Burnley volunteers celebrating after winning two South Pennines Park awards

The National Trust Gawthorpe Hall and its East Lancashire volunteers received two accolades at the South Pennines Park Awards event, attended by more than 100 people.

They were highly commended in both the Nature Recovery Champion category for their work with Gawthorpe Hall Ranger Volunteers, and the Green Legacy Champion category for their work with Burnley College and other young people.

The awards, hosted by the South Pennines Park – an undesignated national park covering 460 square miles of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester – were held at The Piece Hall in Halifax to celebrate the work that individuals and organisations were doing to look after nature and each other.

Sisters Lesley Carter and Denise McLean collected the award.

Lesley said: “It was a real surprise when they announced the winners. We hope winning the award does some good and encourages more people to volunteer and learn new skills. We have such an enthusiastic group.”

The National Trust manages 250 acres of woodlands and gardens at Gawthorpe Hall.

Ranger Volunteers have built more than 100 bird and raptor boxes, designed a survey and maintenance schedule for them, and are responsible for invasive species control, and footpath restoration.

For nearly two decades, the National Trust Gawthorpe Ranger team and volunteers have worked in with Burnley College, providing students undertaking Countryside and Environmental Studies Levels 1, 2 & 3 with practical, on-site countryside skills experience, including general estate management, maintaining boundaries and dry stone walling, drainage, tree safety and general woodland maintenance.