Award-winning author and journalist Simon Barnes received a unique and prestigious award, created by The Wildlife Trusts in honour of conservation pioneer, Charles Rothschild, and his daughter, Miriam.
At an event on Thursday 6 November, Simon Barnes - one of the UK’s best-known wildlife and sports writers - was awarded The Charles Rothschild and Miriam Rothschild medal by The Wildlife Trusts’ Chair René Olivieri. Simon received the medal in front of around 200 guests at a private reception during the Society of Wildlife Artists’ annual exhibition, The Natural Eye.
The Wildlife Trusts’ chief executive, Stephanie Hilborne OBE, said: "Both Charles and his daughter, Miriam Rothschild, tirelessly championed the splendour and irreplaceability of the natural world. They fought to have the value of the world's last wild places recognised. Simon Barnes continues their campaign. He shares their visionary and passionate spirit. His mastery of the written word inspires his readers to recognise and appreciate that nature is not separate from any of our lives or from any of the social challenges we face. It is not just his beautiful prose that sets him apart, it is his endurance and commitment. We are delighted to formally recognise and celebrate him here today.”
On being nominated for the medal, Simon said: “To be honoured by an organisation that you hold in the greatest honour yourself is something that goes very deep. I shall carry on cheering for The Wildlife Trusts and for the wild world as loudly as I possibly can.”
Read Simon's acceptance speech here.
Helping to raise awareness of UK conservation efforts, Simon was a big supporter of Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s recent
appeal to purchase land on the North Norfolk coast at Cley Marshes and build an education centre there in memory of Simon Aspinall. He has recently celebrated the crane’s return to Norfolk, helped to prevent inappropriate development on Derby’s only bird reserve at The Sanctuary, raised awareness of raptor persecution, specifically peregrines and hen harriers. He’s relayed the need to protect wildlife at sea through marine conservation zones, the recovery of water voles, the pleasures of experiencing wildflower meadows, landscape-scale conservation and specifically championed the value of The Wildlife Trusts’ work.
Simon is an active council member of the World Land Trust, which buys land for wildlife conservation on behalf of organisations in the developing world. As such Simon has also visited international projects, most recently in Armenia, in the mountains of the Caucasus, saving the Euro-leopard, travelling with World Land Trust council member and The Wildlife Trusts’ Vice President, Bill Oddie. Simon has visited and written about numerous other conservation projects in Borneo, Zambia, India, Australia, Paraguay, Brazil and Belize. He is also a patron of Save the Rhino, Campaign Against Raptor Persecution and honorary vice-president of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
Simon has inspired a generation about the wonders of wildlife through his books, many of which encourage the reader to discover nature for themselves. He has appeared in a number of programmes on BBC Radio 4 and 3, including a reading of his book, How to Be a Bad Birdwatcher. And, since moving to Norfolk, he’s joined the Eastern Daily Press as a columnist and has been creating his own wild place in a few acres of marshland beyond the river, with 99 species on his list.
Earlier this year, The Wildlife Trusts canvassed for nominations for The Charles Rothschild and Miriam Rothschild medal which recognises outstanding achievements in the promotion, study, management or conservation of the natural environment.