A beach cleaning team in Lincolnshire, shark monitors in Lancashire and several bright stars of the future from North Wales have been recognised at the Marsh Volunteer Awards for Marine Conservation.
A partnership between The Wildlife Trusts and The Marsh Charitable Trust, the Marsh Volunteer Awards for Marine Conservation recognise the amazing work Wildlife Trust volunteers carry out to help save our seas. The online awards ceremony took place as part of National Marine Week – The Wildlife Trusts’ annual celebration of UK seas.
Marsh Volunteer Award for Marine Conservation
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust’s beach clean volunteers: JOINT WINNER
In March this year the Lincolnshire beach clean volunteers faced an exceptional challenge when an oil tanker and a cargo ship collided in the North Sea, presenting a serious threat to wildlife including seals and seabirds. Responding to an urgent call for assistance, they cleared up large quantities of burnt plastic materials and ‘nurdles’ at Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve – thereby protecting a breeding colony of little terns. They were nominated by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.
Paul Chibeba, Head of Public Engagement & Communications at Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, says: “The race was on to get the beach cleaned before the nesting birds returned. The problem with plastic nurdles, apart from potentially carrying toxic chemicals, is that they looked a lot like fish eggs, which the birds would very likely try to eat.”
Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s The Bay group in Wyre – shark and ray egg surveying: JOINT WINNER
This extraordinary volunteer group helped the Shark Trust reach its milestone of counting over half a million shark, skate and ray egg cases. Over the last few years, The Bay group in Wyrehas taken top-spot for records, counting a whopping 17,989 egg cases in 2024 – this a staggering 30% of the whole UK records! This all helps gain a better understanding of the presence and diversity of these egg-laying species in British waters and beyond. Special mentions went to Carol and Owen Fawcett for their remarkable efforts.
Marsh Young Volunteer Award for Marine Conservation
Faced with such an impressive cohort of nominees, the judges chose two winners for the Marsh Young Volunteer Award for Marine Conservation, both from the North Wales Wildlife Trust.
Oscar Basu, North Wales Wildlife Trust – JOINT WINNER
Endless enthusiasm, in-depth knowledge and a dedication to mentoring his younger peers earned Ocean Rescue Champion Oscar his win. Over the past year, Oscar has volunteered more than 100 hours for North Wales Wildlife Trust, helping with fieldwork such as seagrass planting and as an excellent representative of the Trust at public events. He is an incredible role model and mentor to the younger Ocean Rescue Champions, and the impact he has had on the group has not gone unnoticed.
Anna Williams, North Wales Wildlife Trust – JOINT WINNER
Another Ocean Rescue Champion, Anna has become an ambassador for seagrass, taking part in everything from seed collection to planting and even speaking to politicians ahead of COP16. Reliable, dedicated and always ready to help, Anna is keen to help spread the message about the importance of seagrass and contributed an excellent article to the North Wales Wildlife Trust’s summer magazine.
Both young volunteers have grown in confidence over the past year and share a passion for sharing their knowledge and inspiring others about marine conservation.
Nancy Nenning, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, was also highly commended. 14-year-old Nancy keeps a detailed record of stranded animals, and for the past two years has been an outstanding callout volunteer with Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Marine Strandings Network.
The Marsh Charitable Trust said: “We are pleased to be working with The Wildlife Trusts once again this year to present the Marsh Volunteer Awards for Marine Conservation. Since 2014, we have celebrated volunteers’ commitment to the protection of the seas and marine wildlife. We would like to congratulate this year’s winners and look forward to learning more about the invaluable contributions they are making to their local environments and Trusts.”
The Wildlife Trusts are holding events around the UK, Alderney and Isle of Man for National Marine Week (26th July-10th August). There’s plenty to get involved with, even if you can’t get to the coast. See online for details: National Marine Week | The Wildlife Trusts
