Cornwall Heritage Trust’s Climate Action Young Rangers have been recognised at the Cornwall Heritage Awards, taking home the coveted top prize in the ‘Heritage Heroes’ category.
It was a night of celebrations for the small, independent charity, which also saw its wellbeing ‘Lowena Project’ and ‘Spend a Penny’ mobile toilet facility shortlisted for awards in collaboration and innovation.
Hosted by Cornwall Council, these annual awards recognise the very best projects, collaborations, initiatives and teams from more than 70 heritage organisations all over Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. These include museums, art galleries, castles, mines, historic properties, industrial heritage sites, archives and community museums.
Cornwall Heritage Trust’s Young Rangers environmental programme was launched just over a year ago to enable young people to take action over the current climate emergency and develop their skills in countryside management. This group of young people work on the charity’s historic sites to improve their ecology and biodiversity, with activities including building and monitoring bird and mammal boxes, scything and building Cornish hedging.
The project is supported by English Heritage’s national youth engagement programme, Shout Out Loud.
The award was collected by Cornwall Heritage Trust Countryside Ranger Apprentice James, who is looking forward to presenting it to the team when they next meet in April.
The Young Rangers have also recently been recognised on a national stage, with the project showcased as an example of excellence at the recent ‘Gateways into Heritage’ 2025 conference.
Cornwall Heritage Trust CEO, Cathy Woolcock said: “The passion and dedication of our Young Rangers is so inspiring and we’re absolutely thrilled that their hard work has been recognised in this way. They are out on our sites, whatever the weather, doing their bit for Cornwall’s historic landscapes and we are hugely grateful for the help they give. We couldn’t be more proud!”
If you are aged between 16 – 20 and would like to find out more about becoming part of the Cornwall Heritage Trust Young Ranger team, head here https://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/support-us/volunteer/climate-action-youth-group-young-rangers-project/
Founded in 1985, Cornwall Heritage Trust rescues and protects some of Cornwall’s most important historic sites, runs a wide-reaching heritage education and engagement programme and provides grants which enable schoolchildren and community groups to visit museums and historic places.
The win comes ahead of the charity’s 40th anniversary. Taking place from April 2025 – March 2026, this milestone will be marked with a wealth of high-profile events, initiatives and campaigns to celebrate the successes of the last four decades, raise awareness about the continued importance of the charity’s work and ensure that it can keep growing for the next 40 years and many more to come.
