Carlton Marshes wins Enhancing Biodiversity & Landscape Award 2021

We’re delighted that our Carlton Marshes nature reserve has received the ‘Enhancing Biodiversity & Landscape’ award at Suffolk – Creating the Greenest County Awards 2021.

This year's award ceremony took place at The Hold in Ipswich, and celebrated the superb efforts made by individuals, communities, schools and organisations to make Suffolk a much better environment in which to live.

Winners at Suffolk's Greenest County Awards 2021 (Photo: Greenest County Awards)

Carlton Marshes, close to Lowestoft and the gateway to the southern Broads, has been transformed from arable fields to a wildlife haven. A 1000-acre network of dykes, scrapes and pools, marshland, wet woodland and dry grassland provide a mosaic of wildlife habitat. The new education and visitor centre brings people closer to wildlife with panoramic views across the landscape-scale reserve.

Exemplary in every way. This project has considered both the environmental and human needs thereby ensuring it will be valued and enjoyed for years to come.

Judge
Greenest County Awards

Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s CEO, Christine Luxton, and Head of Conservation, Ben McFarland, attended the awards event. Matt Gooch, North East Suffolk Sites Manager at Suffolk Wildlife Trust, said, “It's very rewarding for the reserve to win the Enhancing Biodiversity and Landscape Award. The reserve is a great example of landscape-scale conservation, not just from the achievements so far for wildlife, but its contribution to the local economy. The reserve sits on the doorstep of Lowestoft, providing endless opportunities for many people to have a wildlife experience and ensure that conservation importance is up at the top of everyone’s life priority list. This project has taken many years of work to develop and we still haven’t reached the end, as the reserve evolves and more people are engaged with nature.”

Otter and eel at Carlton Marshes - Andrew Easton

The Derek Moore Award (awarded by Suffolk County Council in recognition of outstanding service to Suffolk’s environment) went to Steve Piotrowski. Steve is a brilliant naturalist and one of the most experienced birders in the region.

What the judges said: “The true value of Steve’s work and the way he approaches it is that he combines scientific rigor with the ability to inspire and engage others to care about our natural world and motivate them to take action. One of Suffolk’s great green heroes.”