Marsh Charitable Trust – Marsh Volunteer Awards with Butterfly Conservation

Marsh Volunteer Awards with Butterfly Conservation

These Awards are run in partnership with Butterfly Conservation, and aim to recognise and celebrate the contributions of volunteers that go above and beyond for the organisation, and for the conservation of butterflies and moths.

These Awards recognise volunteers from across Butterfly Conservation and are presented in 6 different categories.

Volunteer Mentor Award – for volunteer who has taken the time to mentor others alongside their regular volunteering duties.

Volunteer Newcomer Award – for a volunteer who has joined Butterfly Conservation within the past year and made an impact in their area or project.

Volunteer Impact Award – for a volunteer (or group) whose contributions have made a substantial impact on a local species or landscape.

Volunteer Community Engagement Award – for a volunteer (or group) who have worked with and engaged their local community in the work of Butterfly Conservation.

Young Volunteer of the Year Award – for a volunteer between the ages of 18 and 35 who has made an impact on their area or project through their volunteering.

Special Recognition Award – for a volunteer who deserves special recognition for such things as: long service, dedication to a specific species or landscape, research which advances the understanding of a species or a recent publication.

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Mike Coker, Gerry Tissier, Nick Bowles, Angela Leaman, Fred Giles, and Butterfly Conservation Youth Panel 2025

Marsh Volunteer Mentor Award

Mike Coker, Surrey

Mike has provided great encouragement and support to the team surveying Hazeley Heath, and has also mentored surveyors to restart surveys at Farnham RSPB to extract important data from dormant transects. He has a quiet but effective style that never undermines the efforts of the volunteers he is working with. He has ensured the production of reliable surveys with good quality data, always offering practical guidance to volunteers which encourages them to develop their knowledge and skills. Mike links the conservation work the volunteers do to the benefit it provides to growth of butterfly numbers and species, always highlighting the importance of lepidoptera. He also volunteers for other organisations and local authorities, providing meaningful and practical links between environmental strategies and real life, and on the ground conservation practice.

Paul Taylor, Wales (Runner Up)

Paul coordinates and leads all butterfly related surveys in Ceredigion and collates all of the data. He does regular talks on local butterflies and shares his wealth of knowledge

Val Stande, North East England (Runner Up)

Val is the volunteer coordinator for the North East, and supports new volunteers, providing them with tailored support when they first venture out on local surveys.

Fred Giles, Somerset (Runner Up)

Fred has gathered over 100 new volunteer transect walkers at the Avalon Marshes Centre, held training meetings and organised training packs for them. He has also helped them organise the data they collect into end of year reports.

Marsh Volunteer Newcomer Award

Gerry Tissier, Big City Butterflies Project

Gerry joined Butterfly Conservation as a volunteer in 2024 and has not only taken on 5 butterfly transects in his area by himself, but also carried out a wealth of invaluable community engagement work, including with eco clubs at primary schools and moth trapping groups. He has supported the Big City Butterflies project on numerous occasions, from assisting staff to run school workshops to supporting large scale habitat improvement work. Gerry is now assisting with the recruitment of more volunteers to carry out additional transects in his community, and has completed in-depth analysis of their data. He is an incredible ambassador for urban butterflies, championing science-led best practice while sharing his infectious enthusiasm with the community.

Neil Rogers, South Wales (Runner Up)

Neil became a volunteer after attending a walk with Wales’s flagship Green Recovery project and is now a regular member of the volunteer group carrying out habitat management work for the High Brown Fritillary (HBF) butterfly.

Carol Adams, Isle of Mull, Scotland (Runner Up)

Carol volunteers for the Species on the Edge Programme and is very supportive and helpful to other volunteers. Carol has learnt a great deal about the area’s priority species and has become a prolific surveyor, attending public engagements and volunteering at the annual agricultural show on the Butterfly Conservation stand.

Marsh Volunteer Impact Award

Nick Bowles, Upper Thames Branch

Nick has a huge knowledge of UK butterflies and he has worked extensively at Holtspur Bottom reserve and other places around Princes Riseborough and High Wycombe. He leads a team of volunteers every weekend and has conducted training classes in identifying butterfly families and how to survey a site for butterflies. Nick has made a tremendous impact on the experience that volunteers have on his work parties, he is always willing to share his knowledge and help them develop their technical skills. He has set up lectures online to improve and disseminate knowledge of butterflies, which can be accessed whenever the need arises. Nick is inclusive in his approach, working with all ages from adults to primary school children. Without Nick’s leadership and support, the Upper Thames Branch of Butterfly Conservation would not be able to exist in its current state of health.

