Winners announced at the National Conservation Education Awards

Our annual Conservation Schools Awards recognise those who go above and beyond to educate the next generation about conservation, celebrating excellence across the whole education sector. 

At this year’s awards ceremony, we were joined by our shortlisted nominees and a number of invited guests including our representatives from our education partners at University of Chester, hi-impact and Twinkl as well as members of our Youth Board and representatives.
 
We’re delighted to share with you the winners of our 2025 awards and their stories.

Outstanding Conservation Educator – Primary
Jan Wright – WINNER 

As a passionate conservationist, Jan has supported her school to achieve distinctions in numerous Eco Schools flags. She has organised extensive recycling programmes across the school, created gardening areas, introduced many local conservation organisations and most recently has led a huge campaign to conserve hedgehogs in the school grounds.

Nominees

Jennie Clarke
Jennie has single handedly overseen and coordinated the creation of an extraordinary conservation area, complete with a giant pond, a huge outside classroom in her school.

Ciaran Gates
Ciaran has transformed his school’s Forest School by building bug houses and encouraging an appreciation for nature and wildlife.

Outstanding Conservation Educator – Secondary
Lisa Lott – WINNER 

Lisa’s approach is rooted in collaboration and creativity. She integrates conservation themes across subjects, produces student-led newsletters, uses drama and performance to communicate climate issues, and evaluates learning through innovative tools such as word clouds to measure student sentiment and engagement. These methods ensure pupils are not only informed but empowered to act.

Nominees:

Liza Ashworth
Liza created an outdoor planting space, at a hospital site, in order to plant various plants and vegetables, improving young people’s their wellbeing.

Chris Turner
Chris’s sessions provide a way for young people to reconnect with the outdoors, build confidence, and develop life-long skills that will benefit both the way they see nature and their well-being. 

Outstanding Conservation School – Primary
Bentley Heath Primary School – WINNER 

Every child at Bentley Heath Primary could tell you multiple reasons they care about the planet - and can explain how they act on this in day to day life. Over the last year they have created the most extraordinary conservation area, complete with a giant pond, a huge outside classroom (which is partly made of old plastic bottles), den-building stations, giant bug hotels, a reading area, a mud kitchen, a bird hide, a sensory garden, a vegetable and seed garden. 

Nominees:

Pelsall Village School
Children in Pelsall Village school work within the community to promote a better and tidier local environment.

Christleton Primary School
They have embedded a whole school passion for wildlife and conservation in it’s pupils, with everything from ‘No Waste Snack’ initiatives to gardening clubs.

St Michael and All Angels
The school is involved in many initiatives and projects, and has even participated in mock-COP and School Citizens Assembly conferences.

Outstanding Conservation School – Secondary
Oaklands School – WINNER 

Their well established eco-council meets once per week to discuss local, national and global sustainability issues and how to educate the rest of the school community.  Some of the ways in which they’ve done this are organising litter picking on a beach and in the local community.  They also have sustainability initiatives across school such as solar panels and automated switch off times. As well as this,  their art department are continually recycling lots of disposable, single use resources across the school to promote the use of recycling and how this links to conservation and reducing landfill.

Nominees:

Kings Leadership Academy
Their ‘eco-ambassadors training’ is an initiative to enhance biodiversity on-site but also create exciting cross-curricular opportunities. Through these efforts, they’re embedding conservation into our school culture, inspiring students to take ownership of environmental stewardship.

Cheshire College: South and West
Cheshire College are committed to supporting their students to connect with nature and improve their wellbeing and this year launched a wellbeing garden that gives students the opportunity to explore nature, sustainability, and wellbeing.

Outstanding Conservation Initiative – Primary
Hazel Cottage School – WINNER

The school’s ‘Bug Hotel Project’ has seen pupils designing bug hotels, collected natural materials including sticks, leaves, stones and mud and making the habitats in groups, which has  encouraged social communication. These bug hotels have been installed in the schools budding sensory garden where pupils have the chance to observe which species of insects have moved into the hotel. A fantastic, successful project which has been so beneficial to pupils and helped them connect with nature and learn about conservation in practice.

Nominees:

Bedford Drive Primary School
From students to staff, there has been a collective effort to reduce waste, sort recyclables correctly, and raise awareness about environmental responsibility.

Ysgol Sychdyn
Their garden/farm club after school club gets students to create areas for wildlife and teaches core green and environmental skills.

Euxton Pre-School
Their “Mini Eco Champions” initiative encourages children to lead their own conservation projects, helping them understand their impact and develop a lifelong respect for nature.

Outstanding Conservation Initiative – Secondary
Ysgol Clywedog – WINNER

The Eco-taskforce have been working on a project with a Bangladeshi school in the UAE. With their pupils working closely together trying to come up with a way of boosting biodiversity, not only in the UK, but across the world, in sympathy with the local environment. The groups in both countries have worked together by meeting online, offering suggestions and creating with the S.E.R.V.E Programme. This programme aims to get all schools or places of education to create a tennis court sized area of restored local biodiversity.

Nominees:
 
Ysgol Aberconwy
Students from Year 7 right up to Year 11 have raised awareness of sustainable palm oil across the school, as well as fundraising over £1000 to be split equally between Sepilok orangutan sanctuary and affording medical supplies for the remote Kiau village.

Coleg Cambria
Students create and develop their own zoos as part of a zoo showcase, demonstrating their knowledge gained through their course and culminating in an annual event judged by industry experts.

Significant Contribution to Conservation Education
Emma Greenwood – WINNER

Emma Greenwood has been using her power and her voice since the age of 15, being one of the first students in the UK to organise the school strikes for climate action. She’s been making waves since in the environmental sector through her advocacy work in lots of different ways. Last year we had the pleasure of collaborating with Emma on our Conservation Changemakers’ Toolkit to inspire lots more young people to get involved in taking social action for conservation, sustainability and the environment.  Emma has poured her time, energy and passion into creating several resources to support young people to understand how they can also take steps to use their voices effectively around environmental issues they care about.

Greener Futures Schools as part of Networks for Nature and supported by Westminster Foundation

Greener Futures brings people together, connecting schools to a network of changemakers who champion wildlife and community. A special thank you to our Greener Futures Schools who we’ve worked with this year - St Bernard's Primary, Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary, Dee Point Primary, and Upton Westlea Primary.