Winners of the RSPB President’s Awards 2026 announced

The first week of June marks national Volunteers’ Week and an opportunity to celebrate the remarkable efforts of our amazing volunteers. With volunteers making up 85% of our workforce, we really couldn’t do what we do without them.

The week began with our annual President’s Awards, hosted by RSPB Chief Executive Beccy Speight and our President, Dr Amir Khan. This inspiring event has been running for over 37 years and this year we received the highest number of nominees ever – making choosing the winners even more difficult!

• Best Urban Action for Nature – Mid Nene Local Group
• Community Champion – Eliza Ralph
• Inspirational Young Volunteer of the Year – Eilidh Laurie
• Outstanding Voluntary Action – Dot Blakley
• Outstanding Volunteer Leadership (Staff) – David Tompkins
• Rhoda Ludford Award for Outstanding Volunteer Leadership (Volunteer) - Gordon Graham
• Volunteer Team of the Year - Northern Ireland Youth Network for Nature
• Most Impactful Newcomers - Sandra and Trevor Waddell

Mid Nene Local Group are a small but mighty volunteer team, who collaborate with their local nature reserve, Stanwick Lakes, to deliver a phenomenal Big Garden Birdwatch event each year.

The group celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2025, and that year welcomed more than 200 people to take part in nature craft and bird ringing sessions, whilst other members of the volunteer team took over 40 people around the reserve for birdwatching walks.

Things did not slow down in 2026. The volunteer team continued their fantastic outreach work with Raunds Brownies and the National Trust to run collaborative Big Garden Birdwatch events throughout January.

This is a group who quietly get on with big actions for nature - and make time to celebrate their successes too, ensuring their volunteer team remains happy and rewarded.

Eliza joined the RSPB in 2025, motivated by her passion for nature and her belief in the power of digital platforms to inspire people to care for wildlife. With her background in Games for Good, coding and game design, she brought specialist skills that immediately strengthened our work and spoke to the innovative culture in Dundee.

As a Volunteer Consultant, Eliza supported the creation of a digital game that follows Osprey migration from Africa to Dundee. She attended meetings, offered expert guidance, and helped Master’s students from the University of Abertay to gain valuable real‑world experience in designing for an external partner.

She later joined the For the Love of Gulls events team, where she used her detailed knowledge of urban gulls to provide accurate, accessible information and led playful sessions where families mimicked gull behaviours, helping people see these birds in a completely new light.

Eliza’s impact has been significant. She has helped explore new digital tools for nature connection, shifted public perceptions of urban birds, and continues to innovate through her PhD on digital nature engagement. Most recently, she developed Dundee’s first ever Pigeon Walk, celebrating a misunderstood species and encouraging people to explore urban birdlife.

Eilidh is a Residential Volunteer supporting the Islay Peatland Project in Scotland.

For the past six months Eilidh has been carrying out crucial survey work, including peat depth surveys and monitoring for Marsh Fritillary butterflies. Eilidh often undertakes these tasks on her own, trudging through rough terrain, avoiding hidden ditches, ticks and adders – and in all weathers.

For the rest of the week, she helps the Warden and local teams, and works in the Co-op on a Saturday.

For 11 years, Dot has been a dedicated, loyal and hugely enthusiastic volunteer at RSPB Belfast Window on Wildlife (WoW), and she is a lifelong champion of birds and nature.

In her role at Belfast WoW, Dot regularly welcomes visitors and leads group walks. Her walks proved so popular that she was invited by local universities and colleges to deliver learning sessions for professionals. She also supports the wider RSPB team by training volunteers and giving community talks.

Dot served for seven years on the RSPB NI Advisory Committee, where she was a positive and constructive voice shaping our work in Northern Ireland, as well as acting as a keen external advocate for the RSPB.

She continues to strengthen our community of supporters, encouraging all, whatever their expertise, to get involved. Dot is currently supporting our engagement team, helping them with 'bird knowledge' events for the NI Youth Network – the first of which had the highest sign up for any Youth Network event ever offered!

Dot provides immense support to the education and reserves teams during the summer tern research placements. Here, she introduces sixth form and undergraduate students to the different tern species at the WOW colony with a huge amount of knowledge, enthusiasm, passion and humour.

