Dartmoor camping and access campaign group The Stars are for Everyone has been shortlisted for the “Changemaker of the Year award” by the Campaign for National Parks. This award celebrates “devoted volunteers, campaigners, individuals and groups who have gone above and beyond to champion change or protect these landscapes.”

The Stars are for Everyone (TSAFE) was formed in 2022 to campaign for the continued right to camp on Dartmoor in the face of a legal challenge by Dartmoor land owner Alexander Darwall.

In December 2022 they organised rallies on Dartmoor and in London during the court hearing.

The group hit national headlines in January 2023 when, along with campaigners from Right to Roam, they organised the largest national land access protest in a generation at Cornwood in South Dartmoor.

Lewis Winks, speaking for The Stars Are For Everyone, said: “We started as a local pressure group, but the mass protest at Cornwood back in January catapulted us to national attention. The whole thing was organised by volunteers, working around the clock at incredibly short notice, but really delivered and put the debate around access rights very much in the public eye.”

The group are planning to hold a rally outside the High Court on July 18 when DNPA are appealing against the original decision that established that there was no public right to camp on Dartmoor.

Lewis said: “Everyone should have a right to spend a night under the stars if they wish, without having to seek permission.”

The award will be decided by public vote between June 12 and 17.

Cast your vote at: https://www.cnp.org.uk/national-park-protector-awards