BASC members among the winners of new UK conservation awards

Rupert Brewer

Land managers, farms and partnerships whose dedication to wildlife management and conservation is helping to improve the health of the British countryside have been recognised by the inaugural Schöffel Countryside Awards.

BASC member Rupert Brewer (pictured top), game and wildlife manager on the Bisterne Estate in Hampshire, received the Working Conservationist Award sponsored by Harrison Spinks. This category celebrates an individual who has dedicated much of their life to the conservation of flora and fauna. 

Bisterne Estate also won the Wetland & Watercourse Conservation Award sponsored by the Atlantic Salmon Trust. The category focuses on efforts and achievements in creating and restoring wetland habitats and watercourses to benefit biodiversity and ecosystems.

Terry Mills

Biodiversity and species recovery

Cruglas Farm in Ceredigion, owned by BASC member Terry Mills (pictured above) and his wife, won the Nature-Friendly Farm/Estate Award sponsored by Oakbank Game & Conservation. This award celebrates farms or estates that have excelled in implementing practices that promote biodiversity and species recovery. They have a small family shoot but the farm is focused towards wildlife enhancement rather than shooting.

Another BASC member, Geoff Eyre (pictured below), of Abney Moor in Derbyshire, won the Innovation in Conservation Award sponsored by B-hive Innovations. This category champions individuals or groups who have developed innovative solutions, technologies or methods that advance agriculture and the natural environment. 

Mr Eyre has designed an agronomy method to eradicate bracken that once covered half his moor. The bracken has been replaced by around 40 other plant species. The result has been more available grazing plus the return of species including curlew, skylark, lapwing, brown hare, merlin and barn owls.

Successful partnerships

Wiston Estate, Sussex won the Farm-Environment Partnership Award sponsored by The Crown Estate. This category recognises farms that have formed successful partnerships with others.

The judges also gave an Outstanding Contribution to Conservation award to BASC members Jim and Julia Beary, tenant farmers in Cumbria. John Hitchcock (pictured below), 84, from South Yorkshire, was given a Lifetime Achievement in Conservation award.

Thomas Hilder of Hampshire, won the Rising Star Award sponsored by Pressendye. This category shines a light on young individuals who are demonstrating an outstanding approach to conservation.

Making a difference in the countryside

The Schöffel Countryside Awards, led by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and clothing brand Schöffel Country, received more than 80 nominations.

Awards judge, Schöffel executive director Marcus Janssen, said: “Meeting these individuals, farms and estates has been a humbling experience. Their dedication to producing food while restoring nature is inspiring. These are the people quietly making a difference every day in our countryside. It has been a privilege to recognise their efforts.”

Megan Lock, also on the judging panel, is a senior farm environment advisor for GWCT. She said: “These individuals and groups have gone above and beyond to deliver benefits for the environment, day in, day out. Their efforts have an incredibly big and positive impact on nature, wildlife and the rural communities around them.”

The winners received their awards at a ceremony in London in early November. The awards will return in 2026, with the window for nominations opening in January.

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