Better access for all
Create better access to nature for a wide range of people
Dartmoor’s Dynamic Landscapes
Dartmoor’s Dynamic Landscapes is a partnership programme with an exciting vision to empower more people to care for Dartmoor and sustain more naturally resilient landscapes, that are better understood and celebrated.
Who are we?
Dartmoor’s Dynamic Landscapes is a partnership bringing the National Park Authority together with Dartmoor Hill Farm Project, Emergency Exit Arts, the Dartmoor Headwaters Project, RSPB, Shallowford Farm Trust, the South West Peatland Partnership, Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans), Westcountry Rivers Trust and the Woodland Trust.
The partnership has a landscape focus on Dartmoor’s river catchments of the Okement, the Dart and the Erme & Yealm. These contain some of Dartmoor’s best places: moorland bogs, flower rich grassland & wetland, wooded valleys, riverside and moorland settlements that act as ‘gateways’ to the National Park. The programme has a particular focus on the communities of Okehampton, Princetown and Ivybridge.
Following development work, we were thrilled to be awarded more than £3.1million grant funding by The National Lottery Heritage Fund (opens in a new tab) to deliver our aims from 2025 to 2030.
What does the partnership aim to achieve?
DDL partners
Dartmoor’s Dynamic Landscapes Partner organisations
| Partner organisation | Lead on project: |
|---|---|
| Dartmoor National Park Authority | Understanding Grasslands Harnessing the Flow Moorscapes Community Grant Gateway Hubs |
| Dartmoor Hill Farm Project | Hill Farm Hub |
| Emergency Exit Arts | Rivers and Moorland Festivals |
| Dartmoor Headwaters Project | Headwaters |
| RSPB | Understanding Moorland Birds |
| Shallowford Farm Trust | Farm to City |
| South West Peatland Partnership | Peatland Restoration |
| Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans) | Bike It Moor |
| Westcountry Rivers Trust | Understanding Rivers |
| Woodland Trust | Dartmoor’s Ancient Tree Hunt Hall Farm Wood ‘n’ Moor |
Moorscapes community grants
Community groups working for wildlife, people or heritage can apply for grants of £500 to £5,000 from Dartmoor’s Dynamic Landscapes, if they’re within the programme area.
Eligibility questions
Interested? Read through the eligibility checklist below and if you answer ‘yes’ to all the questions, we encourage you to get in touch using the form, linked lower down this page.
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Will your application come from a community group?
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Are you and your project based within Dartmoor’s Dynamic Landscapes catchment area (or can evidence clear links to the area)?
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Is the aim of your project to benefit one or more of the following?
- Create better access to nature for a wide range of people
- Celebrate and learn about landscape heritage
- Gather information, vital to understanding our natural heritage, through Citizen Science
- Improve our knowledge and skills, and the application of these to benefit natural heritage
- Enhance and restore nature
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Will your project benefit the wider public (rather than solely individual interests)?
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If the project is of a practical nature, is the place under the control of a public or community organisation or on publicly accessible land?
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If you know that regulations or restrictions apply to the work, do you have permission to carry out the project in the place/way you plan to do it?
Next steps
If you have an idea for a project, get in touch with us using the contact form here. Tell us about your ideas and how they will help the wider community. We will get back to you with any questions and to talk more about your ideas.
If we think your project has a good chance of being awarded Moorscapes funding, we will help you complete a full application form. Decisions about which projects receive funding are made by an independent panel, made up of local people who have a good understanding of our aims and what will best serve those in the DDL catchment area.
Grant enquiry form (opens in a new tab)
Our next grant award decisions are expected Autumn 2026 (we plan to have three decision rounds per year, in early spring, summer and autumn)
Moorscapes grant details
For more detailed guidance on the Moorscapes Community Grant scheme:
The links below give you access to some important documents.
Moorscapes Grant Guidance gives more information about our grants scheme and also contains information to help you fill out the full application form if we decide to invite you to make a full application and provide you with this form (you should fill out the enquiry /Get in Touch form first).
Our grant awards are made by a Panel of local people, DNPA and DDL staff. Their Terms of Reference set out how they will undertake their role.
