Online celebration for north-east biodiversity champions
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Recognition of the North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership’s (NESBiP) 2020 Biodiversity Champion Awards has gone virtual.
The celebration of the 2020 Champions and their achievements now feature in an online video complete with introduction from Scottish Government Minister, Mairi Gougeon MSP.
In the video Mairi says: “It’s been really uplifting and encouraging for me to read about the innova-tive and dedicated work of the award winners, which provide shining examples of how local action can help wildlife and promote biodiversity and this has never been more important than it is now as we face the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss”.
The Champions include farmer Dan Gordon and his “alien eating” sheep, golf course manager Richard Mullen welcoming wild bees to his bunkers; Huntly and District Development Trust and Branching Out South Aberdeenshire; Matthew Agnew of the Bin Rangers Club and swift advocate, Cally Smith.
Biodiversity champions - NESBats – The North East Scotland Bat Group; Course Manager Richard Mullen from Banchory Golf Club; Beth and Roger Polson from Knock Farm, Huntly; Matthew Agnew from the Bin Rangers Club; Kirsten Dickson from the Aberdeen Wildlife Watch Group; Cally Smith from the Huntly and District Swift Group; The Huntly and District Development Trust; Dan Gordon from Kirkside Farm, Banff; The Branching Out South Aberdeenshire Group.
Lifetime achievement award - David Welch
NESBiP’s chairman Roger Owen, said: “The Covid pandemic has demonstrated just how important access to “greenspace” is to our physical and mental wellbeing.
"The natural world is not just an optional extra - it is a basic human necessity.
"Responding to the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss is not just for others to sort out, we all have to play our part in making things better, especially for future generations”.
In closing her contribution Mairi says: “So while we’ve acknowledged that there is still much work to do, we couldn’t ask for a better example of good practice than the North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership, which is considered to be the most well established, active and dynamic in Scot-land.
"So thank you once again, not only to the award winners but to everyone involved in making the Partnership such a success”.
NESBiP’s Co-ordinator, Alex Stuart added: “There are many ways in which we can all make a difference - even if individual contributions are small, added together they make big difference.
"Let one of your resolutions for 2021 be - I will do something positive to help deal with climate change and biodiversity loss."