Paul Dunn, South Wales (Runner Up)

Paul has been a volunteer for over 25 years and his knowledge of the High Brown Fritillary species and habitat is second to none, which he shares with other volunteers and professionals. He is also an excellent photographer and shares his work to help raise awarreness.

Stephen Craig, Northern Ireland (Runner Up)

Stephen has been a volunteer for over 15 years, becoming the Marsh Fritillary Champion and the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme Volunteer Coordinator for Northern Ireland.

Phillipa Swann, Scotland (Runner Up)

Phillipa does surveys for Pearl-bordered Fritillary and North Brown Argus species. She has been instrumental in making connections with landowners and raising funds for Butterfly Conservation.

Marsh Volunteer Community Engagement Award

Angela Leaman, Wiltshire

Angela has volunteered as the Wiltshire branch’s Media Editor, Publicity and Engagement Volunteer and Website Administrator. She has a working background in communications and so is a valuable asset to the team. Angela worked closely with Dr Sue Clarke, who is contracted by Butterfly Conservation to improve the landscape for the threatened Duke of Burgundy butterfly. She designed adverts, contacted Parish publications and used social media to recruit volunteers for the project and supported them throughout. Angela edited and arranged distribution of the branch’s e-newsletter, maintained their social media and advertised all events to as wide an audience as possible. She went beyond the expectations of her role when she volunteered to be the branch’s media contact, taking part in a range of interviews to raise awareness of the work of the branch and the importance of protecting butterflies.

Lesley Gordon and Dorothy Lyle, Scotland (Runner Up)

Lesley and Dorothy have worked as a team for the last few years to run events which engage new audiences in Butterfly Conservation’s work in Fife and Edinburgh. They have worked with schools to create Wild Spaces, build new gardens and deliver lessons on butterfly identification.

Becki Hawkes, London (Runner Up)

Becki is an incredible ambassador for butterflies and has attended numerous public engagement events in the past year. She also runs the social media for the Big City Butterflies Project and has recently become a Butterfly Conservation Community Connector.

Marsh Special Recognition Award

Fred Giles, Somerset

Fred has inspired, trained, encouraged and enthused so many volunteers, on the Avalon Marshes and beyond. He has held many roles including a leading member of the Recorders of Avalon Marshes, an assistant reserve warden and a committee member for Butterfly Conservation. Fred has trained hundreds of volunteers for butterfly transects and dragonfly surveys, gives countless wildlife talks in the community and has led field work for degree level students. He has made the data gathered in butterfly transects easily accessible and encouraged his volunteers to learn how to upload the data to the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. Fred is friendly, patient, inclusive and makes the projects fun for all involved. His willingness to share his experience with others encourages them to take up the baton for themselves and get involved with protecting nature.

Audrey Turner, Scotland (Runner Up)

Audrey has been with the Butterfly Conservation for 16 years, and takes on six roles for the Highlands and Islands Branch of Butterfly Conservation, bringing experience, competency and total dependability to them all.

Dr Mark Young, Scotland (Runner Up)

Mark represented Butterfly Conservation as an expert witness at a recent hearing into the development of a golf course on a protected site on the east coast of Sutherland, outlining the importance of the site for its lepidoptera and the negative impact a golf course would have.

Alan Dawson, Norfolk (Runner Up)

Alan took up the mantel of volunteering after his late wife passed and has continued to sustain the momentum of transect recording in Norfolk ever since, recruiting volunteers and collecting more data more monitoring butterfly populations.

Marsh Young Volunteer Award

Butterfly Conservation Youth Panel

This group of 10 young people have been instrumental in supporting Butterfly Conservation to improve their youth inclusion work and have worked collectively in light of a number of challenges and hurdles. They have made a huge impact in their year of being on the panel and have been able to engage a whole new generation of butterfly enthusiasts. They have worked hard on developing a following on social media, delivered youth inclusion workshops and taken part in consultations at AGMs and local meetings. They have also done outreach work, workshops and created an online magazine to engage new young people in the sector. They met with Butterfly Conservation’s CEO, Julie Williams, to help influence the strategy of the organisation and ensure that young people were included in the conversations going forward. The panel have gone beyond engaging those who were already interested, and set their sights on engaging new audiences from a range of backgrounds who may not have usually engaged with Butterfly Conservation.

