Last night was an evening of celebration as Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful hosted the second Live Here Love Here Community Awards in Belfast Harbour Commissioner’s Office, sponsored by ISL Waste Management Ltd.
The event, compered by Lesser Spotted Ulster star Joe Mahon, was filled with inspirational tales from volunteers who have and continue to instil pride in our local communities through practical environmental action.
The fourteen award winners, aged 5 to 77, showed that caring for your local environment and working to make a change is a passion that spans all generations. From regular litter picks to the creation of shared community spaces these unsung heroes dedicate their time and efforts into making where we live cleaner, greener, safer and more sustainable.
The awards celebrated work such as litter picks, community involvement and going above and beyond all expectations. The bespoke award pieces, handmade out of recycled materials, were created using unplugged methods by David Keys Sustainable Woodcraft.
The award winners are as follows:
Antrim and Newtownabbey Litter Heroes Award;
Winner: Tidy Randalstown
Ards and North Down Litter Heroes Award;
Winner: Beach Cleaners - Ards and North Down
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Litter Heroes Award;
Winner: Peter McKernan
Belfast City Litter Heroes Award;
Winner: St. Mary’s CBGS Eco Club
Derry City and Strabane Litter Heroes Award;
Winner: John Lennon
Fermanagh and Omagh Litter Heroes Award;
Winner: Camowen Community Anglers
Mid and East Antrim Litter Heroes Award;
Winner: Nicholas Davis
Mid Ulster Litter Heroes Award;
Winner: Brénainn Brunton
Newry, Mourne and Down Litter Heroes Award;
Winner: Charlie and the Hamilton-Cooper Family
Adopt A Spot Award presented by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful;
Winner: AES Kilroot Green Team
Good Neighbour Award presented by Choice Housing;
Winner: Springhill Live Here Love Here Garden Group
Community Together Award presented by Northern Ireland Housing Executive;
Winner: Magheralin Community Association
BIG Transformation Award presented by McDonald’s;
Winner: Millisle Youth Forum
Spirit of Live Here Love Here Award presented by DAERA;
Winner: Screen Eco-Schools
Guests were entertained by music from talented Claire Louise Turner and Eastside Partnership Community Choir. Award winning journalist, Joyce Ferder Rankin was the guest speaker for the night, and spoke about what is happening to our changing environment and what one person can do to help save the world.
Dr Ian Humphreys, CEO of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful said, “We are all remembered for our actions and everyone involved in Live Here Love Here, whether volunteer or funding partner, is changing people’s lives for the better and leaving a lasting legacy. With 170 nominations for tonight’s awards it is obvious that there is a growing movement of people who act because they care.”
The awards were sponsored by ISL Waste Management Ltd. Speaking on behalf of ISL Waste Management Ltd, Managing Director Barry Donaghy said the company was privileged to support the Community Awards.
“As a business, ISL delivers a zero waste to landfill promise to our clients. We are also passionate about educating everyone on the need to reduce the amount of waste we produce, make wise choices on what materials we buy as consumers and be aware of the impact we have on the environment. We can’t take the attitude that it’s someone else’s problem.
“Supporting the Live Here Love Here Community Awards is an essential message to the whole business community that if we all play our part in creating a clean environment we will make Northern Ireland a place where people want to live and work.”
Prizes were donated by Belfast Cookery School, Jungle NI, Ulster Rugby, Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel and Chalets and The Odyssey Trust Company.
If you would like to find out more or get involved with Live Here Love Here please visit their website; www.liveherelovehere.org or contact enquiries@liveherelovehere.org.
