TOWNS and businesses throughout West Devon are taking part in a new public art initiative celebrating the biodiversity of habitats and wildlife on the moor — by welcoming some colourful and creative critters to their properties.

The Moor Otters project is a series of 100 unique pieces of art that are being displayed in accessible public areas around Dartmoor and the ‘gateway towns’ during the summer of 2017. Each three-foot tall resin otter sculpture has been designed and decorated by a different artist and will portray the artist’s own interpretations of wildlife and conservation issues.

Otters have been chosen as Dartmoor currently provides an important stronghold for the globally threatened and protected species. Otters use Dartmoor’s rivers but also venture on to other habitats, including Dartmoor’s blanket bogs where they search for food.

Visitors to Dartmoor will be encouraged to explore the trail between June and September, with a dedicated website and trail map available. The artworks will then be auctioned off at live and online auctions.

Dartmoor National Park has been encouraging regional businesses to support the project by sponsoring an otter. The project aims to raise £100,000 in sponsorship and sales, which will be used for projects to conserve and enhance Dartmoor’s landscape and wildlife, as well as improve access for everybody.

The money will also help develop Dartmoor’s Young Ranger programme, which supports educational access and engages young people in conservation projects, creating the conservationists of the future.

One of the otters on the trail is ‘Potter Otter’, created by Gloucestershire artist Rachel Shilston to replicate Harry Potter, dressed in Hogwarts garb and decorated with an owl and other nods to JK Rowling’s wizarding world.

Potter Otter has been sponsored by The Moorland Garden Hotel and will find himself quite at home in the hotel’s gardens, which already contain a variety of striking sculptures created by local artists and previously part of the owners’ — Brian and Sonia Meaden — private collection.

General manager Andrew King said: ‘We’re very excited to be welcoming one of the otters to the hotel and are delighted to be supporting this initiative. The trail will offer a great incentive for visitors and locals to get out and explore Dartmoor and we think it will appeal to lots of people — families, couples, art enthusiasts and many more.

‘We’re very lucky to work in such a spectacular and special place and are looking forward to sharing it and being a part of preserving it.’

Artist Rachel Shilston said she was delighted to be involved in the Moor Otters project, which is her fourth public art trail to date. She said that Potter Otter took 30 hours to paint.

She said: ‘Art trails like the Moor Otters are great fun to be a part of. I love the buzz they create in a community and how they introduce new audiences to art. They are a really fun activity to do with the family, it’s like going on a treasure hunt, searching out the clever creations made by artists from all over the UK.’

Dave Southern, Moor Otters project manager, said: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to see the calibre of designs by all of the artists. It is exciting to see more businesses putting their hands up to get involved and we are delighted that the Moorland Garden Hotel has chosen to sponsor Potter Otter.

‘The trail is an exciting opportunity to inspire visitors to explore the area and we encourage everyone to take part in the trail and enjoy the journey of locating these wonderful sculptures in person.’

Part of the project has been related to education and making children aware of the ecological issues facing our nation’s wildlife. Children at Horrabridge School have named two otters as part of the project. Artist Cheri Hunston’s otter was named Hope by pupil Rose Griffiths because of the conservation theme of the project, while Robin Armstrong’s otter was named Ripple by Catherine Bolton because it is a wet otter with water droplets on its whiskers. Hope will stand at the Wild Wood Gallery in Horrabridge. Lifton artist Katy Stoneman showed her otter ‘Mr Bilberry’ to children at Lifton Primary School before it was installed.

Other locations in West Devon to have otters include the Ockment Centre and Museum of Dartmoor Life in Okehampton, Brentor Church, Riverford Organic, Tavistock Wharf, Harford Bridge Holiday Park, Peter Tavy Inn, Mary Tavy Inn, the Dartmoor National Park Visitors’ Centre and Dartmoor Prison Museum in Princetown, Lydford Gorge and the Tors Hotel.

You can see more of the otters through the Moor Otters Facebook page and Twitter feed or through the website www.moorotters.co.uk