Young people descend on Dartmoor to learn a variety of new skills 

18 young people from Plymouth have enjoyed an action packed day of activities at Burrator Reservoir in Dartmoor National Park.  Taster activities included cycling, bush craft, map reading, media skills and conservation tasks.  For many of the young people the taster day was the first time they had visited a National Park. 

Ester Hughes from Plymouth Environmental Action (PEA) spoke of the day’s highlights. ‘I have really enjoyed practicing map reading around Burrator and putting bat boxes up’. 

The young people from PEA were joined by young volunteers from the charity Groundwork in Plymouth.  Madeen Oriwhal and Bilal Khan, both from Groundwork, helped to ensure that 25 bat boxes were put up around the reservoir. 

Neil Reeves, the Conservation Officer for Burrator Reservoir, praised the young people for all their hard work: ‘Many, many thanks to all the young people for coming out.  They have really worked their socks off, and by the looks of it they’ve had a lot of fun too!’ 

Helen Jenny, a Dartmoor National Park Member, led the Navigation Challenge, ‘I am constantly amazed and impressed by the commitment demonstrated by the young people.  Their enthusiasm is infectious and it has been a real privilege to share in their activities’ 

The Dartmoor ‘Taster Day’ was organised by the Mosaic Project run by the Campaign for National Parks and was part of the recruitment and selection programme designed to sign up new Young Champions, who will go on to actively promote the benefits of the National Parks to their peers.  The event was organised in conjunction with South West Lakes Trust, Dartmoor National Park Authority, BTCV, Plymouth Guild and Green V.                     

For further information, contact:

David Rolls (Mosaic Officer): 0793 509 9462; david@cnp.org.uk 

Notes to editors:

· Press release compiled by Simon Kennelly and Robert Stone, both Young Champions who participated on the day. 

· Mosaic is led by the Campaign for National Parks, in partnership with the Youth Hostels Association and nine National Park Authorities in England.  Mosaic is funded by Natural England through Access to Nature as a part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme, with match funding from Nationwide Building Society, DEFRA and the partners themselves.  For more information visit www.mosaicnationalparks.org. 

· In 2011 the Campaign for National Parks will be celebrating 75 years of working to protect and promote the National Parks of England and Wales.  Today the charity is made up of around 40 national and local environmental and amenity organisations and is the lead player in safeguarding these iconic landscapes.

Location: Dartmoor
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