Six fantastic projects have been awarded a share of £300,000 funding from Devon County Council’s Natural Capital Challenge Fund. The successful projects are:

• Apricot Centre CIC – School of Regenerative Land Based Business. The Apricot Centre will create a school offering accredited training to fill the skills gap in sustainable land management organic food production to create lifelong employment in the agricultural sector.

• Brickhouse Vineyard Ltd – Soil and Soul: Regenerative Agriculture at Brick House. Gardeners and apprentices will convert degraded pasture into productive agriculture and wildlife areas, restoring native woodland and wildlife ponds.
  
• Devon Wildlife Trust – Northern Devon Natural Solutions will establish six new posts to support local landowners, farms and smallholdings with rewilding initiatives and habitat restoration.
  
• EcoLogic Consultant Ecologists – East Devon Conservation Grazing will employ and train staff to establish a nature conservation grazing and rewilding enterprise in partnership with the RSPB and East Devon District Council’s Countryside Service.
  
• Running Deer CIC – Countryside Worker Skills is a training programme in Moretonhampstead delivering countryside management skills and accredited qualifications free of charge to people not in education, employment or training.
  
• Coldharbour Mill Trust Ltd – Culm Valley Rural Skills is a training programme to help inactive and unemployed people in Uffculme and Culm Valley area to gain rural skills to support their transition towards getting a job, in turn regenerating and restoring an area of land.