Intact granted over £214,000 from the National Lottery

Denise Hartley — Denise representing Intact at a recent event in London

The Ingol and Tanterton Community Trust (Intact) has received a £214,200 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for an exciting new heritage project, ‘Delivering Digital Dobcroft’, in Ingol and Tanterton, Preston.

Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project will deliver a comprehensive volunteering programme and build partnerships with wildlife specialists, schools and universities to ensure the longer-term sustainability of our Dobcroft Nature Reserve. The work will begin in October 2021 after the successful recruitment of a Natural Heritage Well-Being Coordinator.

Supported through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project will encourage wide community ownership in an urban environment and will help local people develop their skills, understanding and knowledge of natural heritage and biodiversity.

The project will ensure Dobcroft, which is an urban wildlife haven for the protection of the Great Crested Newt, will be more accessible, better conserved and safeguarded for future generations.

This exciting new project will create a flagship digital engagement tool ‘Virtual Dobcroft’ to provide digital access to our reserve through our website. The creation of a ‘Virtual 360 degree tour’ of our reserve will serve as an online platform to display and share information, photos, records and resources created through the project. This will create a rich learning environment where more people from Preston and surrounding areas, and anywhere online, will learn about ‘Natural Heritage’.

Operating locally for 28 years, Intact provides an accessible multi-faceted ‘grassroots’ community hub for people of all ages, in the heart of the Ingol and Tanterton neighbourhoods in Preston. Intact is an organisation that works with a wide range of people and this project will recruit and train over 45 new and existing volunteers for land management duties, engagement and digital champion roles.

The funding will help to deliver nature-themed activities such as species surveys/identification, walks, talks, Great Crested Newt sessions, pond dipping, on-site and online courses. Intact will host Heritage Open Days, guided walks, and a range of nature-based trips.

Working with heritage professionals will enable the involvement of wildlife experts and volunteers to carry out flora and fauna surveys and will help to develop the reserve’s Scientific Interest, making links to academics at Universities and Colleges.

Commenting on the award, Denise Hartley MBE said: “We are absolutely delighted to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players and are confident the project will ensure that our local nature reserve, will be a place within the community that many local families, children and adults alike can access and enjoy for many years to come.”

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Gillian Blackburn, a land management volunteer said: “Being involved has provided me with a very special opportunity to volunteer in a green space in an ever growing urban setting. I live locally, and have had no garden space during recent lock downs.

“So Dobcroft has been central to my physical and mental health during difficult times. I am over the moon to hear of the successful funding for its vital continuation for the environment and the opportunities it offers to future volunteers and public at large.”