Keeper Shayne Dean wins NGO Educational Trust Bellamy Award

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The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation Educational Trust has awarded Shayne Dean, gamekeeper at Lees Court Estate in Kent, the NGO Educational Trust Bellamy Award for his part in helping to develop an education programme on the estate.

The Lees Court Education and Research Network (LEARN) was set up to cover the sporting, conservation and agricultural aspects of the estate. Since the inception of LEARN in 2013, Shayne has worked with students at Plumpton College, the local primary school and the Scouts, as well as being involved in visits to the estate by the CLA, NFU, local farming groups and others. As well as his work towards educating the public on conservation and the role of gamekeeping, Shayne was instrumental in the estate winning the Bronze Purdey Award in 2013, and has organised a multitude of fund-raising events for the NGO, the NGO Educational Trust and cancer-based charities.

Shayne Dean commented: “It’s a huge honour to have won the NGO Educational Trust Bellamy Award, and it’s fantastic for the estate to be acknowledged for the work that has been done. It’s been a big team effort to get LEARN off the ground, and Countess Sondes, who has been the driving force behind this has been a huge inspiration to us all.”

Brian Hayes, NGO Educational Trust Administrator, commented: “Shayne is a truly worthy winner of the NGO Educational Trust Bellamy Award, being not only passionate about educating a wider public and introducing them to what wildlife management is all about, but also having played a big part in the Estate’s Purdey Award. The aims of the NGO Educational Trust are to promote awareness of the need for sustainable wildlife management in the countryside, and to stress the significance of the conservation work carried out by keepers, and Shayne is a shining example of both these principles.”

The NGO Educational Trust launched the Bellamy Award in 2010 to recognise those who display exceptional creativity and initiative in promoting the gamekeeper's role in sustainable countryside management. The trophy received by Shayne Dean is made from a piece of bog oak many thousands of years old. It was presented to the NGO Educational Trust by the conservationist (and NGO Patron) Professor David Bellamy to symbolise the enduring nature of mankind's relationship with the living landscape, and is awarded along with a cheque for £250.

The NGO Educational Trust Bellamy Award has been won in recent years by Gerald Gray, Regional Chairman for Norfolk and Suffolk for the NGO (2016); Dr Mike Swan of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (2015) and Alex Hogg, the Chairman of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (2014).

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation Educational Trust was established in 1999 and is a Registered Charity, number 1076923. It is an independent charity working to promote public awareness of the need for sustainable wildlife management in our countryside, stressing the importance of the conservation work carried out by gamekeepers. Forty-nine out of 50 people claim never to have met a gamekeeper, so public knowledge is entirely dependent on the media.

The NGO Educational Trust wants to present the true facts about the gamekeeping profession and it particularly wants the young to know what gamekeepers do. For more information visit www.gamekeeperstrust.org.uk

Picture caption (left-to-right): Brian Hayes, NGO Educational Trust Administrator, the Countess Sondes and Lees Court Estate Keeper, Shayne Dean.

Notes to Editors

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation represents the gamekeepers of England and Wales, defending and promoting gamekeeping, gamekeepers and ensuring high standards throughout the profession.The NGO was founded in 1997 by a group of gamekeepers who felt that their profession was threatened by public misunderstanding and poor representation. Today, there are 13,000 members of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation