Dartmoor Youth Art Competition Winners Announcement

Hi there from Roots,

Today, the team at Roots Clothing are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 Dartmoor Youth Art Competition, in collaboration with the fantastic Dartmoor Preservation Association (DPA). Each entrant was asked to create a Darmoor themed or inspired piece of artwork, whether this be painted, sketched, or even digital. They also provided a comment about Dartmoor, and how they thought it should be protected, which featured alongside their fabulous artwork. Roots was overwhelmed with the colossal range of talent on offer by all those who have experienced Dartmoor and its beauty, and after a challenging judging process, we have managed to narrow down the following three winners of the competition:

• Juniper Holliday, age 12

• Sophie Hobson, age 15

• Molly Wightman, age 16

Congratulations to this talented trio of young artists! The team at Roots, the DPA, and the judges, were absolutely stunned by these three entries. Find each winning entry below, in all of its glory, along with a comment from each artist about what Dartmoor means to them, and how it should be protected.

"People protect what they love, so we should get more people to spend time on Dartmoor.... hiking, wild camping or just taking in the amazing views." - Juniper Holliday

“Add more conserved areas” - Sophie Hobson

"Dartmoor is forever and the idea of it not is difficult to imagine, it is our past, present and future. We can protect it with respect." - Molly Wightman

These spectacular winning designs will each feature on their own exclusive Roots Clothing T-shirt, which will be delivered to our three winners free of charge. Furthermore, their designs will be on sale on the Roots website later in May, for all to admire, with all profits from the sales of the apparel going to the Dartmoor Preservation Association, to fund youth access projects across the moor, and helping to preserve Dartmoor’s beautiful hills, valleys, and tors. 

The Dartmoor Youth Art Competition signalled the collaboration between Roots Clothing and the Dartmoor Preservation Association (DPA). Roots is a teenage led activist, multimedia and not for profit organisation aiming to create and inspire positive environmental action. Initially founded in May 2024 as a business studies project, the company has blossomed into a real life venture with a defined purpose, and the desire to inspire others to take action in the fight against climate change, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss. The DPA is one of the oldest environmental organisations in the UK, founded in 1883, and aims to protect Dartmoor’s unique qualities, and preserve its natural beauty. Roots was ecstatic to work with such an influential and inspirational organisation, and thoroughly enjoyed working alongside the dedicated individuals at the DPA. Both Roots and the DPA see the competition as a great success, and hope to have inspired a new generation of young people, whose voices will be heard in the fight for the protection of Dartmoor. 

However, this is not the end of the story. Roots and the DPA are also delighted to announce a group of Highly Commended Runner Up Entries from the competition. These designs truly captivated the judges attention, and deserved a place in the hall of fame.

Congratulations to the following Highly Commended group of young artists:

• Florence Regan, age 17

• Amelie Bigham, age 9

• Benjamin Chambers, age 12

• Dusty McCann, age 7

• Evie Smith, age 14

• Finlay Prosser, age 16

• Maria Gape, age 13

• Myah Rowden, age 13

• Sophia Lopez Clarkson, age 14

• Strachan Miller, age 17

These designs are all incredible, each exploring the beauty of Dartmoor, with each artist adding their own style to the artwork, and discovering what the Moor meant for them. Find each Highly Commended entry below, along with a comment from each artist about what Dartmoor means to them, and how it should be protected.

“To protect the future of Dartmoor, I believe it is very important to encourage children and young people to take an interest in the national park; to experience the joy of it for themselves and also to be personally involved in the work that is needed to preserve it.”

- Florence Regan

“I love the way the sun sets on Dartmoor and everything changes and becomes still and beautiful and it's crammed with wildlife.” - Amelie Bigham

“As part of a Dartmoor farming family, Dartmoor is a very real and important part of my life. This lino print is to represent Dartmoor in all its forms: sun, rain, summer, winter and the roots into the earth itself. the heart identifies how special a place it is.” - Benjamin Chambers

“Having special ‘Dartmoor gardeners’ to check on all the plants and plant new ones.” - Dusty McCann. Roots thought that this was a great idea.

“Dartmoor is my home and home to an abundance of wildlife which should be protected now and for the future.” - Evie Smith

“Make responsible decisions in management.” - Finlay Prosser

“Grimspound on New Years Eve with Dartmoor ponies which we must protect.” - Maria Gape

 “Protect the ground and save the wildlife.” - Myah Rowden

“We can stop harmful littering to protect the future and wellbeing of the beautiful animals that live on Dartmoor.” - Sophia Lopez Clarkson

 “By being able to see the world in different ways.” - Strachan Miller

The selection of Highly Commended Runner Up Entries will appear on an exclusive collage design, side by side with other entries that took our breath away. These will be available to purchase at cost price for those whose designs were chosen to feature together on this collage design. Roots believes this T-shirt will share the collective voices of those Highly Commended Entrants. Once again, this T-shirt will feature exclusively on the Roots website later in May, with all profits from the sales of these T-shirts going back to the Dartmoor Preservation Association, to fund youth access projects across the moor, and helping to preserve Dartmoor’s beautiful hills, valleys, and tors. All T-shirts will be unisex, in a variety of different sizes and colours, allowing the winners and the public to select their own unique way to express their passion for Dartmoor. Winning design T-shirts will not only appear on the RootsClothing.co.uk website, but will also be available in Dartmoor National Park shops, situated across the moor. 

The team at Roots and the DPA wanted to express our deepest gratitude to all those who entered the Dartmoor Youth Art Competition. We were euphoric about the quantity and quality of all of the entries, and we loved running this competition in collaboration with the DPA. “It truly exceeded our expectations, we couldn’t have asked for a more positive outcome. We loved the creativity of each and every entry, and could visualise the imagination and experiences of Dartmoor that lay embedded in the artwork.” says Matt McEwen, Head of Communications at Roots Clothing. 

Roots wanted to give a special shout out to the incredible judges, Lara Goodband, Julian Baird, and Lisa Schneidau, who were tasked with deciding between the vast array of talent on offer. With their expertise and knowledge, the team at Roots and the DPA were able to finalise the entries that we thought truly expressed the beauty of Dartmoor. 

The team at Roots and the DPA hope that all of the participants enjoyed the process as much as they did. 

Many thanks again to all who entered,

The Roots team