Students help protect Ben Nevis after completing new John Muir Award

First launched by the John Muir Trust in 1997, the environmental award scheme encourages people of all backgrounds to discover, explore, conserve and share their experiences of wild places.

And more than a year after being relaunched, following a break in 2024, the Award is going from strength to strength, with more than 8000 people taking part.

Since March 2025, the flagship environmental award has seen over 5000 (5635) participants complete the award in Scotland alone, with schools, youth organisations and community groups from the Highlands and Islands to the Scottish Borders all taking part.

Scots also account for seven in ten of all those who took part in total across the UK (70% of all 8051 UK participants).

The UHI North, West and Hebrides Countryside Skills with Ranger Training course became the first group in the UK to complete the redesigned John Muir Award following its relaunch.

The course, delivered in collaboration with the Nevis Landscape Partnership, gave them practical conservation experience across Glen Nevis and Ben Nevis.

Working alongside the John Muir Trust’s Nevis team, they helped to care for one of Scotland’s most iconic landscapes, included removing 7,150m² of invasive non-native species, planting 100 native trees, establishing woodland enclosures to support natural regeneration and carrying out annual monitoring of tree regeneration and deer browsing.

Students have also supported essential maintenance work on the Ben Nevis Mountain Path, cleaning and protecting a route used by more than 167,000 visitors last year.

One of those supporting the programme is Ellie Moore, Engagement Ranger with the Nevis Landscape Partnership.

Ellie completed the John Muir Award herself in 2022 before returning to help deliver the UHI course.

She said: “The John Muir Award encourages people to slow down and really notice the places around them.

“Watching people develop a genuine appreciation for these landscapes – and gain skills that could shape future careers in conservation – is incredibly rewarding.”

John Muir was born in Scotland in 1838 and moved to North America aged 11. He believed that time spent in nature was essential not only for the health of the environment, but for a person’s wellbeing.

Today the UK charity which bears his name is dedicated to protecting and enhancing wild places all across the UK, including Ben Nevis, Schiehallion and Sandwood Bay and areas across Skye, Knoydart and Assynt.

Participants in the awards have delivered over 260,000 hours of work on a huge variety of outdoor projects, including 88,269 hours of hand-on conservation work.

They have planted more than 6000 native trees and collected 3362 bags of litter to help clean up the countryside. John Muir Award participants have maintained 12,338 metres of public footpaths, and supported 2,751 participants who identified as facing barriers to accessing nature.

And the return of the John Muir Award could not have come at a better time for Scotland. Earlier this year the Scottish Government passed the Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Act, putting outdoor education firmly back on the agenda as all of the country’s education authorities were tasked with giving every pupil access to an outdoor education course.

State schools made up just under 40% of all the people taking part in the John Muir Award last year, with 25% coming from outdoor education centres, 2% coming from independent schools and 8% coming from special schools.

On the Isle of Benbecula, in the Outer Hebrides, pupils and staff Sgoil Bhaile A’ Mhanaich transformed an overlooked area of school grounds into a thriving and accessible wild space, successfully campaigning to protect a pond and surrounding habitat after learning it was under threat.

Sam Minty, Teacher and John Muir Award Leader at Sgoil Bhaile A’ Mhanaich, said: “The John Muir Award gave our pupils the opportunity to truly connect with a place they now feel responsible for. They didn’t just learn about wild places – they explored them, cared for them, and discovered that their voices could make a real difference.

“When they learned that part of their wild space and the pond they had come to value could be lost, they took action. They carried out surveys, completed risk assessments, created films and wrote to decision-makers, showing remarkable determination and teamwork. Their campaign ultimately helped protect the area for both people and nature.”

Gareth Morgan, Head of Engagement, at the John Muir Trust, said: “The John Muir Award is about much more than learning outdoors. It’s about helping people build lasting relationships with wild places while developing the confidence, skills and understanding needed to care for them.

“Wild places need people who understand, value and stand up for them. The John Muir Award helps create those connections by giving people practical opportunities to discover, explore and care for nature in meaningful ways.”

The John Muir Award encourages people of all backgrounds to discover, explore, conserve and share their experiences of wild places through practical conservation and outdoor learning. For more information, please visit: https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/award.