Recently, we welcomed a cohort of young women taking part in Girls Do Dartmoor on a visit to our land at High House Waste. Led by DNPA Engagement Ranger, Kats Koster-Shadbolt, these young people are guided through a multi week program, structured to include hands on activities in nature, outdoor cooking, conservation work and time for reflection. The groups come from local schools and typically include young carers and girls who, for various reasons, are at risk of exclusion. Girls Do Dartmoor aims to connect with these individuals and build their skills, confidence and resilience, fostering a can-do attitude which will hopefully spread beyond Dartmoor and into other areas of their lives.
The visit to High House Waste had a focus on noticing variations in biodiversity and considering what might cause the differences, as well as the tangible conservation work of bracken pulling. Ten young women were brought up through the narrow, winding lanes of Cornwood by minibus and dropped off at the edge of the moorland, where Kats and the group were welcomed by DPA Officer Helen Bruce. We dressed for rain but were lucky to only experience light showers, with the only wet clothing coming from exuberant splashing during multiple stream crossings on our route.
Despite some misgivings about the length of the walk across the moor, the group engaged enthusiastically with the activities planned. The first one of these was pattern making using natural dyes, which involved the girls collecting small samples of leaves and flowers from the grazed land just outside High House Waste. We talked about the importance of not picking anything which was scarce, encouraging the use of invasive gorse and bracken. The younger bracken leaves made particularly striking prints when pressed between two layers of cloth and crushed with a hammer. During the creation of our artwork, we spoke about what pledges we might want to make for ourselves and nature, before attempting to sign our initials with bracken stem ‘pens’.
After stopping for a picnic lunch we continued walking and crossed into the DPA owned land at High House Waste. This section of moorland is fenced and gated which means that, even though visiting public are warmly welcomed, the grazing intensity is greatly reduced. We did spot a small herd of roe deer, which are not troubled by a low fence, and lots of deer footprints confirmed their regular presence in the area. Walking for around fifteen minutes, we made our way to the remains of a medieval farmstead. This archaeology is strikingly visible and offers a tangible and touchable connection with how our ancestors lived and farmed on the moor. From here the girls were sent out in small groups to count how many different species of plant they could see, with the highest count coming back at an impressive 26! We talked through reasons why biodiversity might be so much higher inside High House Waste, while one of the girls decorated a sheep jaw bone she had found with tiny flowers.
Following our mini survey we all put on our gloves and pulled encroaching bracken along the remains of the medieval wall. Helen explained how this helped the archaeology to survive into the future as, if left unchecked, the root systems of fast growing bracken will break up underground archeological remains. The girls found this task very satisfying and there were soon large piles of bracken on either side of the wall. After this hands-on activity we had a very sensible brush down of our clothes to ensure that any ticks didn’t have the opportunity to make themselves comfortable on our bodies.
Our final activity was reflecting on the day by adding to the journal which each of the girls keep throughout the Girls Do Dartmoor program. We paused to do this on a flat grassy area just outside High House Waste, close to where we had spotted some sheep bones earlier. The girls took a great interest in trying to identify the different bones and we touched on traditional farming practices and where food comes from. It was encouraging to hear some of the girls speaking about how much they enjoyed being out on Dartmoor, with one in particular sharing how she enjoyed taking nature photos and walking to help her legs get stronger.
The DPA have been pleased to previously part fund the Engagement Ranger post for an 18 month term, which came to an end in 2024. This support enabled the post to continue for long enough to give the many vital programs which Kats runs a sense of continuity, as well giving the National Park Authority much needed time to secure long term funding for the position. Girls Do Dartmoor has now been running successfully for a number of years, winning two coveted awards at the CNP National Park Protector Awards in late 2024. Bringing this group of young women up onto our land at High House Waste has been a fantastic way to further facilitate their personal growth within this unique landscape and we hope the visit helped them to both learn and make memories.