Eco champs hit the Pembrokeshire map again as three county finalists attended the prestigious sustainable Academy Awards at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff recently.

Sustainability Champion Wales, sponsored by Natural Resources Wales was awarded to Kiri Howell an Education Officer at Keep Wales Tidy.

Kiri helps run the Foundation for Environmental Education’s Eco Schools programme in Pembrokeshire.

A passionate supporter of sustainability, Kiri, from Tenby spends much of her own time taking part in beach cleans and promoting community sustainability. 

The Well-being of Future Generations Act is at the forefront of everything Kiri does and she works hard to help people understand the importance of sustainability, especially children and young people.

“I was extremely proud to win as I am a strong advocate for personal environmental action within the community,” she said.

“It was great to be nominated alongside other Pembrokeshire based organisations which highlights the strength of our county’s commitment to sustainability action.” 

Also attending the awards was Amanda Absalom-Lowe, founder of the charity Pembrokeshire Care Share and Give (Recycle4Charity) who, after winning last year, were nominated for the second consecutive year and came runner up in the Sustainable Community Group Award sponsored by EDF Renewables.

Pembrokeshire Care, Share and Give was established to contribute to the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment in Pembrokeshire, by promoting sustainable waste management through the recycling of waste which may otherwise go to landfill.

The charity seeks to educate and support the community via local recycling and waste management.

This is done through a programme providing recycling opportunities to the public, businesses, statutory authorities and educational establishments. 

The group helps the community by offering grants or donations to individuals, charitable organisations and supports those in need by raising money from recycling specific waste items including biscuit wrappers, coffee lids, yogurt pouches, used stationary, Tassimo and LOR pods and its foil Packaging, dog and cat food foil packets (washed out), pringles tubes, crisp packets, toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. 

Amanda explained how ‘being nominated’ in the Sustainable Academy Awards again this year was another huge achievement.

“As a small charity, it was great to be recognised as having such a positive impact on the community,” she said.

“We could not recycle for charity without the continued support of the Pembrokeshire people and I thank them for recycling items in addition to local authority recycling collections.”

Another county finalist was Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum (PCF)’s Coastal Curriculum programme which is designed to bring real life issues of climate change, coastal management and sustainable development into classrooms across the county.

The aim is to educate young people about the pressures facing our coastline, and inspire them to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

Through their Coastal Curriculum, PCF deliver as many workshops outside as possible, bringing pupils to the coast and allowing them to learn from local people who are experts in their field.

Tim Brew, Education Manager at PCF said: “Getting pupils out of the classroom and learning outdoors results in a range of positive effects on their personal health and well-being, both physically and mentally.

“We were delighted to receive recognition for our work through a nomination at the Sustainable Academy Awards and look forward to continuing to work with teachers and pupils across Pembrokeshire.”