David Tompkins is the Species Volunteer Network Project Officer for Scotland and has been in post for just over a year. In this time, David has transformed the scale and ambition of volunteer involvement across North Scotland.

Across the five key projects that he supports there are now 156 volunteers in a variety of roles, including a volunteer artist and expert volunteers conducting literature reviews. Most notably, he recruited and supported an incredible 62 volunteers for the Cairngorm Wader Survey.

David has also helped develop new opportunities for volunteers, including Capercaillie monitoring and work to support Slavonian Grebes. He even recruited a remote team of over 20 volunteers to review hours of camera footage and underwater fish videos at short notice!

It’s not just what David delivers, but how: through constant innovation, with an infectious “let’s make this possible” attitude, and the belief that volunteers deserve meaningful, rewarding experiences. He is personally committed to each volunteer – checking in, troubleshooting, celebrating achievements, and ensuring they feel valued and connected to a bigger purpose.

Gordon Graham is our first ever winner of the Rhoda Ludford Outstanding Volunteer Leadership Award. This very special award was established in 2026 in memory of former RSPB staff member Rhoda.

Gordon started volunteering with the RSPB in 2023 as a Little Tern Beach Warden. He became the first ever Volunteer Coordinator and revolutionised volunteering at the Dee in Wales. He is now Volunteer Coordinator for our Little Tern volunteers and is already making a brilliant impact.

Gordon receives this award for demonstrating outstanding volunteer leadership in the following areas – induction, training, development, innovation and recognising volunteer contributions.

During a recent period of staff change, Gordon was the glue that held the visitor experience operation together, supporting the volunteers and keeping their morale up.

Gordon is now supporting our Point of Ayr volunteers and facilitating a seven-day-a-week dawn-to-dusk three-person rota to protect Little Terns from predation. This is a huge undertaking, and we simply wouldn't be able to manage all these volunteers without Gordon's amazing support.

Gordon embodies our shared organisational values of courage, clarity, collaboration and connection and is truly inspirational.

The RSPB NI Youth Network for Nature is an inspiring collective of 147 young people aged 16 to 30, determined to protect Northern Ireland’s natural heritage. Since January 2025, they have logged over 11,215 hours – a staggering contribution equivalent to roughly 11 full time staff working for three months.

They have contributed to peatland restoration, taken part in Swift surveys, assisted with research and monitoring at Harbour Meadows in Belfast Lough, and dug nettles for the Giving Corncrakes a Home project. They have also carried out conservation work at Portmore Lough and Montiaghs Moss, supporting staff with essential habitat management tasks.

The Youth Network also organise their own independent conservation days at Belfast Lough, taking responsibility for volunteer coordination, timings, task management and reporting, all under the guidance of the Conservation Officer. Beyond practical tasks, the group have created a monthly Youth Network Newsletter.

Their impact for nature is visible and wide ranging: healthier peatlands, improved habitats for priority species, richer survey data and revitalised landscapes such as Belfast Lough. Their contribution has strengthened conservation efforts across the area and demonstrated the transformative power of youth involvement.

Trevor and Sandra joined the Giving Corncrake a Home Project after being inspired by a friend who volunteers with the RSPB. Now retired, the couple live on Trevor’s family farm.

Nettles are critical for the survival of endangered Corncrakes, providing cover for nesting and from predators. The Corncrake project involves planting nettles in areas where the birds are likely to nest. But to source nettles, we need sites that not only have abundant growth but also provide easy access to water for washing roots, along with warm, dry spaces for breaks, toilet facilities, adequate parking and a central location.

Trevor’s farm fitted all these criteria, and their hospitality has been nothing short of exceptional. They warmly welcomed volunteers into their home, offering refreshments during breaks, and homemade soup or stew for lunch. Their generosity was always freely given, and their kindness and warmth has had a profound impact on volunteers.

Between October and February, they hosted three volunteer events, welcoming 23 volunteers and staff into their home. Sandra further contributed by participating in all three digs. Together, they supplied the project with seven full bulk bags of nettle rhizomes, supporting the creation of Corncrake habitat on Rathlin Island.

If you feel inspired by this year’s winners, why not volunteer with the RSPB?

Whether it’s getting your hands dirty out on a nature reserve or working within your community to help wildlife on your patch, the RSPB has hundreds of ways you can use your skills. Whatever experience or availability you have, nature needs you.