Grants News: Our latest nature regeneration projects in Devon

We’re excited to announce the latest grants the Devon Environment Foundation awarded this month, to the following grassroots projects protecting and restoring nature in Devon:

  • An Exmoor community tree nursery* to establish new resilient, native woodland in the upper catchments of the rivers Exe and Barle – preventing downstream flooding and soil erosion, enhancing water quality, and increasing biodiversity.
  • A water vole release to re-establish a thriving population of this keystone riparian species on an exemplary regenerative cattle farm – showcasing the benefits of enhancing natural ‘wet farm’, lowland habitats in West Devon.
  • A pilot scheme to recruit and train volunteers to conduct water vole surveys – mapping the presence and activity of this endangered species in South Devon, while providing opportunities for citizen science and reconnecting communities with the wildlife on their doorstep.

 

We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported us, whether financially, or by sharing their time and expertise to help us to identify the projects that will bring about the greatest gains for nature in our beautiful county.

In the nine months since our launch last summer, the DEF has supported a total of 12 Nature-based Solutions to address the climate and nature emergencies in Devon, awarding more than £145,000 of grants.

However, the need for grants to regenerate nature in Devon greatly outweighs the funding we have. We would welcome any support that enables us to fund more transformative projects.

If you’d like to give back to nature in Devon, you can make a donation here or get in touch to support us in other ways.

Meanwhile, if you know of a nature regeneration project that could benefit from a DEF grant, our application form is here.

Thank you for your invaluable support.

* A huge thanks also goes to the Devon Community Foundation and Care Moor for Exmoor for contributing toward the tree nursery project, which will replicate the successful Dartmoor Moor Trees model.