Funding success for Princetown’s Dartmoor Conservation Garden

The Princetown-based Dartmoor Conservation Garden is celebrating its double success in being awarded £470 from Okehampton Waitrose Community Matters fund, as well as receiving a generous grant from the John Spedan Lewis Foundation.

The Community Matters support from Waitrose in Okehampton enables garden beds to be restocked with carefully-sourced native Dartmoor plants and new garden tools to be bought. Waitrose’s Community Matters in-store scheme donates £1,000 every month between 3 local good causes, supported by its customers’ green token vote.

The grant of £1,648 from the John Spedan Lewis Foundation (set up by the pioneer conservationist and founder of the John Lewis Partnership) enables an outdoor science laboratory to be kitted out for school and visitor events within the Conservation Garden, as well as a new interpretative sign to be installed.

Pat Fleming, Dartmoor Conservation Garden’s manager, tells us: “We will have a great show of primroses and early woodland flowers coming out around Easter. Please come and visit.”

It is sited directly behind the National Park Visitor Centre in Princetown where it displays some of Dartmoor’s typical botany and habitats, and is free for everyone to visit at any time. It also hosts archaeological artefacts including a medieval way-marking cross, originally from high Dartmoor, and a 4,000 year old Bronze Age burial cist. The garden is supported by funding from the Dartmoor Preservation Association (DPA) with assistance from Dartmoor National Park Authority.

Image shows Norman Cowling (DPA Chairman), Pat Fleming (Conservation Garden manager) and  Vickie Mills from Waitrose Community Matters, Okehampton, in the Dartmoor Conservation Garden, Princetown.