Celebrating 100,000 awards


There have been repeated warnings recently about people becoming detached from nature. But a successful awards scheme run by the John Muir Trust points to hope for the future


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Some of the scenes and people from the special event held to mark 100,000 John Muir Awards.


The John Muir Trust, the UK’s leading wild land charity, reached a pretty special milestone recently when it presented the 100,000th award under its environmental award scheme.


To mark the occasion, a special event was held at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, with representatives of the first, 10,000th, 20,000th, 50,000th and 100,000th John Muir Awards attending. The success of this flourishing environmental award


scheme has seen it quickly grow from its Scottish origins to become widely established across the UK. The award is focused on wild places, encouraging awareness and responsibility for the natural environment, in a spirit of fun, adventure and exploration. Following the example of Scottish conservation hero John


Muir, tens of thousands of participants have now enjoyed their own adventures in wild places, and taken responsibility for looking after the environment. “The award is open to all,” explained Rob Bushby,


manager for the John Muir Award. “It was set up to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to connect, enjoy and care for wild places. “It’s not competitive but it is meant to challenge


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those who take part. They have to show enthusiasm and commitment for discovering a wild place, actively exploring it, doing something to conserve it and sharing their experiences.” The recipient of the 100,000th award was 13-year-old


Cumbrian school pupil Jake Atkinson, and the activities he undertook to achieve the first two levels of the award show the sort of commitment that can be involved. Jake was part of a group from Ullswater Community


College, Penrith, who completed a wildlife garden project. It involved hedge laying, dry stone walling, tree planting and pond construction, as well as creating water features, sculptures and homes for wildlife. He and his friends also volunteered for a variety of


outdoor activities in the Lake District National Park, working with the Field Study Council and the Forestry Commission. And over the past couple of years Jake has been helping a range of students with ASDs (autistic spectrum disorders) towards their own John Muir Awards. “What I enjoyed most was helping some of the younger


pupils to achieve the tasks they were given in the garden,” said Jake. “I also liked working with my friends in the eco- garden and learning new skills to take home and use on the farm. I enjoyed meeting and getting to know new people, but most of all having fun!”


The Nature of Scotland


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