Girls Do Dartmoor, the flagship project in the DPA’s hugely successful Community Engagement Ranger Programme, has been nominated for a prestigious award. The project is a partnership between the Dartmoor Preservation Association and Dartmoor National Park Authority and run by youth ranger, Kats Koster-Shadbolt.
The nomination is for a New Perspectives award at the Campaign for National Parks’ annual National Park Protector Awards. Sponsored by Natural England, this award celebrates the people, projects or initiatives that champion and inspire diversity and inclusion in National Parks. Their work embodies the vision of a future where everyone has equal access to National Parks. It’s an honour to have the work which Kats has put into connecting young people with Dartmoor recognised in this way.
Over the last year Kats has single-handedly delivered this stand-out access project on Dartmoor for young women, enabling 70 girls to spend 1750 hours embedded in the National Park. She has built a connection with a 2500 pupil Academy Trust across 3 secondary school sites, working to boost attendance and reinforce confidence, self-reliance and self-respect in the girls who take part in the programme.
The all-women sessions build the girls’ confidence in accessing and experiencing the outdoors, portraying it as a place they are welcome in. It also offers a safe space in which they can speak openly about their lives and experiences, connect to peers, and experience a sense of escape. Over each 6 week programme a group of young women, who have been identified by teachers as struggling with anxiety, low confidence and low self-esteem, are introduced to the wild landscape of the moor. Over progressively longer sessions, they are supported in taking part in physical activities, outdoor challenges and skill building sessions. During feedback, schools have noted increased academic attendance and reported that young people have made friends and felt supported.
“The Junior Ranger Programme and GDD is hugely important to the future of Dartmoor, the work that Kats puts in is astonishing, she is like a single-woman army; delivering inspiring sessions to 100s of young people who would not have accessed the Park or felt ownership and responsibility towards this wild place” -Tom Usher, CEO of The Dartmoor Preservation Association- Partner on the CER programme.
Kats has been the single driving force behind the success of Girls Do Dartmoor, and her passion and energy has enabled the creation of safe and open space for teen girls to experience the wild beauty of Dartmoor. Kats conceived the idea, chased funding, designed the programme and delivered every session herself. She is an exemplar for the young women on Girls Do Dartmoor, inspiring others to choose a career in outdoor education, National Park advocacy and conservation.
Every nominee from all the award categories at the National Park Protector Awards is also eligible to win the People’s Choice award. The winner of the People’s Choice award is completely dictated by public votes, which means the Dartmoor community and beyond has the chance to speak up in appreciation of people who have made huge positive impacts. A panel will decide on the winner of the New Perspectives award, which Kats and Girls Do Dartmoor is shortlisted for, but it is down to the public to decide who wins the People’s Choice award. Voting is open now, and the winner will be announced on Campaign for National Park’s website and social media on Monday 9th December.
The ceremony for the Marsh Nature award, New Perspectives award and Young Changemaker of the Year award will be held in the House of Lords on Wednesday 11th December and the winners will be announced on the day.
Vote for your People’s Choice award winner here: Campaign for National Parks – People’s Choice Vote – 2024 National Park Protector Awards
Find out more about Girls Do Dartmoor here: Access Support – Dartmoor Preservation Association
Main picture © Tavistock College