Born Free is delighted to announce that applications are now open for the Virginia McKenna Award for Compassionate Conservation (VMA) 2018.

Compassionate Conservation puts the welfare of individual animals at the heart of effective conservation actions.

The VMA is named in honour of Virginia McKenna OBE, the actress and campaigner who co-founded Born Free in 1984, along with her late husband Bill Travers MBE and her eldest son Will Travers OBE.

She said: “I hope this award will recognise, inspire and support outstanding individual conservationists, researchers and practitioners, who place a high priority on animal welfare while undertaking the field conservation of species under threat, conservation policy or environmental education.”

The award will not only raise the professional profile of the winner, but confers a substantial project grant worth up to £15,000 over one year to help the winner implement their Compassionate Conservation agenda.

The application period for the Virginia McKenna Award is now OPEN – the deadline for applications is Friday, 14th September 2018. The winner will be announced on Saturday, 20th October 2018.

For more information, email info@bornfree.org.uk.

VIRGINIA MCKENNA AWARD