Learn about Dartmoor wildlife at fun day

Enjoy a free Family Fun Wildlife Day on Thursday 20 August 2015, in the Dartmoor Conservation Garden at the National Park Visitor Centre in Princetown. Come and find out about some of Dartmoor’s nightlife – its moths - and how you can practically support wildlife conservation in your own backgarden.

The day starts at 10.30 am with a free talk and workshop about the wonderful world of moths, especially looking at those that dwell on Dartmoor. Come and see live moths caught in the Dartmoor Conservation Garden on the night before, and learn how to identify these with Simon Phelps, a passionate lepidopterist working with the UK charity Butterfly Conservation.

Between 1 – 2 pm Pat Fleming, manager of the Dartmoor Conservation Garden, will show people around this wild-planted native habitats garden, which also hosts a remarkable 4,000 year old Bronze Age burial cist. The Conservation Garden Project is supported by Dartmoor National Park Authority’s Your Dartmoor Fund and the Dartmoor Preservation Association, which has been providing volunteer help to get the garden up and running.

From 2 – 4 pm there’ll be a drop-in afternoon of free family activities to find out how to support and encourage native wildlife in your garden, with practical tips and advice provided by Emily Stallworthy of  Devon Wildlife Trust. There will also be an opportunity to make some wildlife-supporting gear to take home to encourage wildlife in your own backyard.