Deadline: 16-Jan-23
The West Midlands Combined Authority is accepting nominations for Natural Environment Awards that aim to inspire others to work towards enhancing and protecting the natural environment.
The Natural Environment Awards will showcase the region’s good practice and highlight organisations and projects that could be replicated across the region.
The Natural Environment Awards are the first region-wide award scheme dedicated to recognising excellence within organisations in the West Midlands for protecting, restoring and enhancing their natural environment.
The annual awards will acknowledge the achievements of organisations and projects across the region, that have showcased their commitment and enthusiasm for creating and improving their green and blue spaces, not only for environmental benefits but also for the enjoyment of the local community.
Award Categories
- Community: This award is to recognise community groups and/or not for profits who are going and beyond to improve the natural environment for people and wildlife in their local areas. This could be a local group who has planted trees through to a charity who clears up their local waterways.
- Education: A nursery, school, college or university which are committed to improving the natural environment. Examples could be encouraging hedgehogs onto your grounds through to creating new habitats for birds and amphibians where students are involved in learning and shaping the projects.
- Businesses: A business (including SMEs) that deserves recognition for continued and ongoing efforts to improve the natural environment through their work. This could be, but not limited to, through a natural environment policy the company adheres to, improving habitats on sites they are working on or encouraging wildlife around their office building.
- Public Sector : An organisation which deserve recognition for their ongoing commitment to creating and improving the natural environment for local residents and wildlife. This could be through tree and hedgerow planting projects or ensuring new housing developments improve biodiversity.
Why enter?
- The West Midlands has ambitious and exciting plans to protect, restore and enhance its natural environment. The natural environment plays an important role in the region achieving Net Zero by 2041 and they can do this through committing to being “Greener Together”.
- There is a huge amount of work happening at a local and regional level already and these awards would like to recognise this.
- By applying for the awards, you will be sharing your projects at a regional level, which can not only inspire others but also opens the doors to new opportunities:
- Increase awareness about your natural environment projects
- Engage your staff, volunteers and the community and
- Acknowledge your efforts
- Gain recognition from your peers
- Showcase your projects through case studies and videos
- Applicants
- Applications for the awards will only be open for organisations who are within the seven constituent authorities of the West Midlands Combined Authority which are:
- Birmingham City Council
- City of Wolverhampton Council
- Coventry City Council
- Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
- Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
- Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
- Walsall Council.
- Applications for the awards will only be open for organisations who are within the seven constituent authorities of the West Midlands Combined Authority which are:
Eligibility Criteria
- Community Award
- Any community group, not for profit organisation can apply to be considered for an award. For profits cannot apply. If your project includes planting trees or hedges, these must be registered on the Virtual Forest. You must be based in one of the WMCA constituent authorities to apply for an award.
- A panel of independent judges will have a standard scoring criteria to assess your application against the criteria.
- Reach: Have you engaged the local community with creating and maintaining the natural environment? Have you worked with other local community groups/not for profits?
- Impact: The project contributes to the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity. It demonstrates impact on people and place.
- Creativity: Projects can be easily replicable. They show creativity to tackling issues.
- Legacy: Evidence of sharing learning and providing educational activities. There’s evidence of how the project will be sustained for years to come.
- Business Award
- Any for profit company based in one of the WMCA constituent authorities can apply for this award. If your project includes planting trees or hedges, these must be registered on the Virtual Forest.
- Reach: Has a whole organisational approach to supporting natural environment projects or have policies in place to ensure the natural environment is protected and enhanced through the company’s operations.
- Impact: The company has a positive impact on the natural environment as well as the communities they operate within. It has created or enhanced green/blue spaces.
- Creativity: Shows creativity to tackling issues and including biodiversity in projects.
- Legacy: Evidence of sharing learning and best practice within your industry. Evidence of the company’s long-term plans.
- Education Award
- Any educational institution including but not limited to; nurseries, schools, colleges or universities can apply to be considered for an award. If your project includes planting trees or hedges, these must be registered on the Virtual Forest. You must be based in one of the WMCA constituent authorities to apply for an award.
- Reach: Has involved students in projects and may have worked with local community groups/charities.
- Impact: Has created or enhanced green/ blue spaces whether within the grounds or the local community. It has included teaching on the natural environment.
- Creativity: Projects can be easily replicated. Shows creativity with engaging students with projects.
- Legacy: Evidence of sharing learning outside of classrooms and how students and where appropriate, parents, are educated on the benefits of the natural environment.
- Public sector Award
- Any public sector organisation can apply to be considered for an award. You must be based in one of the WMCA constituent authorities to. If your project includes planting trees or hedges, these must be registered on the Virtual Forest.
- Reach: Has procedures and/or policies in place for including the natural environment in projects e.g. housing and regeneration. Has engaged with local community groups and/or charities with projects.
- Impact: The organisation has a positive impact on the natural environment as well as the communities they operate within. Has created or enhanced green/ blue spaces.
- Creativity: Shows innovative practices for including the natural environment within projects.
- Legacy: Evidence of sharing learning and best practice within the sector. Has an ongoing commitment to natural environment projects.
Judging Criteria
- Each award category will be judged by a panel of independent judges who will review and score the applications. The judges will discuss the projects to choose a winner and highly commended.
- The winners shall be announced by the Mayor at an in-person awards ceremony in March 2023.
For more information, visit https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/environment-and-energy/natural-environment-awards/
