Woodland Trust honours its top volunteer in ceremony with Defra minister
London volunteer Steve Waters has been presented with a top award from the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity.
Steve Waters, a former research scientist from Ealing, has put his passion for trees and volunteering to good use by supporting the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Hunt – a five year project to record at least 100,000 of the UK’s oldest trees by 2011 - in his spare time.
He was presented with a cast bronze Volunteer of the Year medal by Huw Irranca-Davies MP, Wildlife and Biodiversity Minister, under the autumn-clad boughs of the Queen Elizabeth Oak, which is one of the most famous ancient trees in the UK and is recorded on the Ancient Tree Hunt database.
The minister was taking part in a range of activities in the South East as part of Defra’s Muck In4Life campaign, which encourages families and people of all ages to get fit and healthy out in the countryside, by taking part in conservation volunteering.
Steve’s medal is officially known as the Watkins Memorial medal, named after the Woodland Trust’s founder, Kenneth Watkins. It is presented each year to a volunteer considered to have made the most important contribution to the work of the Trust.
Steve Waters said: “Volunteering for such a nice bunch of people has always felt like a real pleasure, especially as I feel appreciated – which doesn’t always happen in paid employment. I’ve also been fortunate enough to be involved in a national project that’s out in the open air - and uses skills that I can still operate! I feel the award is not just for me but for the Ancient Tree Hunt team, volunteers and staff alike.”
The database held at www.AncientTreeHunt.org.uk is the first living record of the UK’s oldest trees ever attempted.
After the first three years of the project, tree fans and members of the public have found and recorded more than 50,000 ancient, veteran and notable trees on the website, adding details like the size of its girth, photos and stories connected with the tree.
All trees submitted by members of the public are checked by one of the Ancient Tree Hunt’s volunteer verifiers, such as Steve. So far, nearly 31,000 of those 50,500 recorded trees have been verified by these experts.
Steve is the regional lead verifier for the South East so as well as checking public database entries of trees from the Greater London area, he helps to recruit, train and support other volunteer verifiers and also speaks on behalf of the Woodland Trust at outside events right across the UK.
He has verified a staggering 611 public records including the Kenley Oak, the Swakeley’s Oak in Hillingdon and the Sweet Chestnut at the National Physical Laboratory in Bushey Park, and made 311 tree records of his own. The South East currently has the highest number of trees recorded throughout the UK.
Steve conducted the survey and verification of the trees within Greenwich Park to assist in the Trust’s opposition to the use of the site for the horse trials at the Olympics.
He has also liaised with the Royal Parks manager to help bring across key datasets for the project.
Nikki Williams, the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Hunt project manager, said: “I cannot think of anyone else who is worthier of this award than Steve. He has made an amazing contribution to the Ancient Tree Hunt right across the country, not just in the south east, and has been involved at every level of the project since 2007 – doing talks, running events, teaching and of course verifying trees – which is almost as long as the project has been going.
“His great professionalism has also helped to ensure that the Trust’s verifiers are seen as a really serious group of tree experts.
“Steve is always a great sounding board for ideas and provides support to the Trust’s team well above and beyond what is expected of him as a volunteer – quite simply, if he is available he will help.
“I asked the rest of the project team who they would recommend and they all mentioned his name. I think this says it all.”
For footage of Steve being presented with his award by Huw Irranca-Davies visit our YouTube channel
Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact:
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, email: media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters.
The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.