Our Impact
The Exmoor Society has had some extraordinary successes since it was founded in 1958. It has worked to conserve the National Park and produced some of the seminal research and publications that form the evidence base for the continuing protection of Exmoor.
We also work to develop livelihoods in the Park, helping to keep it vibrant and alive. To this end in 2012, we established the prestigious Pinnacle Award for young entrepreneurs with a new business idea and rewarding innovative ways of working in the National Park.
Here are some of our major achievements:
1958
Following the campaign against the plan to afforest a large part of the moor, The Exmoor Society was established at a meeting at Simonsbath House. Major John Colman-Cooke became the first chairman.
1960
The battle to stop 50,000 acres of Exmoor being planted with conifers is won. As the government offers grants to plough up moorland, the Society begins its series of publications with its research into moorland loss.
1962
The Lyn and Exmoor Museum opens to celebrate the life and past of Exmoor.
1967
The Society raises the funds for the National Trust to purchase Heddon’s Mouth and Woody Bay and runs a successful campaign against a proposed reservoir between Lanacre and Cow Castle.
1975
The Society’s work on moorland loss is accepted as government policy. Land critical to the National Park status is to be mapped and ‘conserved for all time’.
1980s
Agreements between governments and farmers to integrate farming, forestry and conservations start to be monitored and the Society becomes involved in planning decisions with the National Park.
1995
The Society successfully opposes the plans for a timeshare complex and golf course at Whitechapel Moor.
1996
The Exmoor Photographic Archive is set up to conserve the pictorial record of Exmoor’s past.
2004
The publication of the Society’s report Moorlands at a Crossroads puts the conservation of Exmoor’s moorlands on the national agenda.
2007
The play Tracks and Traces is performed in over forty schools and introduces 4,000 children to Exmoor.
2009
The development of wind farms on the edges of national parks is successfully opposed.
2012
The Pinnacle Youth Award for young entrepreneurs is set up by the Society to encourage the development of new local businesses.
2014
The Society moves to its new headquarters in the High Street in Dulverton and engages an archivist to organise and catalogue the archive of the history of Exmoor National Park.
2016
A second archive project is launched and the Society commissions a moorland update report Exmoor’s Moorland – where next? The Malcolm MacEwen Trust becomes the Malcolm MacEwen Conservation Research Fund under the ‘umbrella’ of The Exmoor Society.
2018
The Society celebrates its 60th anniversary with a series of events throughout the year, and commissions a ground-breaking report Towards a Register of Exmoor’s Natural Capital.
2020
Saving the Splendour: The History of the Exmoor Society was published. Written by Philip Dalling, this wonderful book explores how the society has protected the National Park since its formation in 1958.
2021
Worked with Exmoor National Park Authority to achieve The Queens Canopy Commonwealth Canopy Woodland status for Hawkridge Woods, the first in England National Parks.
2021
Post lockdown, the Exmoor Society increased the prize money for the Pinnacle Award to £5000 to support young entrepreneurs living and working on Exmoor.
2022
The Exmoor Society became a member of the Plastic Free Exmoor Community, promoting the removal of single use plastics from our National Park.
2023
Completed the research project; considering the use of Art in Support of Improved Understanding of the Changing Character of Exmoor National Park and the scoping document looking at Exmoor’s Farming Heritage.
2023
Held our very first Exmoor Meadows Day, in partnership with The Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and Exmoor National Park Authority, to educate people on the importance of UK meadows and the huge variety of wildlife that thrive in these landscapes. We also completed our first Exmoor Scavenge, a family event aimed at educating young naturalists on the wonderful wildlife of Exmoor.
2023
Creation of a new Exmoor Society Research Fund to support projects that contribute to the understanding of Exmoor National Park.
2024
Launched our very first Exmoor Festival of Nature, a whole day of free family fun attended by over 500 people to celebrate the landscapes and wildlife of Exmoor.
2024
Held our first Exmoor Rivers Day to raise awareness on the health of our UK waterways and the vital importance of protecting river biodiversity.
