ECONOMIC SERVICES AT HAYTOR

ECONOMIC SERVICES AT HAYTOR

Executive summary

Dartmoor national park is an enormous moorland that is located in southwest England in a county of Devon. At the eastern side of Dartmoor lies the Haytor best known as the Haytor rock, which is located in a village known as Haytor vale (Kay, 2018 ). Haytor poses a spectacular view across the Dartmoor and has been acting as a tourist attraction site over a long period.  Surrounding the Haytor rock is the river Teign. To determine the value of ecosystem services provided by the landscape surrounding Haytor, my team, in collaboration with the Dartmoor national park authority, conducted field research.  This research was conducted in two phases: the first phase was the literature review, which provided a broad overview of the ecosystem phenomena that were surrounding the famous Haytor rocks. The literature review was presented to the school administration, where they concluded that a field survey should be conducted to unfold the truth on the ecosystem phenomena. Three days before the study, a pre-visit was conducted to the village of Haytor Vale, where we held a consultative meeting with the resident of the village. The community members assisted the group in identifying some of the ecosystem phenomena in their surroundings. In the selection of these phenomena, a standard method was used. Four sites were surveyed, which encompassed the four sides of the Haytor rock. The survey resulted in the collection of three forms of data, which comprised of the vegetation, natural resource, and the granite site.

Introduction

Haytor rocks with a height of 457m form an opportunity where the granite is mined. It is characterized by a spectacular landmark that can be seen on the horizon from all corners of the south Devon. At the foot of the Haytor rock are the green vegetation that acts as animal feeds to the tourist using the horses to visit the area. The Haytor village was calm and had a beautiful outlook with a moderate temperature and low rains (Harrison, 2016).  The resident had extensive knowledge about the Haytor rocks; hence they were able to provide the needed information for the study to the team members. Since our main focus was on the ecosystem factor, we requested a tour guide from one of the community members who were conversant with the terrain. Using a binoculars lens at a distance of about 2km away when we were walking through Hound Tor, we were able to view the Haytor rocks (see figure 1.1). After a one hour walk, we arrived at the foot of the Haytor rock, where we were able to observe the granite quarries tor, which was a sight for the mining of the granite. At one of the old quarries, there was beautiful vegetation, which included small trees and grass that made the sight to look attractive. Lastly, we observed the River Teign, which lay south of the Haytor rocks.

To avoid duplicating the previous survey done by another group at the start of the year, the first phase of our survey concentrated entirely on the literature review of earlier reports, data, and publications. The team members were able to view twenty documents, and the Dartmoor national park officials were also consulted to produce data on the previous survey. These surveys inhibited the need to collect new data for the Dartmoor national park to help in capitalizing on the natural resources around the Haytor rocks for the benefit of the resident. Since our survey was based on observation, we deployed the purposive sampling technique, which will help address our research question. This research method was chosen because we were only interested in the value the ecosystem had on the surrounding of the Haytor rocks. Only a few residents were selected to participate in the study.

It was observed that the ecosystem services provided at the landscape of the Haytor rocks benefited the residents. At the granite quarry, the residents were able to acquire job opportunity to work as miners at the quarry. Some of the residents also acted as tour guides to the tourist who visited the Haytor rocks. The information about the ecosystem services in the landscape of the Haytor was important to the area residents as they were able to see the value that can accrue from the natural resources in their village.

Fig. 1: Showing a typical granite rock on Eastern Dartmoor, Devon.

Scope and objective

The scope of this survey encompassed the need to document the ecosystem services present in the landscape of Haytor. Grounded on the information opening through the literature review and consultation of the Dartmoor national park officials, this initiative was to gather data on the value of services of the ecosystem provided at the landscape of the Haytor (DeRoy & Darimont, 2019). The collection of data using purposive sampling answered the primary research objective.  The field survey was conducted in two days, which commenced on March 20, 2020, to the 21^st. This survey was conducted at the Haytor vale village on the first day among the residents, where 20 members were interview and provided with an open-ended questionnaire. On the second day, the study was conducted at the Haytor rock where numerous picture was taken from the observation made. A study on the value of the ecosystem services at the Haytor had been done a couple of months ago. Therefore we were able to apply the resource valuation used by previous researchers.

