A NEW project to create a volunteer task force to help preserve the heritage of the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) will be launched next week, thanks to a substantial lottery grant. The Tamar Valley AONB team received £93,700 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the new Helping Hands for Heritage project. Starting in May, the Helping Hands for Heritage project will create a trained volunteer task force with the Tamar Valley AONB by bringing together the various organisations already functioning within the area, and offering opportunities for training and new volunteers. Working within a partnership of other organisations in the Tamar Valley, the AONB team aims to build the capacity of the 'Valley Volunteers' as a thriving, skilled and knowledgeable volunteer task force to help address some of the loss and damage to the varied heritage of the area. The Tamar Valley AONB, designated in 1995, is a hidden gem straddling the boundary between Cornwall and Devon with its diverse range of heritage, history and culture creating a rich tapestry of landscape. Careful management is needed to conserve and enhance the area. Corinna Woodall, Tamar Valley AONB manager, is delighted with the award. She said: 'Volunteers will be our eyes and ears on the ground and will enable us to understand more about the AONB and World Heritage Site landscape. 'The initiative will develop locally grown volunteers with a range of backgrounds and interests to be equipped and to take on the stewardship of the heritage in their local patch.' The project will incorporate a series of focussed activities that the volunteers can be involved in. These will include conservation work to improve biodiversity and to preserve archaeology, improved interpretation, surveys, fieldwork, podcasts, interactive maps and various publications. Explaining the importance of the HLF support, Nerys Watts, head of HLF in the South West, said: 'Our natural heritage, whether it be our grasslands or ancient woods, pollinating insects or wild plants, or landscapes and geology, is crucial for our survival and well being, yet we know that it is being lost at a fast rate due to the activities of humans. 'To halt the loss of our habitats and species, we need to engage more people in learning about and appreciating our natural heritage. 'That's why we were delighted to have the opportunity to support Tamar Valley AONB with its project, which will increase the skills of existing volunteers and provide opportunities for a wider range of people to engage with and appreciate their local area.' Helping Hands for Heritage will be officially launched on May 1 at the Tamar Valley Centre in Gunnislake.