Member Article

Wildlife supporter and entrepreneur receives Rothschild medal

Social entrepreneur Annemiek Hoogenboom has received a prestigious medal from The Wildlife Trusts at an awards ceremony at the Mall Galleries in London, in honour of her outstanding fundraising for humanitarian and environmental causes, but, in particular, for nature conservation and giving children the opportunity to experience wildlife. Annemiek has been designing and launching innovative charity lotteries with a social mission for the past 28 years, raising a staggering £6.8 billion for good causes in the process. In England, Scotland and Wales the People’s Postcode Lottery has raised close to £240 million since 2005, with over a quarter of funds going to support wildlife and environmental charities thanks to Annemiek’s firmly held belief in the vital importance of nature to society. The Charles Rothschild and Miriam Rothschild medal was awarded to Annemiek by The Wildlife Trusts’ Chair, Rene Olivieri at a special event at the Mall Galleries at which The Wildlife Trusts thanked a number of its supporters. Charles Rothschild, in the first part of the 20th century and then his daughter, Miriam, after him, worked tirelessly to save wildlife from needless destruction so it’s fitting that this medal has been awarded to Annemiek, a person who has a vision for the future and a passionate dedication to our environment. Attending the ceremony was Mike Pratt Chief Executive of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, one of the wildlife trusts to have received over £1million in the past 9 years from the People’s Postcode Lottery players. Mike said: “I am delighted Annemiek has been presented with this award and was honoured to have been at the ceremony in London “In this region, funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery has supported hundreds of Northumberland Wildlife Trust projects from summer activities for young people, the three ‘Our Wildlife’ festivals, the My Wild Life campaign featuring local people and a new workshop for its volunteers to Northumberland’s first otter survey for 15 years, pine marten and dormouse surveys and sending over one hundred volunteer ‘gorse busters’ of all ages to clear invasive gorse scrub from valuable and unique whin grassland sites in North Northumberland including areas around the iconic Dunstanburgh and Bambugh Castles.” On accepting the award, Annemiek said: “I’m proud and honoured to receive this award from The Wildlife Trusts. The fact that we are losing our precious wildlife and habitats saddens me but also makes me more determined than ever to change this. “By supporting The Wildlife Trusts and other nature conservation organisations we can help promote an alternative future for our beautiful countryside and can keep our precious wild animals and people thriving. Inspiring the next generation to love the wildlife they have and help to bring more it back into our lives is critical. I’m pleased to support The Wildlife Trusts’ Forest Schools which are doing just this in some of the UK’s largest cities.” Launched in 2009, the Rothschild medal is awarded annually by The Wildlife Trusts to individuals for outstanding achievements for wildlife and people in one or more areas: policy, research, promotion, collaboration, fundraising and innovation.
The solid silver medal, which illustrates Charles Rothschild and his daughter, Miriam, as a young woman, above chequered skipper butterflies is awarded every two years. Its first recipient was Tony Juniper, former Director of Friends of the Earth with philanthropist, Peter De Haan receiving the second medal in 2012 for his support for a wide range of schemes to preserve and restore the natural heritage of the UK (and beyond) and bring people closer to nature.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sue Bishop .