CARE Blackerton, on the edge of the national park, has been awarded this year's Exmoor Society conservation award for its woodland project and board walk. The prestigious Samuel Foss Conservation Award is given annually to people who have contributed significantly to some aspect of the conservation of Exmoor and helped people's understanding of its importance. Care Blackerton consists of a small community in rural Devon that offers residential and day service facilities for people with learning disabilities A new native woodland has been planted around the cottages and workshops that make up the centre and consists of oak, sweet chestnut, hazel, alder and rowan. A picnic area and a biodiversity garden have been created as well as a board walk that allows easy access to culm grasslands and wet woodlands. The board walk was completed in May by a group of volunteers that included the Care contracting team. "On many occasions we were waist high in mud and water because of the poor winter weather conditions. It was hard and dirty work but worth it," said one of the team. At 196 metres long, the board walk is made of wood supplied by Mole Valley Farmers. The vertical posts had to be concreted into the ground and every load of concrete had to be manually barrowed to the site. The whole project has been funded from a variety of sources but particularly from the lottery's former New Opportunities Fund under its Green Spaces and Sustainable Communities programme. Exmoor Society chairman Rachel Thomas said: "It is significant that the Samuel Foss award has been given for the first time to a charity - CARE - rather than to an individual. "The society was impressed by the way the project enhanced the landscape and wildlife of this part of Exmoor and allowed access for all and had developed the site for environmental education and as place to relax in."