Malcolm Haddow, Scotland (Runner Up)

Malcolm became a Large Heath Butterfly surveyor on Scottish Peatlands in 2024 and was able to visit 13 priority peat bogs that had not been surveyed for 10 years, and was able to find Large Heath on 10 out of 13 sites.

Holly Doherty, Scotland (Runner Up)

Holly volunteered on several moth trapping events in the Highlands and she was a fantastic asset to the project. She is a real inspiration to other young volunteers as someone with a wealth of knowledge and passion.

Previous Winners

Helen Rowe, Stuart Cathro, Mike Slater, Becki Hawkes, Maurice Avent, Mark Cubitt and Ian Rippey

Marsh Volunteer Mentor Award- Helen Rowe, East Scotland

Helen is the go-to volunteer for her area and staff immediately put new volunteers in touch with her for advice. She shares her knowledge and enthusiasm to inspire new volunteers, and is a great representative for Butterfly Conservation in an area where there are not as many active projects or staff. Helen is also the vice county moth recorder, verifying records in her spare time, and has encouraged the growth of the local recording network which has become an asset to Butterfly Conservation.

Marsh Volunteer Newcomer Award – Stuart Cathro, Glasgow and SW Scotland

Stuart has shown a huge amount of commitment in his short time as a volunteer. Stuart made a huge difference when he became a Large Heath Butterfly surveyor, dedicating himself to finding one of the most elusive species and working on difficult terrain, becoming one of the project’s first consistent volunteers on this project. He has made a difference to the knowledge of certain species, spending hours looking for habitats and finding them, which will aid in a number of conservation projects in the future. Stuart’s trajectory as a volunteer so far has been impressive, going from zero knowledge of butterflies and moths last year to one of Butterfly Conservation’s key volunteers.

Marsh Volunteer Impact Award – Mike Slater, Warwickshire

Mike is tirelessly dedicated to improving conditions for a range of important butterfly species in his home county, through restoring degraded sites and creating new habitats. He co-wrote the publication Butterfly Conservation: The Warwickshire Approach, which he hopes will pass on his experience as a volunteer and inspire others. Since he became a volunteer in 1991, Mike has walked more transects than any other volunteer, passing the 4,700 mark in April 2023.

Pete Moore, Highland and Islands (Runner-up)

Pete has been a stalwart volunteer for many years and Chair of the Highland Branch for over five. He is an all-rounder, equally at home promoting and running events, giving advice to landowners, speaking to diverse audiences and writing articles for newsletters. One of his biggest assets is his ability to identify sites that need restoration to benefit priority species, taking it upon himself to identify whose land it is, contacting the owner and seeking permission for the work to be undertaken.

Andy Wyles, Northamptonshire (Runner-Up)

Andy has donated several days to brushcutting banks at a Species Recovery site, volunteering at work parties and acting as a conservation adviser for staff at a range of sites in his area. He is a fountain of knowledge, sharing his experience with staff and his fellow volunteers. Staff rely on Andy for support in their approach to habitat management and the understanding of species requirements for certain projects.

Richard Smith, South Wales (Runner-Up)

Richard was one of the first to find the High Brown Fritillary in his area in 1981 and since 1997 he has coordinated volunteers in managing the habitat and monitoring the area. He goes above and beyond to encourage other people to volunteer. Richard’s collaboration can only further the impact of Butterfly Conservation’s work in Wales.

Marsh Volunteer Community Engagement Award – Becki Hawkes, Big City Butterflies project

Becki is an exceptional volunteer who supports many different aspects of the Big City Butterflies project. She has been involved in a variety of local engagements to reach London’s diverse community, as well as running the project’s social media accounts to reach the digital community. She has supported Community Arts Projects, led butterfly walks and represented Butterfly Conservation at community days. Becki is always coming up with new ideas to engage the community, reaching new audiences and sharing the success of the project widely.

Sarah Gregory, Wiltshire (Runner-Up)

Sarah is the author of Butterfly Summer, a beautifully illustrated publication which encourages children to discover butterflies and wild spaces in Wiltshire. She is also a regular volunteer at Branch events, helping to raise public engagement through activities like the annual butterfly trail. She is also a recorder in Bradford-upon-Avon, making valuable contributions to Butterfly Conservation in other ways.

