The top prize in The Insurance Corporation Conservation Awards 2021 has been won by Jersey Trees For Life, whose hedgerow campaign aims to create or reconnect the hedgerow corridors around the island to provide a safe habitat for local wildlife. The top prize of £2,500 will be used to continue with the management and planting of new hedges throughout the next planting season.
This year’s runner-up prize of £1,500 is awarded to GROW Jersey. The aim of their wildlife pond project as part of their ‘Thrive community smallholding’ is to support biodiversity, incorporating native plants that support native animals and create microhabitats. Grow Jersey’s mission is to create Jersey’s most inclusive community horticultural project, with the added benefit of mental health and physical wellbeing for all.
The £500 Best Education Project went to Jersey Biodiversity Centre for their ‘Pond Watch.JE’ project – increasing the wildlife biological records gathered by citizen scientists across Jersey.
A special Lockdown Award introduced this year was rewarded to the Acorn Local Lockdown Learning project, which works to inspire people with a disability or health condition to look after the local environment.
2021s Unsung Hero Award went to Piers Sangan, who is the Founder of Sangan Island Conservation and a wildlife ecologist and conservation land manager.
The Peter Walpole People’s Choice Award, which was created in honour of the founder of Insurance Corporation and this competition, was also awarded to this years runner-up; GROW Jersey, after they received the most public votes on the company’s website, rewarding them with £500 towards the project.
Michelle Steele, HR & PR Executive for Insurance Corporation and Chairperson of the Judging panel said that they were overwhelmed with the entries they received this year: “Our awards have been running for over three decades and we continue to be pleasantly surprised by the broad range of entries and this year was no exception. There are so many islanders committed to protecting and enhancing the natural environment within Jersey. We were delighted to award Jersey Trees For Life with the top prize this year. Congratulations to all the entrants and especially our winners”.
Due to covid-19 the competition was unable to run in 2020. In 2019 the top prize went to SCOOP – The Sustainable Cooperative, while the runner up was The National Trust for Jersey.
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