National Park Protector Awards 2026

Since 2020, the Hepple Estate in Northumberland National Park has moved from a traditional grouse moor and sheep farm to a 4,000-acre, landscape-scale rewilding project.

Lee Schofield is an author and long-time champion of nature-friendly farming and landscape recovery in the Lake District National Park.

Ullswater Catchment Management CIC works with farmers and landowners to deliver nature recovery and flood management projects in the Lake District National Park.

Neil Heseltine, a farmer in Malham in the Yorkshire Dales, is a champion of farm-based education and connects children to sheep, cattle, soil and wildflowers, and to the wider story of the Dales landscape.

The Halnaker Hill Farm team is transforming 330 acres of intensively farmed land into a thriving natural landscape in the South Downs National Park.

The ReNature campaign in the South Downs is tackling the biodiversity crisis head-on and showing that National Parks can be powerful changemakers for nature recovery and be international leaders in nature-based solutions.

Wild Ennerdale is a long-term landscape scale nature recovery project, benefitting people nature and climate in the Lake District National Park.

Prosiect Torgoch is an innovative conservation and engagement programme led by North Wales Rivers Trust, it combines science, storytelling, education, art, and community engagement to reconnect people with Torgoch (Arctic charr) and inspire long-term stewardship of Eryri’s freshwater ecosystems.

The Exmoor Pioneers project works across the former Royal Forest of Exmoor, restoring and enriching habitats, supporting priority species, growing new woodland and connecting people more deeply with the natural and cultural heritage around them.

The New Forest Non-Native Plants Project is a partnership project hosted by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust that aims to stop the spread of invasive non-native plants in the New Forest area, particularly in riverine and wetland habitats.

Healthy Park, Healthy People connects people who are too often excluded from the benefits of National Parks and shows how Northumberland National Park can become genuinely inclusive spaces for wellbeing, connection and participation.

Sheffield Environmental Movement have been leading people-centred access to landscape and nature including National Parks since 2016 by addressing well documented inequalities for people from racially minoritised communities across Sheffield and Yorkshire.

Gareth Davis of See Cymru Differently, has revolutionised the way visitors with sight loss engage with all Welsh National Parks.

Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust – Green Futures supports groups of refugees and asylum seekers to access the Yorkshire Dales National Park, benefitting participants physical and mental wellbeing and empowering and upskilling these communities.

Yvonne is the heart, spirit and force behind Peak District Mosaic where, for almost two decades, she has worked tirelessly to improve access to nature for diverse communities, encouraging them to explore the outdoors, building belonging and inspiring environmental care.

Eben Myrddin Muse has turned a love of wild camping into a national campaign with purpose – We Wild Camp, helping to protecting access, educating people to do it responsibly, and challenging unfair barriers that stop people experiencing a night under the stars.

Robson has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the South Downs, became the youngest National Park Authority Member in the country, taking her vision for National Parks to be havens for both nature and diverse communities to the boardroom.

The North York Moors Youth Voice is fully youth-led, the team planned and delivered a conference that brought together young people from Protected Landscapes across England and beyond into the UK and Northern Ireland.

Through her work as Engagement Officer for the REConnect programme in the North York Moors, Emma is helping to reshape how people connect with National Parks by listening to communities, building trust and co-producing activity rather than delivering top-down engagement.

Willow has been part of the Youth Environment Forum since she was 12, taking that passion for the environment, especially the Yorkshire Dales National Park, she created the inspiring film Our Generation is Green, capturing young voices authentically.