Whitley Awards 2026 honour grassroots conservation leaders
Celebrating grassroots conservation leaders working on the front line worldwide.
The 2026 Whitley Awards have announced their winners, celebrating the grassroots conservation leaders working on the front line in their own communities around the world.
The annual prizes are designed to do more than simply recognise achievement. They put meaningful funding and a genuine global platform behind the individuals driving change where it matters most.
The awards reflect a core belief: that lasting conservation often depends on people with deep local knowledge and strong community ties, working quietly and persistently in places that rarely attract headlines.
By backing these leaders directly, the prizes help ensure that vital work on the ground can continue and grow. Financial support gives winners the means to sustain and scale their efforts, while international recognition connects local action to a far wider audience.
That visibility matters. Being seen on a global stage can open doors, attract further support, and inspire others across the conservation community to follow similar paths.
The awards are run by the Whitley Fund for Nature, an Ecoflix partner, which has long championed this model of supporting conservation from the grassroots up. Its approach places trust in the people closest to the land, the wildlife, and the communities whose futures depend on both.
Together, the 2026 winners represent a remarkable breadth of frontline conservation, each bringing their own expertise, determination, and community bonds to challenges that demand exactly that kind of grounded, persistent commitment.