Celebrating the unsung heroes of nature conservation – the NBN Awards for Wildlife Recording 2025

The National Biodiversity Network Trust (NBN Trust) is today launching the NBN Awards for Wildlife Recording 2025, the annual awards which recognise the unsung heroes of the wildlife-recording world.

The 2025 Awards open for nominations on 9 January and close on 21 April.

These NBN Awards recognise and celebrate the individuals and wildlife groups who are making a difference – improving our understanding of the natural world and enabling evidence-based decision making, to better conserve UK-wildlife.

The achievements which we wish to celebrate through the NBN Awards for Wildlife Recording 2025 can include anything from the number of records made by an individual or group, the number of participants at a BioBlitz and the quantity of data generated, plugging gaps in our knowledge of a particular species or of a specific area of the UK, technical innovation in recording wildlife or encouraging participation through the development of apps or games etc.

There are seven categories of awards:

• NBN Lifetime Achievement Award 2025
• NBN Verifier’s Award 2025
• NBN Young Person’s Award 2025 (open to individuals aged 11-20)
• NBN Newcomer Award 2025
• NBN Award for Marine Wildlife Recording 2025
• NBN Award for Terrestrial Wildlife Recording 2025
• NBN Group Award 2025

Nominating someone for an award couldn’t be simpler – individuals and groups can even nominate themselves! You just need to visit: bit.ly/NBNawards25 and complete the appropriate Awards nomination form(s) either online or email the completed MS Word document back to support@nbn.org.uk by 21 April 2025.

This year we are indebted to seven organisations for their generous support:

1. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) for sponsoring prizes for the NBN Lifetime Achievement Award and the NBN Verifier’s Award.
2. Opticron for sponsoring prizes for the NBN Young Person's Award and for the NBN Newcomer Award.
3. Habitat Aid for sponsoring prizes for the NBN Award for Marine Wildlife Recording, the NBN Award for Terrestrial Wildlife Recording and the NBN Group Award.
4. Field Studies Council for sponsoring the prize for the NBN Group Award.
5. William Collins for sponsoring prizes for the NBN Young Person’s Award, the NBN Newcomer Award, the NBN Award for Marine Wildlife Recording and for the NBN Award for Terrestrial Wildlife Recording.
6. British Wildlife magazine for sponsoring the prize for the NBN Newcomer Award.
7. Natural History Book Service (NHBS) for sponsoring the prize for the NBN Young Person’s Award.

Lisa Chilton, CEO of the National Biodiversity Network Trust, says:

“It has never been more important to be recording the wildlife around us, so that we can conserve it better. The wildlife data we collect are essential for guiding and measuring nature's recovery."

“Our NBN Awards celebrate the wonderful people who collect wildlife records all year round, out in all weathers – often as volunteers. So, please help us celebrate their commitment and hard work by nominating some inspirational wildlife recorders for the 2025 NBN Awards for Wildlife Recording.” /Ends.

For more information, please contact Purba Choudhury, NBN Trust Communications Officer, via: p.choudhury@nbn.org.uk or on: 0115-850 0172

Notes to Editors:

1. National Biodiversity Network Trust

We’re a small charity with a big plan – to make data work for nature. For more than 20 years we’ve been making wildlife data accessible, to support better decisions about the natural world and to connect people with nature.

We manage the NBN Atlas, the UK’s largest repository of publicly available biodiversity data – holding around 300 million records of over 50,000 species – from ladybirds, red squirrels and toads through to rare lichen, fungi and endangered insects.

We also manage iNaturalistUK, as well as supporting the National Biodiversity Network – the UK’s largest partnership for nature. It is a collaboration of around 200 organisations committed to sharing UK wildlife data and making it easily available – using the NBN Atlas: nbnatlas.org

Members of the National Biodiversity Network include some well-known organisations, such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the National Trust, Butterfly Conservation and the Woodland Trust, as well as lesser-known groups such as Longhorn Beetle Recording Scheme, Riverfly Partnership and Outer Hebrides Recording Group, to name just a few.

The one thing that unites everyone involved in the Network is their desire for high-quality wildlife data to provide a robust evidence base for environmental decision-making. Data providers share their biodiversity data via the NBN Atlas: nbnatlas.org

2.  By “wildlife recording” we mean the surveying of wildlife in one’s local area and submitting records of these sightings to a local or national wildlife organisation or relevant app. 

3. Rules of the awards

• Nominations may be made by anyone (including people and organisations that are not National Biodiversity Network Trust members) – people can even nominate themselves.

• Individuals, groups of people or entire organisations are eligible for the awards.

• The NBN Awards committee, chaired by the NBN Trust’s Communications and Engagement Manager, will decide on the winners each year.

• Nominations open on Thursday 9 January 2025 and will close on Monday 21 April 2025.

• Short-listed nominees in each Award category will be announced in the autumn and the winners will be announced at National Biodiversity Network’s annual conference in November.

• Information about the winners of the 2024 NBN Awards is available on the NBN Trust website: www.nbn.org.uk

4.  Background of the NBN Awards for Wildlife Recording

The National Biodiversity Network Trust set up this national award scheme in 2015, in partnership with the Biological Records Centre and the National Forum for Biological Recording. It was called the UK Awards for Biological Recording and Information Sharing and has evolved into the NBN Awards for Wildlife Recording that we have today.