Thank you to everyone who attended our 2025 AGM. It was great to meet up with members and to celebrate the winners of our annual awards and competitions below:
Founders’ Award: In recognition of notable service to the Society and sponsored by Halsgrove Publishing, Steven Pugsley presented this award to Mr Rodney Coyne. A former trustee and one of our Vice-Presidents, Rod is one of The Society’s greatest ambassadors and for many years has given generously of his time as a volunteer.
Conservation Award: Sponsored by the late Brian & Mary Chugg, this award was presented to Mary Ewing for her work as the lead on the Early Dunster Project. Alongside a team of volunteers, Mary has spent hundreds of hours advancing knowledge of the development of Dunster.
The Pinnacle Youth Award: Designed to support young people living and working on Exmoor, this financial award was made to Keiran Ash. It will enable him to grow Ash Agri, the business he runs with his brother Callum, by providing regenerative farming contracting services on Exmoor.
The Coleridge Poetry Prize: Sponsored by The Exmoor Society with the support of Professor Tom Cain, the award was made to Deirdre Johnson for her poem Grasses for Classes. Read her beautiful winning poem via the link below.
The Archive Award: This award recognises significant contributions to Exmoor’s natural, cultural or landscape history. This year’s winner was David Jury, for his work creating a website recording Exmoor’s waters and rivers, now donated to The Exmoor Society.
Once we had celebrated the award winners, we were treated to a fascinating talk by Dr Laurence Couldrick, CEO of the Westcountry Rivers Trust, who joined us as part of our Waters of Exmoor campaign. Following the life journey of a salmon, he described the problems facing Exmoor’s rivers. Drawing on over two decades of experience, he shared stories of how the Trust has worked and succeeded in its many efforts at river restoration.
