THERE was a buzz of excitement on Midsummer's Day in Princetown with the launch of a new project — the Dartmoor Conservation Garden.

The project, sited in the Jack Wigmore Garden behind the National Park Visitor Centre, was hosted by the Dartmoor Preservation Association, with support from the Dartmoor National Park 'Your Dartmoor Fund'.

Pat Fleming, the garden's manager for the Dartmoor Preservation Association, said: 'This is an unusual and interesting wild conservation garden set up for everyone to enjoy, locals and visitors alike, which is planted up with a cross-section of Dartmoor's native species and typical habitats.

'We are incredibly lucky to include important archaeological features within it — a 4,000 year old bronze age granite burial cist from near Fernworthy and an ancient stone cross from Ter Hill.'

There will be activities through to late autumn, including supporting wildlife of all kinds at home in our gardens, butterfly identification and conservation work supporting rarer butterflies on Dartmoor and a chance to learn more about Dartmoor's ferns, lichens and mosses. The garden also provides an outdoor classroom resource for local schools and pupils.