heritage projects and explore their own parish.
Dartmoor is important for its diverse wildlife and rich habitats. This is reflected in projects like "Postbridge Hay meadows" and "Moorland birds". These will ensure that important conservation work and the sharing of good practice are undertaken to benefit Dartmoor's wildlife.
Education and interpretive projects like "Discovering the Dartmoor story" are a key element. They will help visitors to Dartmoor and the communities who live here make new connections with the landscape and develop a better understanding of its heritage through a range of media including interactive guides, interpretation and project work.
The final part of the scheme will look at how we share and maintain the skills to look after Dartmoor for future generations. This will include the launch of the Dartmoor Diploma, a formal qualification which will help people gain these skills.
In short this scheme will tell the story of the people and landscape of Dartmoor over 4,000 years… the Dartmoor Story.
