Congratulations to the winners

RSPB press release

 

The winners of the sixth annual Nature of Scotland Awards, organised by RSPB, have been announced, in a celebration of the passionate and dedicated people fighting to save the country’s wildlife.

Mike Dilger, ecologist and natural history presenter, hosted the event last night (Thursday 23 November) at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh, where nine projects across the same number of categories took home top prizes.

The winners included a project to tackle plastic pollution in oceans, pioneering work to benefit birds of prey, and Scotland’s first ever snorkel trail. This is the full list:

• Food & Farming Award (sponsored by The James Hutton Institute): Ruthven Farm, Tomintoul
• Marine Conservation (sponsored by Vattenfall): The Great Nurdle Hunt
• Corporate Award: Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project (DEEP)
• Innovation Award (sponsored by ScottishPower): DON’T STEP THERE, YOU’LL SINK! Jump on, we’ll ride (John Mackay Ltd)
• Youth and Education Award: Cumbernauld Living Landscape – Engaging Communities to Enhance Urban Greenspace
• Community Initiative Award (sponsored by GreenPower): Tayport Community Garden
• RSPB Species Champion Award (sponsored by The Ardmore): Brian Etheridge’s pioneering fieldwork has massively benefitted birds of prey
• Nature Tourism Award (sponsored by Sustrans): North West Highlands Snorkel Trail
• Political Advocate of the Year: Logan Steele and Andrea Hudspeth

Meanwhile, Anne Youngman, from the Bat Conservation Trust, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her tireless efforts over more than 14 years to champion bats in Scotland.

All of the Nature of Scotland Award winners were presented with specially designed trophies created by silversmith Bryony Knox and sponsored by Turcan Connell.

Mike Dilger said: “I was delighted to host the RSPB Scotland Nature of Scotland Awards for the first time this year, and really enjoyed hearing about the country’s best conservation projects. In challenging times it was exciting to have the opportunity to shine a light on these inspiring success stories and to meet all of the dedicated people working so hard to protect and enhance our natural world.”

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said: “I was delighted to be at the sixth year of the Nature of Scotland Awards. My portfolio includes tourism and I was pleased to see that the important role that nature plays in underpinning our tourism industry was recognised in the Nature Tourism Award category. The energy and enthusiasm of the nominees in all the categories really shone through. I would like to congratulate the winners of this year’s Nature of Scotland’s Awards and thank everyone who is giving their time to the conservation of Scotland’s natural environment.”

Anne McCall, Director of RSPB Scotland, said: “Congratulations to all of this year’s winners, you should be extremely proud of the work you’re doing for nature conservation in Scotland. It’s inspiring to see so many people dedicating their time to protecting our country’s precious natural heritage, especially the number of young people who are making a real difference by engaging in conservation. Hopefully by continuing to talk about and celebrate these fantastic achievements, we can encourage even more people and organisations to get involved and help give nature a home in Scotland.”

The 2017 Nature of Scotland Awards are sponsored by GreenPower, The James Hutton Institute, ScottishPower, Vattenfall, Sustrans, The Ardmore, and Turcan Connell.

 

ENDS

 

Mark writes:

Many congratulations to all the winners – and many thanks to all the sponsors.

Of course, it was great to see Logan Steele and Andrea Hudspeth recognised for their work on prodding the Scottish government towards a licensing scheme for shooting estates – they’ve done a fantastic job and the recognition is richly deserved.

Also, an award for Brian Etheridge – another long-term friend and highly experienced raptor worker. I remember appointing Brian to his first job with the RSPB, it must have been 1987, when he ‘retired’ from the Air Force. His application  form caught my eye as being a bit different from most because in the scetion ‘Positions of responsibility held’ it said something along the lines of ‘ responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of three fighter jets , each worth £XXm’ which was slightly out of the ordinary.

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