Methodology

To achieve our research objective, we opted for the use of the purposive sampling technique (Reddy & Ramasamy, 2016). We were able to survey two areas, which included the village of Haytor Vale and the top and foot of Haytor rocks. The main constraint at the Haytor village was the landscape, which was only passable during normal weather.

Findings

There was the presence of small combed rock settlement located to the north of Haytor rock which very peaceful, providing nice scenic view. The presence of the ancient villages constructed using huts which were surrounded by wind-blown trees and the Haytor rock provided a spectacular view that was attractive to anyone. There was the presence of a pretty unusual pile of granite on the westward on Haytor rock, there was a river. We were able to collect fauna from the river which we took to the laboratory. The roads leading to Haytor rocks were in an inferior condition.

Fig. 2: Ancient huts found at the Haytor villages.

Discussion

The landscape of the famous Haytor rock houses several physical features which have brought numerous benefit to the residents. The Haytor village is sparsely populated and has taken the shape of the ancient village construction method. Villages are surrounded by huts that are not close to each other. A few meters away from the village heading north lies the small combe rock settlement, where rocks have been beautifully arranged to form a circle. The area is incredibly peaceful, and the area resident usually visits it to take a photograph. From the angle of the north, there is a beautiful view of the Haytor rock. These rocks have been arranged in order, and they vary in sizes. At the foot of the rock, there are granite quarries that provide income to the residents.

A pretty pile of granite stones also inhabits the village. On the westward of the Haytor rock, there was the river Teign, which acted as refreshment point to the tourist and their horses who visited the Haytor rocks. The roads leading to the Haytor rock was very poor and hence needed renovation. The fauna that we collected from the river Teign was taken to a laboratory where it was found that they were important fish food. Another observation that was made was the hospitality of the resident of the Haytor vale village. They were able to provide us with the needed information by filling the questionnaire and peacefully accepting to participate in the interview.

Conclusion

The participation of a survey, on the landscape of Haytor, was a great benefit to the members of the team. The team was able to learn on the rock pattern and the vegetation type that surrounded the Haytor village. The kind of settlement was unique as the resident lived in ancient huts that were sparsely populated. The chosen site was ideal as the data gathered from the report was to shed light on the important ecosystem services that were present at the landscape of the Haytor, as discussed above.

Recommendation

The resident leader of the Haytor village should build a dam across River Teign to prevent the seasonal flooding by River Teign. The resident should avoid throwing waste products to the river since some wastes maybe toxic hence affecting the marine life. The local fish pond should be constructed to act as breeding sites of fish. On the arrangement of the rock, the resident should remain conscious of building settlements next to the Haytor rocks to avoid rockfall and other dangers that may be presented by these rocks. The government should also build a processing industry next to the quarry to provide employment opportunity to the locals. The Dartmoor national park should offer an incentive to the residents who are acting as tour guides to the tourist and researchers visiting the area. The Dartmoor should ensure that they develop the road heading through to Haytor Rocks, which is always unpassable during the rainy season.

Reference

DeRoy, B., & Darimont, C. (2019). Biocultural indicators to support locally-led environmental management and monitoring. Ecology and Society, 24(4).

Kay, E. (2018). More Than a Sauce: Worcestershire’s Culinary History. Amberley Publishing Limited.

Harrison, M. (2016). Rain: Four Walks in English Weather. Faber & Faber.

Reddy, L. S., & Ramasamy, D. (2016). A Study on Sampling Technique to Analyse the Matrix Organization in the IT Outsourcing Industry. A Study on Sampling Technique to Analyse the Matrix Organization in the IT Outsourcing Industry (March 1, 2016).