The NGO/Marsdens Conservation Champions Awards, 2025

More News

The NGO/Marsdens Conservation Champions Awards highlight and promote individual conservation success stories across the whole of the UK.

This is the third year we have run the awards, which are aimed at shoots, estates and gamekeepers to shine a light on the positive impact their excellent work has on our wildlife, biodiversity, and the countryside. The winners were:

Award for Innovation

Winner: Trusted Game

This award is made for new ideas and techniques developed for the benefit of the habitat and landscape, as well as for the improvement of gamekeeping, rearing and shooting in general.

Launched in 2022 by a group of specialist gamebird vets from across the UK, Trusted Game is a simple audit-based scheme to ensure the health and welfare of gamebirds on shoots and game farms.

The scheme incorporates tried and tested systems from other industries, and provides a route to achieving high standards through a simple auditing process linked to training, and real-world solutions to problems.

The judging panel felt that Mark Elliott, Dan King and Rita Alves, through Trusted Game, provide a route for fair, equitable self-regulation without any unnecessary, complicated or expensive systems imposed from outside. Trusted Game was launched at a time when shooting is coming together with some great initiatives to ensure the longevity of the sector.

Award for Husbandry and Welfare

Winner: Francis Waters, County Game Farm

Nominated by vets, this award is for best practices that have been shown to benefit the welfare of gamebirds that they have witnessed when conducting routine visits.

Frank runs the mallard laying flock and hatchery for County Game Farms Ltd, one of the largest producers of ducks for the game sector in England.

Providing consistent production of ducklings has always presented a challenge, despite the very high standards at County Game Farms. Working closely with his vet, Frank’s goal has been to improve the performance figures and outcomes of his flock by analysing in detail all stages of the production cycle. His enthusiasm, innovation and attention to detail have led to a greater understanding of the impacts of management practices. This knowledge will enable evidence-based bench marking and decision making for years to come, and will set the standards for this part of the sector.

Award for Habitat

Winner: Harvey Forder, Burnham Farms

This category is for an estate or shoot that has improved the habitat for game, and/or red- and amber-listed species including: woodland, arable, wetland, and moorland habitats.

What stood out for the judges with Harvey’s entry is that he has ticked the boxes across the board for improving habitat, and is now reaping the rewards.

Over 42 hectares of his woodland is undergoing a 10-year woodland management plan. He has improved more than 7km of hedges by coppicing and gapping up, with additional new hedges laid. Over 88 hectares of arable land is in conservation/margin plots.

He created small water scrapes in hedgerows and larger ponds are planned this year across the farm. Under the new SFI agreement, no insecticides are used.

The results of this work are seen in the increase in bird breeding numbers overall, 16 of which are red-listed birds and 30 are amber-listed. Wild grey partridges have increased from 45 head in spring 2021 to 276 head in autumn 2023.

Award for Responsible Land Management

Winner: Aaron Cullen, Bolton Hall Estate

This award is for an estate or shoot that can show how their work improves the landscape and the habitat to improve biodiversity.

Over the last eight years Aaron and the Bolton Hall Estate have invested considerable time, energy and funding into conservation and sustainability across the estate.

They have planted over 12,000 trees of both hard and soft wood. They have installed over 300 bird boxes and dug new ponds. The wetland areas have been improved resulting in the return of curlews and lapwings. There is a strict pest and predator control regime which has proved successful to all ground-nesting birds.

River bank erosion has been addressed and mink trapping has led to an abundance of little grebes, sand martins, dippers, kingfishers, oystercatchers, little egrets and great egrets.

Deer management has greatly improved the woodland flora and fauna, but it has also improved the local sika deer herd and reduced road casualties.

The judging panel were particularly impressed by Aaron’s involvement with the local schools and community, bringing to life the importance of conservation and sustainability and leading to a greater understanding of wildlife, the habitat they need to survive and respecting the natural world around them.

Highly commended: Paul Gillett, Overbury Enterprises 

Such was the quality of the nominations for this category that we gave a highly commended award as well.

This estate is an excellent advertisement for how it is possible to manage land for the benefit of farming, shooting, for the local community and for wildlife. Areas are left to re-wet to benefit the flora and fauna, and the land supports a wide variety of birds and numerous orchid species. It is clear that Paul is committed to improving the biodiversity and habitat of his land and we commend him for this.

The Marsdens Special Award

Winner: Teresa Dent

This is a special commendation award for an individual or team who go above and beyond to promote best practice in gamekeeping and/or shooting for today and for future generations.

Teresa is a true advocate of wildlife conservation and a passionate believer that the future of wildlife should be firmly in the hands of farmers and land managers, Teresa retires after 22 years at the helm of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Teresa has been a loyal friend to the NGO, taking hard decisions when needed and has not been afraid to ask “why?” in order to get the best outcome for wildlife.

She has achieved many policy changes based on GWCT research, in particular the inclusion of supplementary feeding of birds during the hungry gap as an agri-environment option, and the acceptance by Defra and ministers that predation management can be important for species recovery.

Teresa has never been afraid to discuss controversial issues with those who would see game management restricted or stopped. Her appointment to the board of Natural England reflects Teresa’s natural diplomacy and reveals how others see her; the appointment also provided the opportunity to put forward the case for gamebirds and the many benefits they bring.

ENDS

Note to Editors: