The founder of the Save Windermere campaign has won changemaker of the year at the 2023 National Park Protector awards.
Matt Staniek received his award yesterday at a ceremony in the House of Commons where conservationists, MP’s and dignitaries attended.
He was praised by the Campaign for National Parks – who run the awards – for his high impact and beautifully produced videos as well as his wider work highlighting water company pollution in Windermere.
The organisation also commended Matt’s ability to build a movement from scratch and steadily put a local issue onto the national stage.
Speaking on stage while receiving his award, Matt highlighted the damage being done to Windermere and repeated his call for complete removal of all sewage discharged into the Windermere catchment.
He said: “United Utilities’ operations are currently and have historically been the largest input of nutrient into the lake. We are campaigning for an end to sewage pollution in its entirety.
“Looking at the case study of Lake Annecy in France which is classified as the cleanest lake in Europe. In the 60s they saw increases in algal blooms and declines in fish populations which they put down to the sewage.
“So since the 60s they have progressively channelled all their sewage into a network of pipes, which means there is now no sewage going into Annecy at all.
“This is just one of the key case studies globally where communities have addressed the issue of declining water quality by removing the primary input into the
ecosystem.
“We need government intervention for Windermere, we need enforcement of the law, we need hundreds of millions of pounds invested and we ultimately need
to stop the sewage going into the lake.
“This is what’s required to ensure the protection of this nation’s lake forever.”
To find out more, sign up for emails at www.savewindermere.com/sign-up.
