Bob Haycock collecting his award: From Defence Minister Mark Lancaster (pic. MOD)

THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE has announced the winners of its prestigious Sanctuary Awards, with the coveted Silver Otter going to Bob Haycock in recognition of more than 30 years of work with the Pembrokeshire Ranges Conservation Group.

Each year the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) which manages thousands of military sites in the UK and overseas, makes a series of awards on behalf of the MOD to recognise work that promotes environmental protection on the Defence Estate.

Besides winning the Silver Otter trophy Bob Haycock also received the individual achievement award in recognition of his conservation work.

Bob is perhaps best known within conservation circles for his work with the Red billed Chough. He has led the monitoring of these rare and enigmatic birds at Castlemartin in South Wales for 33 years. He has also researched the historic records and archives and collated a dataset spanning the last 50 years. This is potentially the longest running piece of research of its kind on the species. It has also enabled the designation of the Castlemartin Special Protection Area (SPA) for the Chough.

Bob has been involved in numerous projects over the years and successfully initiated the annual ‘Cliff­ Climbing’ liaison meetings, which resulted in the evolution of a fair and pragmatic approach to access for climbers, while at the same time safeguarding wildlife.

DIO Director General, Head Office and Commissioning Services, Julie Taylor said “Our congratulations go out to all of this year’s winners especially the Silver Otter winner Bob Haycock. Bob in his role with the Countryside Council for Wales and his unstinting support and guidance to the Castlemartin Conservation Group, is a reflection of the many volunteers and stakeholders that belong to more than 120 conservation groups around the UK, whose members give up their time and expertise to assist in the conservation of the defence estate”

Bob Haycock said “I am extremely proud to receive both these awards, especially the Silver Otter. I’ve been involved with the Pembrokeshire Ranges Nature Conservation Group for many years and it’s been a privilege to work with so many dedicated people, and to have been involved in projects that have made a real difference.

“I think these awards are about more than personal recognition, because they also shine a spotlight on all the volunteers who work tirelessly for conservation.”

Minister for Defence, Veterans, Reserves and Personnel Mark Lancaster, said: ”Today is all about celebrating the men and women responsible for a remarkable and diverse range of sustainability, conservation and environmental projects and initiatives delivered across the Defence estate on behalf of the MOD each year. The diversity of these brilliant projects is dazzling.”