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The 2009 Awards were held on 17th November, at Woodhead of Fyvie Community Centre. The awards were presented by Ron Reid, of AEF.

Ardallie Primary School- Award for Environmental Care and Awareness
The school holds an EcoSchools Green Flag, but has gone much further in integrating sustainable environmental activities in their school than the award requires!
Wildlife Conservation — School Grounds - Bird tables and feeders - a hedgehog pile – bush planting. Bee friendly flowers in window boxes, butterfly friendly flowers in school garden, potato patch.
Creative Wildlife Conservation — Replaced dead hedging and planted new trees around the play area.
Environmental Care — Recycling bins for plastics and cans, recycle paper within the school. Can collection point for the local community. Recycle old clothes with a 'Bags to School' scheme. Collect ink cartridges for recycling.
Composting food scraps and garden waste.
Devices in place to save water when flushing the toilet.
Energy conservation - Computers and lights only on when required
Business Enterprise — Eco Committee make and sell new items from old items, eg, carrier bag holders made from old sheets, draught excluders made from old sheets/newspapers, reusable shopping bags, gift bags from old posters sold these items to members of the local community. Grew veg/potatoes and sold potatoes to the public.
Environmental Awareness — Worked with Aberdeenshire's 'Master Composter' to encourage composting at school and at home also worked with the RSPB and SSPCA

Barthol Chapel Primary School - Award for Environmental Care and Awareness The children of Barthol Chapel School have created a wildlife garden, planted and woven willow structures, collected wildflower seeds which have been grown and planted in the garden, and have been involved in a wide variety of environmental activities both around the school and at Haddo Country Park, (grant-aided by NE Forest Education Initiative) where they have been studying the changing seasons. The school has a policy of using the school grounds for all aspects of education. Seen receiving their Green Butterfly award on behalf of the school are Fergus Rodgers, Joe and Laurie Malster, and Emily Watt.

In detail: Wildlife Conservation — School Grounds - Bird tables and feeders - willow sculpture/tunnel – garden patch with bee and butterfly friendly flowers.
Creative Wildlife Conservation - Regular visits to Haddo Country park and involvement with Water Vole Conservation Project.
Environmental Care — Recycling and recycle paper, plastics and cans within the school. Recycle old clothes with a 'Bags to School' scheme. Collect ink cartridges for recycling.
Energy conservation - Computers and lights only on when required.
Environmental Awareness — Pupils, staff and community members have worked with a leading Aberdeenshire environmentalist on projects at Haddo, within school grounds and around Barthol Chapel designed to benefit wildlife and the general environment.

James & Jessica Bellarby - Award for Environmental Care and Awareness An Aberdeenshire house with minimal energy requirement. Designed on similar lines to the German `Passiv Haus', thanks to the large solar roof panels, minimal energy is required. Hemp wadding provides the insulation ( 600 mm in the roof, 300 in the walls), and wood panelling and flooring in general use. Ground floor has polished concrete surface laid over 200mm of insulation. The spacious open-plan kitchen/living area has wood-burning stove to provide hot water during winter months. South-facing floor-to-ceiling windows allow maximum sun-light in winter with a wide overhang preventing the rooms from becoming too warm in summer. Upstairs includes a bathroom and three well-proportioned bedrooms, with the bonus of glorious countryside views. In keeping with the ethos of the construction and design, non toxic materials have been used for wood preservation and interior decoration.

While the house is spacious and appears ultra-modern, the basic design is similar to the traditional Scottish dwelling and fits into the landscape well. With seven acres of land there is plenty of scope for any garden projects. To date they have already planted over 1000 native trees and, when, in about 50 years time, some the larch timbers may need replacing, their own home-grown trees will be ready for harvest.

Buchan Development Partnership - Award for Environmental Care and Awareness
BDP, based in Maud, helps and promotes environmental issues within community groups which are trying to better the places they live. The Partnership offices are run on environmentally-friendly lines, using recycled products, minimising paper use, and recycling as much as possible, using biodegradable plates, cups and cutlery after use they are collected and composted. Bottles, waste food and packaging are recycled. Try to have a zero impact on the local halls that we use. Where possible use local catering companies and local food suppliers, reducing 'food miles' and helping local businesses; they were instrumental in encouraging the co-located Council offices to do the same! BDP is a Registered Body for ENTRUST, the Landfill Tax Credit awarding body, and have assisted a number of projects using this scheme.

