A charity fighting to save 50 species from the edge of extinction, including on the Lizard Peninsula, is one of 11 groups to receive funding from Goonhilly Wind Farm.

The Species Recovery Trust is among the groups with activities in the area around Goonhilly which together received £27,611 from investment from the Goonhilly Wind Farm Community Fund.

The trust is a small conservation charity that is committed to protecting 50 species by 2050, including the field gentian which is now only found at a handful of sites in England, and it received £639 funding towards the cost of surveys of Goonhilly Downs, which is a key site.

The project aims to gain an accurate estimate of population numbers and to assess the quality for the habitat for the plant, to allow work to ensure that the plants on Goonhilly Downs have the best habitat available to them, and hopefully to collect seeds which could be used to provide plants for reintroduction projects elsewhere on the Lizard.

Claudia Richard, community relations manager at REG Windpower, which operates Goonhilly, said: “We are pleased to see such a wide variety of good causes across the Lizard receive support from the Goonhilly Wind Farm Community Fund. We hope generations present and future can benefit from the worthy projects that have received funding.”

The Cornwall Community Foundation (CCF) administers the fund on behalf of REG Windpower, and a panel of local people decides twice a year which applications are most deserving of support.

Groups that benefited this year included Coverack Lambeage Hall and Battery, Friends of St Mellanus Church, Grade Ruan Community Trust, Grade Ruan Recreation Ground, Gweek Events Team, Gweek Players, Gweek Village Hall, Poldhu Amateur Radio Club, Shoestring Community Players, Species Recovery Trust and St Keverne Pre-School Playgroup.

Over 200 volunteers involved in the successful projects benefiting over 8000 local residents.

Donations can be made to the CCF visiting www.cornwallfoundation.com.

For further information call 01566 779333 or email office@cornwallfoundation.com