A healthy farming industry is crucial to the Cairngorms National Park, not just for the economy but for our landscapes and wildlife too.

Cairngorms Nature wants to find out who has been making a difference for wildlife on their farm or croft and is inviting nominations for the Cairngorms Nature Farm Award 2017.

The award was launched in 2015 to recognise and reward farmers and crofters from within the Cairngorms National Park who are making a substantial contribution to the natural environment around them, whether big or small. The winner could be a business which has been making a steady and consistent contribution to the landscape and environment for a number of years, or a business which has changed its management practices to make a real difference to the environment.

Last year’s winner was Jim Simmons of Ruthven Farm in Glenlivet.  CNPA Convener Peter Argyle said “Without farmers and crofters in the Cairngorms National Park we would lose many of the species, habitats and landscapes that we all know and love. Jim has shown an outstanding passion for the environmental work he has carried out on his farm. He managed to strike a perfect balance, allowing the farming business and the habitats and species on it to thrive together.”

The Cairngorms Nature Farm Award will be judged by a panel of judges representing both Cairngorms Nature and the farming community.

Bruce McConachie, Land Management Adviser at the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), explains:  “The Judges will be looking at areas that are currently managed under environmental schemes but they will also be hoping to find people that have gone beyond what’s asked for by e.g. creating wet areas for wading birds, protecting river banks and by planting native woodlands that in time will provide shelter for livestock and wildlife.

The Cairngorms Nature Farm Award will be presented at the Grantown Show on the 10^th of August and the winner will receive an outdoor plaque to display at their Farm as well as a personal prize.

If you know a business that is making a real contribution to wildlife and would like to nominate them for this award you can find out more HERE

The closing date for nominations is Friday the 14^th of July

Ends.