Tain-based Scottish School of Forestry student wins Trees and Timber Learner of the Year award at Lantra Scotland’s ALBAS
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Hannah Munro from Tain in Easter Ross has won the Trees and Timber Learner of the Year award at Lantra Scotland’s ALBAS (Awards for Land-based and Aquaculture Skills).
The awards took place at a glittering ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Dunblane Hydro on Thursday.
Hannah has been studying for an Advanced Certificate in Forestry through the Scottish School of Forestry at UHI Inverness. She said: “I’d never imagine when I set out on this journey that I’d win an award. It’s great to be recognised and I’d really like to thank my tutors at UHI Inverness and all the team I work with at Scottish School of Forestry for supporting me.”
When shortlisted, she said: "I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors, so forestry immediately appealed to me. I love being hands on and working with machinery. I find it rewarding and satisfying to see the changes I am making to the environment by planting trees and creating habitats for wildlife.”
READ ALSO: Tain student shortlisted for Lantra award
Over 230 finalists, event supporters, employers, training providers and industry leaders attended the awards evening, including Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, Mairi Gougeon.
After an opening address by the Cabinet Secretary, social media star and sheep farmer Cammy Wilson presented winners and runners-up with industry awards for agriculture, aquaculture, equine, game and wildlife, horticulture, land-based engineering and trees and timber.
As well as an Overall Winner, Runner-up and Modern Apprentice of the Year, there were also categories for Higher Education, School Pupil and Secondary Schools, CARAS (Council for Awards of Agricultural Societies), a Mentor award for inspirational tutor, the Tam Tod Trophy and the Anna Murray Award for Partnership Working.
The winners and runners-up for ALBAS 2023 were chosen by an independent judging panel made up of influential figures from across the land-based and aquaculture sector, chaired by Keith Paterson of Forestry and Land Scotland.
The ALBAS are organised by Lantra, the sector skills council for the land-based, aquaculture and environmental conservation industries.
According to Liz Barron-Majerik, Scotland director, Lantra, the awards recognise the success of trainees in Scotland’s land-based and aquaculture sector, while also encouraging employers to think about the future workforce.
She continued: “We have again had some fantastic entries for the ALBAS, and everyone who was nominated should be very proud of their achievements. Our learners are literally the best of the best from our sector, a sector which is crucial to the economy, our communities and for the environment. There was an impressive range of representatives from industry and skills organisations at our ceremony too.
"We were delighted to have the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, joining us, and for Cammy Wilson from the Sheep Game to host the awards. The ALBAS can only take place because of the huge amount of unpaid time that Keith Paterson and his team of independent judges put in, reviewing the nominations and interviewing short-listed candidates.
"I’d also like to thank all our generous supporters who have helped support the ALBAS. Our main supporter is the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre. We’re also very grateful to Andy Murray, BAGMA, Bakkafrost Scotland, Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, HTA, NatureScot, Equido Horsemanship, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Land and Estates, SQA and SRUC”.
To find out more about the ALBAS, visit www.scotland.lantra.co.uk/learner-year
