GWCT CEO given Bellamy Award for ‘tireless work’

Teresa Dent CBE, Chief Executive of GWCT, has been honoured with the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation Educational Trust’s Bellamy Award.  Under her leadership, GWCT programmes have strengthened national capacity, elevated the visibility of gamekeepers, and reinforced the organisation’s role as a scientific authority.

The award was presented by Richard Bailey, a trustee of the NGO, at a Peakland Environmental Farmers meeting in the Peak District.

Mr Bailey said the award was selected unanimously by the judges and added:

“Teresa has been a great advocate for the modern-day gamekeeper, proving that modern techniques and science can deliver environmental stability and species diversity which flourishes on landscapes cared for with a game management priority.”

The award was launched in 2010 to recognise those displaying exceptional creativity and initiative in promoting the gamekeeper’s role in sustainable countryside management.

The trophy is made from a piece of bog oak many thousands of years old and symbolises the enduring nature of humanity’s relationship with the living landscape.

Shooting Times contributor Mike Swan won the Bellamy Award several years ago, and Teresa Dent said:

“I feel very honoured to be the recipient this year, following in Mike’s illustrious and hard-to-match footsteps. I have always valued and appreciated gamekeepers as the people on the ground, out every day (and night) doing the habitat and predation management that helps wildlife alongside game species.”