Michael shortlisted for ‘Rural Oscar’

The awards, nicknamed the ‘Rural Oscars’, celebrate the characters, skills, traditions and enterprise of the countryside through the people who work so hard to sustain these values.

Michael, who has been nominated for his environmental work with the Six Mile Water Trust, is one of five finalists in the ‘Rural Hero’ category.

It’s been an extremely busy 12 months for Michael and his colleagues in the Trust. They have taken part in several river clean-ups and engaged with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, NI Water and Rivers Agency in a bid to identify and tackle pollution hot-spots along the waterway.

“It has been a busy but rewarding year for the Six Mile Water Trust, but my pleasure is being by the river and seeing the wildlife return. I would like to think that we should cherish and protect what little habitat is left for our wildlife; this is our natural heritage, part of the fabric of Northern Ireland and surely worth protecting,” Mr Martin said.

Judging has now commenced and the winners will be announced in January 2012. The winners in each category will then go forward to the overall finals, being held in London on March 7, 2012.

Read the full story in this week’s Times...