Iain Cowe, East Scotland (Runner-Up)

Iain has created a community on social media, sharing his enthusiasm and informative accounts of his butterfly adventures to inspire many people in his local community. He also leads butterfly walks, involving many people who otherwise would not be out and about enjoying nature. Many people who have engaged with his social media have since become volunteers, engaging with the community or conducting research to find new sites and habitats for rare species.

Marsh Special Recognition Award

Maurice Avent, Wiltshire

Maurice has been a generous and energetic supporter of Butterfly Conservation for many years. He has chaired the Wiltshire Branch and raised tens of thousands of pounds for the charity by hosting Butterfly Balls at his home. He has recorded hundreds of species of butterfly and moths, demonstrating how well his land is managed and making it the nearest thing to a Butterfly Reserve in the whole of Wiltshire. He has also given talks to schools and other groups all over the county, acting as an ambassador for Butterfly Conservation and sharing his knowledge.

Mark Cubitt, East Scotland

Mark runs the Butterfly Conservation East Scotland website, including details of micro and macro moth distributions, life cycle details, phenology and interactive features like ‘Moth of the Month’. He is also co-author of a new definitive book on Scotland’s Macro-moths. Mark’s knowledge and unstinting help have assisted countless volunteers to contribute to the recording and conservation of Scotland’s butterflies and moths. Mark has become a tower of strength among Scottish volunteers, with his verification and recording methods being used as a model system across the organisation.

Ian Rippey, Northern Ireland

Ian is a founding member of Butterfly Conservation in Northern Ireland and has been a lynch pin to the branch for the subsequent 36 years that he has been involved. Ian has a phenomenal knowledge of Northern Ireland’s butterflies and their habitats, and is always happy to share this with volunteers, staff and partner organisations. He is the core of the Branch and especially supports older members who are no longer able to join in with branch activities, ensuring that their contributions are remembered and they are kept up to date with the work of the branch.

Nick Hall, Susan Duffy, Linsley Rodger, Rosemary and Bill Legge, Emma Taylor and Tam Stewart

Marsh Volunteer Mentor Award – Nick Hall, Yorkshire Branch

Nick is a passionate and very enthusiastic volunteer, who is happy to give up many hours of his time to empower people of all ages to enjoy butterflies and moths and take on monitoring roles in Yorkshire. He has been, and still is, very supportive of a group of transect walkers who monitor and maintain a fixed recoding route at a recently established reserve south of York.

Marsh Best Volunteer Newcomer Award – Susan Duffy, Hampshire Branch

Since Susan became a volunteer for her local branch, she has filled many gaps which have helped staff, and the organisation as a whole, enormously. She assisted with organising the new members day in August and has also attended a variety of events throughout the year. She has also used her creativity to go into schools and deliver activities

Marsh Volunteer Impact Award – Linsley Rodger, East Scotland and Glasgow

Linsley has been volunteering since 2017 and can always been found at events. He takes on leadership roles, assisting the organiser and staff, and sharing his knowledge. Linsley also attends events run by partners of Butterfly Conservation and helps to raise awareness of their work while also strengthening links with similar organisations.

Marsh Volunteer Community Engagement Award – Rosemary and Bill Legge, East Scotland

Rosemary and Bill are relative newcomers to the work of Butterfly Conservation but, in the space of a few years, have made a real positive impact on their local community. Their most important contribution has been the creation of a wildflower meadow in a disused park in their local village, which they led on with guidance from Butterfly Conservation and the Woodland Trust. Rosemary and Bill have also helped create butterfly-friendly environments in their own garden, and give talks to the local community to raise awareness.

Marsh Young Volunteer of the Year Award – Emma Taylor, Glasgow Southwest Scotland

Emma originally joined Butterfly Conservation’s Urban Butterfly project as a volunteer, before quickly volunteering at other events and becoming a committee member of the Glasgow Southwest Scotland branch. She was instrumental in establishing the first education officer role at the branch, which included visiting schools to raise awareness about butterflies and moths and the roles they play. Emma has helped to design and deliver planters for butterflies within schools and is currently designing a project to help deliver wild spaces in schools

Marsh Special Recognition Award – Tam Stewart – Glasgow & Southwest

Tam is a long-serving committee member, first as treasurer and now as conservation coordinator, while also volunteering as a butterfly recorder which has helped to bring considerable benefit to local butterfly species. Tam also mentors other recorders and transect walkers by running public events and specific training events where local people are encouraged to become recorders. Tam works with local councils, landowners, stakeholders and conservation experts to help protect the species.