On Thursday 8 May, a pilot group from UHI North West and Hebrides were the first to complete the newly-redesigned John Muir Award. Stakeholders and partners gathered at the Fort William campus to hear from and celebrate the students’ success.
The John Muir Award is a renowned environmental award scheme that encourages people to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places. The redesigned Award was launched in March this year, with a focus on delivering benefits for the UK’s wild places and people.
UHI students Jack Soe-Paing, Claire Allan, Mira Dickinson, El Blackford, Stephen Livingstone, Natalie Rees, Kyle McLennan and Heidi Smith along with their course leader Ellie Moore gathered at the UHI campus on Thursday to share and reflect on each stage of their Award to an audience of University staff, Award partners and John Muir Trust representatives.
The pilot group undertook the Award as part of their Countryside Skills with Ranger Training course at the University of Highlands and Islands, and are the first to take part in the redesigned version of the John Muir Award.
The course and Award were delivered in collaboration with the Nevis Landscape Partnership.
A group presentation started the afternoon off, focusing on how the group achieved each of the four challenges of the Award – Discover, Explore, Conserve and Share – was followed by individual presentations sharing each student’s experience.
The students reflected on gaining awareness of wild places through the Award, specifically in their local area of Lochaber.
The group undertook an impressive range of hands-on conservation work across the area including clearing 7,150m2 of non-native invasive species, maintaining 2,190m2 of mountain footpaths, planting 100 saplings of native tree species and establishing exclosures – fenced-off areas designed to protect young trees and vegetation from grazing animals – to support natural regeneration.
Each student spent 245 hours carrying out practical conservation activities with the overall time the group spent on their Award being 2,240 hours.
Individual presentations then followed, with each Award participant reflecting on their time on the course.
Scrapbooks, illustration books and even a John Muir Award podcast inspired by their John Muir Award journey were shared.
Each student shared a public figure who inspired them to undertake the Award, with their inspirational people ranging from fisherwoman Amy Cordalis to Native American author and activist Luther Standing Bear.
The day ended with Ellie Moore and John Muir Award Officer Steph McKenna presenting the students with a John Muir Award certificate each, celebrating their successful achievement of their Award.
John Muir Award Officer Steph McKenna said:
“We’re delighted to celebrate the first group of participants to complete the redesigned John Muir Award.
“Their enthusiasm and dedication to discovering and caring for wild places really captured the spirit of the Award, and we’re looking forward to welcoming many more groups and individuals to participate in the Award in the weeks and months ahead.”