Monymusk Estate - Award for bio-diesel operation. Sir Archibald Grant and Nicholas Cowan The estaste at Monymusk has, over the last 30 years, invested in a wide variety of environmentally-friendly projects improving the land and the estate buildings. One of the latest projects has been to run the estate vehicles on bio-diesel, collected from used cooking oil, cleaned and processed on the estate; the projects go from strength to strength, and this is currently being extended to take in oil from local residents, reducing both waste and the carbon footprint of the estate.

Monymusk Thrift Shop - Award for Environmental Care and Awareness Started in order to raise funds for the village hall, the Thrift Shop now acts as a processing centre for a wide variety of recycling and re-use, from books and clothing to plants and produce, and have raised a considerable amount of money towards their goals. With a large group of dedicated volunteers, the Thrift Shop has become an intrinsic part of the village, helping the environment in a very practical way. Lorna Pole collected the award on behalf of the volunteers.

The thrift shop opens two mornings a week – Thursdays and Fridays 9.30am to 12.15pm, has also opened on an occasional Saturday. Originally planned as a short term project it has been so successful that it continues – and grows. It recently held a sale of donated books in the village hall, complemented by the sale of home-made soup and bakes. Such events on top of the weekly thrift shop provides popular social opportunities for the locals and also brings in outsiders.
In harvest-time offers for donation locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables provided by local gardeners. Excess produce is therefore shared around, proceeds go to the Thrift Shop or to other charities.
Provides a notice board for events and public information. Any donations, such as furniture, too big to display are advertised on this notice board.
The thrift shop obviously encourages people to clear out their homes, wardrobes and book-shelves, witnessed by the continuing quality and quantity of donations. This ensures re-use without transport and reduces waste to landfill as it provides an easy outlet for items rather than them ending up in the residual waste.
The thrift shop ensures that nothing is wasted and collects certain items for special re-use such as: “Books for Abroad”; stationery and office consumables for schools in developing countries; craft materials for various groups (home and abroad); bras for Africa through Oxfam; video cassettes for Salvation Army distribution in Eastern Europe; toys and books for local play-groups etc. Textiles that don’t sell are collected for fund-raising by the local Brownies who get paid for weight collected.

Portlethen Moss Conservation Group - Award for Wildlife Conservation and Environmental Awareness
On the outskirts of the city, surrounded by housing development, the Group have maintained and enhanced the Moss, creating a vital wildlife habitat used and enjoyed by the community and the local schools.
Portlethen Moss Conservation Group Raising Awareness of Portlethen Moss – an area of ‘living’ bog in an effort to gain LNR status + Creation of natural woodland.
Portlethen Moss is a rare area of natural raised acidic bog supporting a unique variety of plant and animal species; over the years it has been subject to development pressures, consequently much of what was the Moss has now been lost. The group works to preserve what is left of this environmentally sensitive area and the unique flora and fauna that it supports and is endeavoursing to gain Local Nature Reserve status. With Aberdeenshire Ranger Service has carried out the following community events - moths on the moss, litter pick up, significant tree & hedgerow planting, various guided tours, ECO walk for Portlethen Primary School.
Designed two interpretation boards for the Moss, providing information for visitors and colour photographs of plant and animal species all taken on the Moss.
There is a lack of woodland in the area, the Group has recently taken on board a second major environmental project, creation of a 'natural/native' Community Woodland, including areas of wildflower planting, extensive hedgerows and an outdoor classroom - it is documented that. Planning permission was received and the first stages of the transformation have taken place by way of pathways and entrance gates. Worked with the Forestry Commission and Aberdeenshire Ranger to coordinate the local schools involvement in the design of the area. The first stage of tree planting is planned for early 2010.
Secured project funding from - Talisman Energy (ongoing pledge of £10k per year for the next 2-3 years), Shell, Petrofac, WIAT, Kincardine and Mearns Area Partnership.
Created a website which provides information on the group and its projects - see here