Conservation Awards 2012

Over 100 guests attended a Wild Trout Trust evening at the Savile Club in Mayfair to present the annual awards for the best trout habitat conservation projects. The evening was introduced by WTT Director, Shaun Leonard, with the awards presented by Richard Banbury of Orvis, who generously sponsor the Conservation Awards. 

The Conservation Awards recognise and encourage excellence in the management and conservation of wild trout habitat, celebrating the efforts, skills and ingenuity of projects carried out both by professionals and by grass roots voluntary organisations.

The winners of the 2012 Orvis Wild Trout Trust Conservation Awards are :

Michael Edwards Memorial Award (Amateur Category) WinnerKells Anglers receive their Conservation Award

The Kells Angling Association in Ireland, for carrying out habitat enhancement measures along the Kells Blackwater. 
This project demonstrates the tremendous commitment and enthusiasm that the Conservation Awards are designed to recognise. The team of volunteers have installed boulders, flow deflectors, christmas tree revetment, and riffles with the aim of reducing the impact of past drainage measures. The success of the scheme for salmonids was clearly demonstrated through the Association’s methodical monitoring programme. 

Photo left to right: Dan Conaty, Noël McLoughlin and Ceiran O’Kelly receive the award from Richard Banbury of Orvis.

Professional Category Winner 

The Eden Rivers Trust for their work on the River Petteril, in partnership with local farmers and with the support of funding from the Environment Agency.

ERT team receive the award in the professional category, 2012The River Petteril is a tributary of the Eden and was once the jewelled trout fishery in the crown of the Eden catchment, but has suffered significantly from diffuse pollution. Novel and determined approaches were taken to resolve problems of farm waste management, rainwater separation and to create buffer-strips. Integrating the improved land-use practices with river-corridor habitat improvement and tackling connectivity issues are examples of best practice that will be of benefit to a wider audience. Click here for more details on this project.

Photo Front row, left to right: Simon Johnson, Olly Southgate, Trevor Marsh, Jeremy Westgarth
Back row left to right: Shaun Leonard, Richard Banbury.

Professional Category Runner Up

Irwell runners up CA 2012

The Irwell Weir Project carried out by the Irwell Rivers Trust and the Environment Agency.
This project removed 15 weirs between 2011 and 2012 from the Irwell system at a cost of only £180,000, demonstrating that weir removal and the associated habitat and connectivity improvements can be undertaken at the catchment scale with radically minimised costs by taking creative and risk based approaches. 

Photo left to right: Matthew Schofield, Gary Morris,Olly Southgate, Richard Banbury.