Introducing our 2019 #BIGAwards winners
The 2019 BIG Biodiversity Challenge Awards reached a thrilling finale last night where we unveiled this year's winners across eight fiercely contested categories, along with the overall winner of this year's Challenge, and the 2019 BIG Biodiversity Champion, voted for by the industry.
Launched in 2013 by CIRIA’s Biodiversity Interest Group (BIG), the BIG Biodiversity Challenge and its ethos to “Do One Thing” for biodiversity has captured the attention of the construction industry. Since the inaugural awards the Challenge has received over 700+ case studies (entries), presented 37 Awards plus 5 overall winners as well as 3 BIG Biodiversity Champions.
Last Thursday we were delighted to have Dusty Gedge, President of European Green Roof and Walls Association, MC the Awards ceremony and our thanks to both Dr Hazel Norman, Chief Executive, British Ecological Society and Tom Armour, Global Landscape Architecture Leader, Arup who took time out from their busy schedules to join and inspire our audience.
Speaking at the Awards, Tom Armour, Global Landscape Architecture Leader, Arup concluded “Promoting biodiversity using nature-based solutions is a key to tackling the climate crisis - cooling environments, reducing storm and flood risk and reducing air pollution. Via these important awards the construction industry has risen to Do One Thing for biodiversity in our changing world. The far reaching and long term benefits of the winning and shortlisted entries ably demonstrate the approaches urgently needed on all projects in urban, coastal and rural environments.”
We are pleased to announce this year’s BIG Biodiversity Challenge Awards Overall winner is Cormac Solutions for Cornwall Council. Their project Green Infrastructure for Growth Public resulted in public urban spaces within 7 towns being improved providing greater benefit to people and wildlife. Improvements included planting wildflower meadows, trees, orchards, pollinator friendly flower beds and pond creation. The target was to enhance 35Ha of public urban spaces however 40Ha has been realised. The project has led the way in environmental net gain and worked with local communities to re-think areas of green space.
Our 2019 BIG Biodiversity Champion is Andrew Gladwin from Wilmott Dixon. Andrew was nominated for the Cotton End Forest School where he transformed the project fortunes that otherwise looked uncertain at one point due to budget constraints. On winning Andrew said “The Cotton End Forest School Project had its challenges and I am thrilled that the hard work put in by everyone has been rightly recognised through me receiving the Biodiversity Champion Award.”
Congratulations to all the category winners, commendations to those that were shortlisted, and a big thank you to all the entries received this year as well as our sponsors for their support. Details of our winners can be found here.
Check out the photos from the Awards evening here.