Posts Tagged ‘volunteering’
Rhododendron Clearance at High House Waste
Continuing work in the Southern Mire, 9 volunteers joined workday leader Kate Wareham for our October workday at High House Waste. The day was still and sunny, with a blue sky that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a summer’s day. Following on from gorse clearance and the opening up of paths achieved during…
Read MoreNew Section of Drake’s Leat Uncovered
With a new volunteer workday leader at the helm, DPA Conservation Volunteers have expanded their work on Drake’s Leat, where it crosses Roborough Common. Stephen Barrow has years of experience leading butterfly workdays on Roborough Common, during which bracken and self-seeded saplings are controlled to maintain habitat for rare fritillary butterflies, and he now brings…
Read MoreCutting the Southern Mire
Conservation work on DPA owned land at High House Waste has now expanded into the Southern Mire, with our volunteers beginning the task of clearing gorse from the mire margins and cutting new access tracks for people and animals. 13 volunteers, including new faces from Cornwood, spent the day working with both hand tools and…
Read MoreTending to Venford Mediaeval Farmstead
Venford Mediaeval Farmstead is one of the sites, beyond our own four land holdings, which DPA Conservation Volunteers help to care for. The farmstead is situated South-west of Venford Reservoir and is made up of a longhouse with two outbuildings and an enclosed pound. Our work focused on clearing bracken from the low remains of…
Read MoreImproving Access at High House Waste
High House Waste is the largest land holding owned by the DPA and it requires year round work to care for the special species and important archaeology on site. Thirteen volunteers joined us for our most recent workday, including Cornwood locals and two brand new faces. The team was also joined by our Ecologist, Albert…
Read MoreArtist in Residence Captures Conservation Work
Artist Erica Luke has joined the Dartmoor Preservation Association as Artist in Residence. Over the course of a year, she will work with us to deliver the ‘Working the Land, Drawing the Landscape’ project, which includes embedded fieldwork, studio development and then two public exhibitions in Dartmoor and Plymouth. During the first six months of…
Read MoreDevonshire Association Botany Section visit Swincombe
10 members of the Devonshire Association Botany Section came on a site visit to our land in the Swincombe valley on the 20th of June. These included the BSBI (Botanical Society for the British Isles) county recorder and a member of DBRC (Devon Biological Records Centre) field survey team, as well as other top notch…
Read MoreRare Butterflies Confirmed at High House Waste
A population of rare Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary butterflies has been confirmed on DPA owned land at High House Waste. Our Ecological Consultant, Albert Knott, spent a day on the land last week surveying for the presence of these butterflies, and was delighted to record substantial activity. As well as seeing fritillary butterflies, he also…
Read MoreGuest Blog: Pudsham Meadow through the Seasons – A Wild Writing year
‘The bird that calls from the willow, lovely is its little beak with its clear call’ 9th century Irish I wanted to hear the willow-warbler, the slide of its song, the lilt and the lift. A tiny bird that every Spring flies from the African continent over the deserts and half way round the world…
Read MoreCelebrating Volunteer Week: Giving Something Back
Volunteers are at the core of conservation work and land management carried out by the Dartmoor Preservation Association. Many of our skilled team have been volunteering with us for decades, passing on their knowledge to newer recruits and welcoming everyone who wants to give their time to benefit Dartmoor. We carry out work both on…
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