The Agreement and Terms of Grant document is a copy of the Grant Agreement that your organisation would be invited to sign if the Panel decide to offer a grant. Details of our grant terms are contained within this document, it has been produced by a legal professional but we hope you find it to be in plain English and easy to understand.
If we offer you a grant and you have any questions about these terms please do not hesitate to ask.
Moorscapes Grant Guidance (opens in a new tab)
Moorscapes Assessment Panel Terms of Reference (opens in a new tab)
Moorscapes Agreement and Terms of Grant (opens in a new tab)
Project overviews
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Bike It Moor: Working with local schools to increase the use of active travel (walk, wheel, scoot and cycle) and connection to local green spaces.
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Dartmoor’s Ancient Tree Hunt: Working with local communities to raise awareness about and record Ancient and Veteran Trees.
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Farm to City: Connecting those living in the city with farming and conservation communities on Dartmoor, including taking a Dartmoor farm to an inner-city area.
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Gateway Hubs: Increasing accessibility and knowledge of local green spaces in Ivybridge, Okehampton and Princetown.
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Hall Farm: Learning from a newly tenanted farm to understand how trees, woodland and other natural capital can be successfully incorporated into a viable family farm business.
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Harnessing the Flow: Recording and improving understanding of historic tin streaming features on Dartmoor.
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Hill Farm Hub: Supporting knowledge sharing opportunities for farms and Commons to develop innovative small projects, helping to access funding and trial new ecological survey technology.
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Moorscapes: A community grant scheme for smaller, local organisations to deliver their own nature-focused projects.
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Peatland Restoration: Undertaking restoration of important peatland sites and helping people learn more about peat as a natural resource.
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River and Moorland Festivals: A series of arts festivals developed with local communities to help celebrate their landscape stories.
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The Dartmoor Headwaters Project: Implementing natural flood management measures to reduce flood risk. Enhancing biodiversity, improving water quality, and building climate resilience across the river catchments.
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Understanding Grasslands: Supporting training in grassland survey techniques and recording species-rich meadows.
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Understanding Moorland Birds: Undertaking annual surveys that will help land managers and owners across the Commons and Newtakes understand more about the birds on their land.
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Understanding Rivers: Recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers to conduct water-quality and biological monitoring in rivers and deliver engaging activities for schools and families.
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Wood ‘n’ Moor: Developing an economically viable model for the restoration of ancient semi-natural woodland sites with lower value timber.
DDL engagement
We want more people to enjoy, understand, conserve and connect with Dartmoor. We offer a range of ways to get involved, including schemes for young people, volunteering and mentoring opportunities, and public events.
Spotlight on: DDL Champion Schools
DDL Champion Schools is a scheme for primary and secondary schools located in the Dartmoor’s Dynamic Landscapes (DDL) area or one of the gateway towns (Okehampton, Ivybridge, Princetown).
By being part of the scheme, schools celebrate being part of Dartmoor National Park and their students benefit from outdoor learning opportunities offered through DDL partners.
The activities on offer are wide ranging, but all help the students to learn about and experience Dartmoor, and aim to strengthen their sense of belonging and connection to this unique and special place – supporting health and wellbeing.
Activities include:
- learning about the water quality of rivers with the Westcountry Rivers Trust;
- taking part in Bike it Moor, a Walk Wheel Cycle Trust project promoting active and green travel
- learning about ancient trees and seeing shire horses working in traditional forestry activities as part of the Woodland Trust’s work to restore ancient woodlands and peatland areas
- resources to carry out self-led activities
- spending a Night Under the Stars camping on a Dartmoor farm.
Since launching in January 2026, DDL Champion Schools have learnt about Dartmoor through assemblies and newsletters, have increased their activity levels using a smoothie bike – a static bicycle that harnesses pedalling energy to power a blender – and have focused on their sense of wellbeing through Girls Do Dartmoor, a programme for students who identify as female in years 8 & 9 to build confidence accessing the outdoors. There’s so much more to come over the next few years!
The Champion School project runs January 2026 to Summer 2029.
Champion Schools newsletter
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Contact us
For all DDL enquires please contact us via email.