Prestigious rspb medal awarded to not one but two transformational winners

Alastair Fothergill and Climate Coalition Northern Ireland have both been honoured with the RSPB’s most prestigious award, the RSPB Medal, at the charity’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) streamed from Bedfordshire today [Saturday 14 October], recognising their outstanding contributions to nature conservation.  
 
Recognised for his role in leading the production of the BBC’s landmark series Wild Isles, Alastair Fothergill helped to capture the hearts of the nation during spring 2023, reaching an audience of more than 10 million viewers with the stunning nature series presented by Sir David Attenborough. Showcasing UK wildlife like never before, the programme highlighted the beauty of the natural world while also delivering the stark truth that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. 

Through his role at Silverback films, Alastair was also involved in the curation of a suite of complimentary films, bringing the nature crisis to businesses, finance leaders, farmers and fisheries and inspiring action on all fronts. 

Reflecting on receiving the award, Alastair Fothergill said: “I am both honoured and delighted to receive this wonderful award. Over the years, I've been very fortunate to film some very special birds in all corners of our planet, but my real passion remains with the birds we have here at home. And that is why I've always been determined to make a series that did real justice to the natural history of the British Isles. 

Our ambition with both the Wild Isles series and the campaign was to really move the dial in terms of public understanding of British Natural History. The massive audience figure for the series, and the extraordinarily positive response we've had to the Saving our Wild Isles campaign so far, encourages us that we may well be well on the way to achieving that ambition.” 

On Alastair’s award-winning role in the series, RSPB chief executive, Beccy Speight, commented: “From glorious White-tailed Eagles to boxing Hares and dancing Mayflies, Alastair and his team captured breath-taking footage of species and habitats across the UK in ways never seen before. This spring Wild Isles undoubtedly raised public understanding of the scale of biodiversity loss and the need to support nature recovery, providing a real turning point for conservation and inspiring action across the UK to help Save our Wild Isles.” 

Meanwhile, the Climate Coalition Northern Ireland have also been recognised for their successful campaigning to deliver historic climate legislation in Northern Ireland. The network of organisations and individuals represent over 300,000 people across Northern Ireland, and their collective efforts resulted in the passing of the ambitious Climate Change Act for Northern Ireland in 2022.  

The group have received the medal this year following months of tenacious campaigning, with Dr Amanda Slevin, director of the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action at Queen’s University Belfast and member of the Climate Coalition Northern Ireland, collecting the award on behalf of the group: “This award is testament to the deep commitment, passion and care for our natural world shared by everyone within Climate Coalition Northern Ireland and it recognises the socio-ecological leadership and labours inherent to our collective endeavours.  

In the midst of the worsening climate and ecological crises, there is an onus upon everyone to take action. Climate Coalition Northern Ireland illustrates how we can harness diverse knowledge, research, experiences and skills within wide-ranging action in a positive way that can bring change across all levels of society and our natural world. 

Yet our journey is far from complete and this medal is a timely reminder of what is possible when we work in partnership for a better future for all species who share our planet.” 

Talking of the coalition’s efforts and medal win, Beccy continued: “We are delighted to be able to recognise the efforts of the Climate Coalition Northern Ireland which has demonstrated the true power of passionate people coming together to enact change. The work of the coalition to ensure the Climate Change Act is as ambitious as possible in Northern Ireland leaves a huge legacy across the country for generations to come and should inspire us all to raise our voice and act amidst the Nature and Climate Emergency.” 

Previous RSPB Medal winners include HRH King Charles (the then Prince of Wales in 2010), Sir David Attenborough (2000), Bill Oddie (1997), and Caroline Lucas MP (2018). In 2012 there was a very unusual winner; the entire community of Tristan da Cunha were awarded the Medal for their efforts when the ship, MS Oliva, ran aground at Nightingale Island, 30km from Tristan da Cunha, spilling 1500 tonnes of oil into the sea and threatening globally endangered species, including two-thirds of the world’s population of rockhopper penguins.