Peter Tait of Longforgan has won the Woodland Trust’s Volunteer of the Year award, after undertaking the job as voluntary warden at Huntly Wood for several years.
The award was presented to him by the Woodland Trust’s Scottish director Carol Evans and site manager Jill Aitken, who nominated him.
Peter is a member of the volunteer team at the trust and works to ensure that all visitors have an enjoyable visit to Huntly Wood. He has dealt with the excessive litter that has been left by youths camping and having bonfires, and he has even managed to persuade neighbours to contribute financially towards repairs on a private road.
Jill Aitken said, “Peter has worked tirelessly to clean up the area affected by young people camping. This combined with his negotiation skills in raising all the money for the road repairs demonstrates what can be achieved and how valuable volunteers are.”
Each year the Woodland Trust gives awards to the most outstanding volunteers from across the UK for their talent and dedication. Winners are selected from nearly 2000 volunteers all over the country.
There are many ways volunteers can be involved from planting trees and leading guided walks to running stalls at events and taking photographs and they are an essential element to the work of the trust.
Volunteering development champion Lynn Thompson said, “Our amazing volunteers are always going above and beyond. They work tirelessly to help the Woodland Trust achieve its goals and do so without want of awards and recognition.
“The Volunteer of the Year award is one way we can show all of our volunteers that we really value their outstanding effort. We couldn’t do it without them.”
The trust is looking to recruit Woodland Creation Champions in its aim of doubling native woodland cover as part of its More Trees, More Good campaign.
To find out how you can get involved as a volunteer visit www.woodlandtrust.org.uk