The Notice Nature Campaign managed by RPS Stakeholder Consultation Unit has won the E.U. Best Practice in Environmental Awareness Award.

Environmental communications specialists from the 27 EU member states voted RPS' biodiversity awareness campaign for the Department of the Environment the award winner, and the announcement was recently made in a ceremony at The Hague, by the Dutch Environment and Spatial Planning Minister, Jacqueline Cramer.

Launched in January 2007, Notice Nature aims to increase understanding of the value of biodiversity in Ireland, its human benefits, and how vital it is to conserve and protect our natural world. The campaign's initiatives have included developing best practice guidelines for construction, business and tourism industries, supporting the first biodiversity week in Ireland (May 2007), and hosting conferences and seminars around Ireland to communicate and promote the campaign's activities, aims and objectives. Notice Nature has also introduced a biodiversity prize to Ireland's Tidy Towns competition.

The Irish Minister for the Environment, Mr John Gormley, welcomed the award and said, "It is a great honour for Ireland to be recognised in this way. The issue of biodiversity and the importance of protecting it is a complex subject to communicate. The approach we have taken in this campaign and the emphasis we have placed on stakeholder engagement has been well received by our EU colleagues.

This award is a tribute to all those involved in the campaign, including environmental and community groups, local authorities, the construction, tourism, agriculture and business sectors, and members of the public who have engaged with us in Notice Nature."

The Best Practice Awards are organised by the Green Spider Network, which is an active network of communication and information officers from environment ministries and national environment agencies in Europe. RPS Technical Director Elizabeth Arnett - Head of the Stakeholder Consultation Unit, is delighted with the award:

"This award is very exciting for the Stakeholder Consultation Unit and our project partners Mary Murphy Associates. It gives European recognition to our unique stakeholder driven approach to information campaigning."

Note:
For previous article on this subject please see: RPS Stakeholder Project Short-Listed for E.U. Award 04/07/07

For more information please contact:
Stakeholder Consultation Unit, RPS Dublin (West Pier) - Planning & Development
T: +353 1 288 4499

You can also see: www.noticenature.ie