BTCV Chief executive, Tom Flood (below right), accompanied John Anderson (below middle) and myself (Ed Green – below left) to the Network Rail Environment Awards held at the Natural History Museum in London.
At this award ceremony, the BTCV Bedford Weekday Conservation Team (as part of the Great Stukeley SSSI Enhancement Project) was shortlisted under their Biodiversity Protection category. After a wonderfully amusing speech by Bill Oddie, the presentation ceremony started.
First up was our category where we were one of three, equally deserving, projects. John knew the result before the rest of us (from where he was sitting, he could read the autocue!!!). 20 seconds later we were accepting the award on behalf of all the volunteers involved with the project.
I would like to take this time recognise the volunteers who have made this possible. The volunteers are too numerous to mention by name, though John Anderson was a more than deserving representative. Hazel Watkins deserves a thank you for being the Project Officer at the start of the project. Ben Hammond has also helped with the project. Alan Marchant visited the project on a very important day. There are also volunteer officers who have worked hard behind the scenes, none more so than Jane Moore whose editing skills were useful before I sent in the submission.
All this support has been much appreciated and it has all been instrumental in achieving so much already. I would also like to thank Nigel Madge and Tony Newby for advancing our relationship with Network Rail so that others throughout the country can join in and protect the biodiversity to be found on Network Rail land (you would be amazed at how much land they do have that is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest or Nature Reserve).
Needless to say, the project will continue and I look forward to hearing about the success of other projects and the development of what has become a National Programme.