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Kate Stokes Memorial Award  | | | | | Kate in August 2005 | | |  |
On Sunday 19 February 2006, Kate Stokes died tragically while on an excursion with her partner to the Picos de Europa mountain range in northern Spain, caught out by a severe weather storm. Kate worked as Programme Officer for the Programme and from 2002 to 2006, she was instrumental in developing the programme and helping thousands of young conservationists gain experience in practical conservation.In Kate's memory, Kate's family, colleagues and friends have established the Kate Stokes Memorial Trust. Through this fund, an additional $5,000 grant will be awarded on an annual basis to an exceptional Follow-up or Leadership team supported by the Conservation Leadership Programme. All continutation award winners are considered, there is no need to apply. There is particular emphasis on teams that show especially strong passion, enthusiasm and a long-term commitment to conservation. Awards Granted 2008: A Follow Up award winning team from Sri Lanka, led by Kanchana Weerakoon Ranasinghe, will use the 2008 award to formally train 20 people from their village youth group "Friends of Pelicans" to become “PARISARA MITHURO” (Friends of Nature). There is no practical training course for environmental conservation available for village youth in Sri Lanka, so this initiative will empower these youngsters. The project team will continue to mentor the young group as they develop their activities into the future. Read more about the CLP project... 2007: The 2007 award was given to a team in Azerbaijan to supplement a Follow-Up Award for their project ‘Assessing the current status and distribution of the Imperial Eagle and Lesser Kestrel in Azerbaijan’. The Kate Stokes Memorial Award has enabled the team to add extra ranger training and scientific monitoring skills, as well as providing for the production of a monitoring book in the Azeri language. This has enhanced co-operation and work between other agencies within Azerbaijan and its neighbouring countries. Read more about the CLP project... 2006: The first award was given to Leadership Award winners for the Green Corridor Project in Misiones, Argentina. In Kate’s memory, the team are using the money to build and consolidate an agroecology visitors centre in the wildlife corridor. The centre will be used to train young local people and technicians in agroforestry and conservation practices. The Project has acquired further funding from both local and overseas agencies for the construction, and although there have been delays, it is hoped the centre will be nearing completion later in the year. The trustees will go to the opening ceremony in September 2008 following the Birdlife International Conference in Buenos Aires. Read more about the CLP project... Further Information
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