Every year, thousands of people work hard to maintain and conserve our national parks while looking after wildlife, visitors and local residents. The Park Protector Awards, run by the Campaign for National Parks, celebrates their work, discovers Laura Williams
A 20-year-long project that cares for some of the most-walked paths in the Lake District; a group of friends helping people from the city experience national parks; and a one-man mission to rally mountain bikers to protect the Peak District received recognition as part of this year’s Park Protector Awards.
Organised by Campaign for National Parks (CNP), these awards recognise the incredible efforts of national parks champions in England and Wales – from the volunteers who help people navigate the parks to young apprentice rangers working to shape the landscape.
The Churchill Room in the Houses of Parliament was buzzing with the energy of a small army of park protectors. They were joined by MPs, Lords and the Speaker of the House, keen to hear more about the work that goes into protecting national parks in what was a brilliant in-person awards ceremony.
“We’ve witnessed some of the incredible work that goes into protecting and improving our national parks through these Park Protector Awards,” says CNP chief executive Rose O’Neill. “In celebrating this work in Parliament, we wanted to show MPs why we need new legislation, investment, policies to enable delivery at scale. The powers that were put in place to protect our national parks were put in place before the climate and biodiversity crises took hold – it’s no longer enough to just defend them,” adds O’Neill. “We need new laws to work much harder.”
MAIN PARK PROTECTOR AWARD
FIX THE FELLS
Sponsored by WWF UK Fix the Fells is a team of around 175 people from all walks of life – including 135 volunteers – who braved every type of weather to put in thousands of hours last year monitoring, maintaining and repairing 400 miles of path in the Lake District National Park.
With almost 20 million visitors to the Lake District every year, walking paths get really eroded. Without the work of Fix the Fells, erosion would develop rapidly into huge scars, resulting in loss of vegetation, soil, stone, habitats, species and landscape beauty, as well as adversely affecting rivers, lakes and increasing flood risk in the valleys below. “For more than 20 years, Fix the Fells has been repairing mountain paths, reversing the trend of erosion damage and restoring habitats,” says Fix the Fells programme manager Joanne Backshall. The teams carry out work on many much-loved routes, including Scafell Pike, Helvellyn and the Coast-to-Coast path.
“The Lake District is under more pressure than ever before from the growing number of visitors and more extreme weather. It’s wonderful that so many people are enjoying the Lake District fells each year and over the last couple of years we’ve seen more and more people reap the benefits that spending time in nature can bring. However, with more people comes more erosion on the landscape,” adds Joanne.
“By repairing and creating more resilient paths better capable of managing increasing visitor numbers and severe weather events, we can reduce the soil, gravel and stone washing off the fells, as well as peat degradation, and help ensure rare upland habitats and species can recover and are not lost.”
Rose O’Neill of the CNP says: “We were blown away by the quality of nominations in this year’s Park Protector Awards, but there was one project that kept appearing: Fix the Fells. It was nominated by lots of different people, which speaks volumes, and when we delved into what it has achieved, it was clear to see why.” TWO RUNNERS-UP: Anita Kerwin-Nye, executive director of YHA England & Wales for her work leading Generation Green to engage over 100,000 young people with national parks through work, volunteering and residential opportunities. And EcoDewi, a grass-roots sustainability project in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park working on local solutions to the global issue of climate change – from litterpicks and a mini meadows project to awareness-raising events and creating community gardens and orchards.
NEW PERSPECTIVES AWARD
AKA HEALTH, WEALTH & ONENESS
Sponsored by Natural England Working across communities in Nottingham, three friends – Anton, Kevin and Antwon – make up AKA. The three work tirelessly to help more people improve their physical and mental wellbeing by connecting with the Peak District National Park. Last summer, they delivered experiences for over 250 people from disadvantaged inner-city communities in Nottingham, to open up their eyes to the opportunites to be enjoyed in national parks. AKA co-founder Kevin Spriggs says: “It is great to be acknowledged for the crucial work we are doing in the community, and the impact acknowledged. We feel accomplished and seen – which is a great feeling.” THREE RUNNERS-UP: Benji Grundy, an alumni of Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust who is now working as an apprentice ranger with Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. RSPB’s Cameron’s Cottage in New Forest National Park, a new ecofriendly hub for young people to help them connect with nature and learn new skills. And Northumberland National Park Authority’s Engagement Team, which has hosted countless visits from individuals and groups who might otherwise not have experienced a national park, including refugees and asylum seekers and older people at risk of isolation.
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
CHRIS MALONEY (KEEPER OF THE PEAK)
Sponsored by Original Cottages Chris Maloney (above) – founder of Keeper of the Peak – has worked hard over the past decade to encourage mountain bikers to care for the Peak District National Park as they enjoy leisure time there. Through his @KoftheP Twitter channel and work on the ground, he keeps people informed of trail conditions and sensitive areas to avoid, raises funds to improve trails, repairs paths and engages people with the issue of climate change.
Chris explains: “Keeper of the Peak started nearly a decade ago from me giving route advice against using a waterlogged path on an internet forum. ‘Who died and made you keeper of the peak?’ was the not-unfair challenge. I thought I’d turn the negative into a positive and set up the feed soon after.”
For Chris, 2021 was a very busy year as people emerged from the pandemic, and his efforts saw him reach beyond the biking community to horse riders, runners and others. FOUR RUNNERS-UP: North York Moors volunteer Bob Slater; Northumberland National Park volunteer Tony Evans; Exmoor Society chair Rachel Thomas; and Snowdonia Society volunteer Jack Walmsley.
Laura Williams is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who also works with environmental charities to boost their communications.