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Calling All Countryside Champions!

1st May 2024

We are delighted to invite entries to the 2024 CPRE Hampshire Countryside Awards, we want to hear from you if you are involved in a project to protect or enhance our beautiful Hampshire Countryside.

These awards are designed to celebrate the beautiful, diverse and thriving local countryside and all the incredible people who work tirelessly to cherish, support and sustain it.

Margaret Paren, Chair of CPRE Hampshire said, “The Countryside Awards are always a high point in our calendar at CPRE Hampshire and we look forward to connecting with our Countryside Champions to find out what they have been doing, and for the contribution they make to their communities and the rich tapestry that is the Hampshire countryside.”

Entry to the Countryside Awards is simple, simply fill out the online form to either nominate your own project or a project you think deserves to be recognised. The deadline for entries is 30th September 2024.

When you enter, you can choose to enter into one or more of the 4 award categories:

  • The Hampshire Grassroots Action Award,
  • The Hampshire Projects in Protected Landscapes Award,
  • The Hampshire Climate Action Award and,
  • The Hampshire Countryside Health and Wellbeing Award.

The Hampshire Grassroots Action Award is for anyone acting on a countryside issue that is relevant to their immediate or local area. For example, this could include conservation projects, work on recycling or anti-litter initiatives.

The Hampshire Projects in Protected Landscapes Award is intended to celebrate 75 years of Protected Landscapes which account for nearly 40% of the land in Hampshire. Hampshire has 2 National Parks, the South Downs and the New Forest and as well as 3 National Landscapes, Cranborne Chase, Chichester Harbor and the North Wessex Downs. Therefore, we want to celebrate any project big or small working to protect these amazing landscapes.

The Hampshire Climate Action Award is for projects rising to the challenge of the climate crisis which currently poses the largest threat to our Hampshire countryside. This may include groups tackling the crisis through energy audits, carbon neutral initiatives, tree planting or innovation energy projects.

The Hampshire Countryside Health and Wellbeing Award wants to showcase the importance of our countryside in boosting mental and physical health and wellbeing. This could include social prescribing projects, art therapy in nature or outdoor exercise.

As well as the four award categories, the winners and runners up will automatically be entered into The Hampshire Choice Award. This voting process will be put to the Hampshire public for them to decide.

Manday Hayes spoke on behalf of the PUPs project which was elated to win the Hampshire Choice Award in 2023 to explain what winning meant to their group: “Having CPRE publicly acknowledge the work of the PUPS project at the Awards event represents the highlight for many of hours of work over the past 18 months by our volunteers and the New Milton community. The PUPS are absolutely thrilled to have won this award.”

Whether it’s a small-scale community initiative or a large-scale enterprise, we welcome entries from all projects that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. By showcasing and celebrating the outstanding efforts across Hampshire, we hope to inspire others to take action and make a positive impact on their local environment.

Nominations are now open and will close on the 30th September 2024. For further information on the awards and how to enter, please visit: https://www.cprehampshire.org.uk/countryside-awards-2024/

  • Popell Barns Mobile Farm, Botley - Winner of the Environmental Education Award 2023. Popell Barns Mobile Farm visits community settings and schools with their mobile farm, complete with lots of fun and interactive activities to engage, teach and inspire people about sustainable farming, helping people understand what that looks like.

  • The Cabin at Harmony Woods, Andover - Winner of the Sustainable Communities Award 2023. Andover Trees have been working on an ambitious project to build an off-grid, sustainable classroom and field study base at Harmony Woods, a community woodland in Andover.

  • PUPS (Pick up Poo Squad) at Ballard Water Meadows, New Milton - Winner of the Grassroots Action Award 2023 and the Hampshire Choice Award 2023. This group in the New Forest took action on a real blight on the countryside, dog fouling. In one poo pick up alone, volunteers had cleared 174 deposits from paths around a local beauty spot. The real success of this initiative was that they encouraged people to change their behaviors’.

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