A VOLUNTEER of the Dartmoor Preservation Association has been announced as the winner of the National Parks UK volunteer awards.

Derek Collins, who has been a volunteer with the DPA since 2004, is now the winner of the 2017 individual volunteer category in recognition of the fantastic work he has carried out in Dartmoor National Park.

Derek, from Princetown, has worked on a range of projects, from bracken management, clearing ground around ancient scheduled monuments, and the ‘mucky’ work of clearing Dartmoor leats. He has even taken on the role of looking after the volunteer group’s conservation work tools. Derek has attended virtually every conservation work party since 2004 — around 50 per year — and is a trustee of the DPA.

When asked what volunteering gave to him, Derek told of the first time he took a young carers group out into Dartmoor National Park — many of whom had never been out on the moors before. And how at the end of that day the group had made new friends as well as discovering new experiences in the outdoors. Seeing how national park landscapes can give so much to other people is what really makes his volunteering worthwhile.

An enthusiastic communicator about the benefits of volunteering, Derek dedicates many hours to recruitment of volunteers and is always willing to spend time encouraging them, explaining how their efforts will contribute to the well-being of the national park and, in particular, to the community of Princetown.

Congratulating him on his award, Phil Hutt, director of the DPA, said: ‘This recognition is richly deserved. Derek’s dedication, enthusiasm and leadership has made a massive contribution to the DPA and its mission of helping to protect and conserve Dartmoor.

‘The amount of work which Derek carries out would be impressive for a person of any age. It is even more so considering that in August this year, Derek celebrated his 80th birthday by promoting the DPA at its stand at Lustleigh show — and he shows no signs of slowing down!’