Sussex Project in the Running for a National Award
The Sussex Wildlife Trust has been shortlisted for a ScottishPower Foundation Award putting it in the running to receive a share of the £30,000 award fund.
The wildlife and conservation charity will go up against 14 other projects that have received funding from the ScottishPower Foundation this year at a ceremony hosted at ScottishPower’s HQ in Glasgow in September. In January the Foundation announced a donation of over £1 million to charitable projects across the UK, from Aberdeen to Sussex, to support initiatives in local areas from theatre productions to science engagement programmes
The charities will be judged in four categories, including Education, Innovative Project, Community Impact and Charity Champion, an opportunity to shine a spotlight on an outstanding employee or volunteer, and the winning organisation in each category will receive an additional £5,000 funding boost with four runners-up receiving £2,500 each.
The Sussex Wildlife Trust is shortlisted in the Community Impact category for its work with the local community at its Woods Mill Nature Reserve, which celebrates its 50-year anniversary in 2018.
Since launching its nature engagement programme in April of this year, Sussex Wildlife Trust has already provided education on conservation to 300 people who have participated in events, including wildlife walks and talks, bringing them closer to nature at the Trust’s flagship nature reserve. With funding from the ScottishPower Foundation, the team at Sussex Wildlife Trust are also on course to train 250 members of the public as ‘Wildlife Champions’ who have conservation skills including species identification skills.
Pete Crawford, Director of Learning and Engagement at Sussex Wildlife Trust said: “The impact our new education programme is having on the public’s enthusiasm for nature and knowledge about wildlife is very encouraging. Visitors to our digital Nature Table – an online forum for sharing questions and information about Woods Mill wildlife - are not just sharing what they have seen; they are starting up conversations about wildlife and are adding to the biodiversity knowledge in the county.
“The absolute star of the show has been the Kestrel Cam on the 50th anniversary website which we believe to be the most successful digital feature Sussex Wildlife Trust has had. The public was able to view the nesting behaviour in intimate detail from egg laying to hatching and learn incredible facts about the parenting skills of the kestrels. The public were able to engage 24/7 with the live streamed footage which had a huge impact – we heard stories of children rushing home from school to watch the kestrels rather than television. We are pleased to report that a record six young kestrels safely fledged.”
Ann McKechin, Trustee and Executive Officer of the ScottishPower Foundation, said: “Each charity supported by the ScottishPower Foundation this year is delivering outstanding work in their local community and it’s a great privilege for us to support the work they do. The Awards ceremony is a chance for us to shine a light on the innovative and inspiring work being delivered by the projects and we’re delighted to offer this opportunity for additional funding to support them further.”
The ScottishPower Foundation was established in 2013 with the aim of making a significant and lasting contribution to society, enhancing the lives of people living in communities throughout the UK. It provides funding to registered charities which are involved in the advancement of education, environmental protection, citizenship, science, arts heritage and culture as well as the prevention of poverty and relief of disability or disadvantage.
KestrelCam