Activities

Each year the Dartmoor Society :

• makes an Award to people who have made a special contribution to Dartmoor. The Award is in the form of a unique specially commissioned ceramic plate, made by a local potter and suitably inscribed by a local calligrapher. Past recipients of The Dartmoor Society Award are:-

                     1998: Dr Jeremy Butler (archaeologist and author)

                     1999: Geoffrey Weymouth (wildlife photographer)

                     2000: Fred Barlow BEM (worker with young people on Dartmoor)

                     2001: Marilyn Tucker and Paul Wilson of Wren Trust (Dartmoor musicians)

                     2002: Mark Beeson (playwright/historian)

                     2003: Marion Saunders (for dedication to Dartmoor livestock protection)

                     2004: Tony Beard (Dartmoor entertainer)

                     2005: Colin Pearse (farmer who breeds the Whitefaced Dartmoor sheep)

                     2006: Carolyn Hillyer and Nigel Shaw (creators of Dartmoor ‘roundhouse’)

                     2007: the late Eric Webber (proprietor of Chagford hardware 'emporium')

                     2008: Chris Chapman (Dartmoor documentary photographer)

• holds a public 'debate' on a current issue affecting Dartmoor. Subjects already covered include the Future for Dartmoor's Vegetation, the Future of Cider Orchards, the Military Use of Dartmoor, Renewable Energy, the 40 mph Speed Limit, Tourism, the Building Heritage of the 19th and 20th Centuries, the China Clay Industry, and Is a National Park Good for Dartmoor?

• holds a Summer Barbecue (a walk and good food in a moorland environment).

• holds a Winter Revel (music and dancing).

• organises visits to farms and other workplaces on Dartmoor, as well as sites of archaeological or ecological interest.