REACH Awards - reaching out to our local environmental 'heroes'
DDC is announcing the second year of its popular environmental awards scheme, rebranded this year to include and reward those who give back to their local communities too.
The REACH Awards (Recognising Environmental And Community Heroes) recognises our district’s unsung heroes who work hard to improve the appearance of the Dover District, help to maintain our environment and unite the local community.
Split into five different categories, the scheme acknowledges those individuals and groups who work tirelessly to make a difference, as well as local businesses who are putting the environment at the top of their agenda.
The awards are free to enter, and candidates can nominate themselves or others in the following categories:
• Litter Picking Hero (under 18)
• Litter Picking Hero (Over 18)
• Green/ Eco Friendly Business
• Community Project
• Green/ Eco Friendly School
Individuals, schools, and groups will be recognised for activities that help to make our district a clean and greener place to live such as organising litter picks, reducing the amount of paper and plastic that they use, recycling, upcycling, and reusing items such as furniture and clothes.
For local businesses, the judges are looking for those who have introduced initiatives to become more sustainable to help the planet. This could be anything from conserving water, using greener products, encouraging greener ways of travelling to work, planting shrubs or trees and recycling more to using alternative energy sources for power.
The community project will be judged on community initiatives that successfully draw residents together to work towards a common goal. This could be an informal group or a more established local charity, working hard to demonstrate that they’re caring for and improving the environment, and making a difference to the lives of local people.
The winners of each category will receive a certificate, an award trophy and official recognition at an awards ceremony to be held locally in June 2023. The awards scheme will support this year’s Great British Spring Clean campaign, which takes place from 17 March until 2 April.
Cllr Martin Bates, Cabinet member for Transport, Licensing and Regulatory Services, said: “I’m delighted to launch the REACH awards this year - in a slightly revised format - to recognise both our environmental and local community heroes. This scheme proved to be very successful in its first year, receiving a total of 47 entries, which were judged on inspiration, achievement, and environmental impact. These awards recognise our local volunteers, community groups, schools and businesses for all the good work that they do to help make our district a cleaner, greener and better place to live. We look forward to receiving entries for all categories.”
To nominate yourself or others, please visit www.dover.gov.uk/GBSC where you will find further details including judging criteria and terms and conditions for entry. The closing date for entries is Tuesday 9 May 2023.
Notes to editors
The Great British Spring Clean is hosted by Keep Britain Tidy. Back for its eighth year (17 March – 2 April), it encourages the nation to get involved in clearing litter from parks, streets and open spaces. This year’s theme is ‘Taking pride in your local area’ and DDC is supporting the scheme once again.
Posted on 01 March 2023