We’re absolutely delighted to announce that EPIKS has won the Environmental Award at the BBC Radio Leeds Make a Difference Awards 2026!
It was a hugely proud moment for our team, particularly for the incredible volunteers who give their time week after week to care for and improve our local environment. The BBC Radio Leeds Make a Difference Awards celebrate people and organisations across West Yorkshire who are making a positive difference in their communities. This year, more than 350 nominations were received, with EPIKS making it through to the final four in the Environmental Award category before being announced as the winner at the awards ceremony at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. The Environmental Award recognises an individual or group helping to make where they live more environmentally friendly and better for nature, something that sits at the heart of everything we do at EPIKS.
Celebrating our Volunteer Environmental Rangers
A huge part of this recognition belongs to our Volunteer Environmental Rangers. Our volunteers work throughout the year to improve green and blue spaces across Kirklees. They tackle litter and invasive species, improve habitats and biodiversity, maintain paths and nature trails, build and repair benches and carry out all sorts of practical work that helps make our local environment better for both people and wildlife. Much of this work happens in places that can easily be overlooked or neglected, and it takes commitment, time and plenty of hard work, often in less than ideal weather!
Our Head of Operations, Katy Livings, said:
“I’m absolutely chuffed to bits that our amazing volunteer environmental rangers and EPIKS team won the award, I know it means a great deal in particular to our volunteers who contribute their time and skills week after week, in all weathers. They work so hard with support from the EPIKS team, to improve areas within our urban communities that can often be neglected, and recognition of that effort is brilliant!”
Making a difference together
The work our volunteers do is only possible because of the support we receive from our partners, funders, sponsors and the wider community. Our environmental projects bring people together to improve local places, create better habitats for wildlife and help more people enjoy and understand the natural environment on their doorstep.
As EPIKS volunteer director Jeff Keenlyside explains:
“Seeing our local environments deteriorate and natural assets like our fantastic river being overlooked and wasted, can be so frustrating. It doesn’t have to be like that though, and by getting involved and working with others our volunteers are making a real difference. To help deliver those improvements is so rewarding and satisfying for everyone who has contributed.”
That spirit of working together is at the heart of EPIKS. We know that lasting environmental change comes from volunteers, communities, businesses, funders, landowners and partner organisations working together and sharing their time, skills and resources.
A huge thank you
We’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has helped EPIKS get to this point. To our amazing Environmental Rangers and all of our volunteers, thank you for everything you do, week after week. To our staff team, thank you for the passion, knowledge and hard work you put into supporting our projects and volunteers. And to our partners, sponsors, funders and supporters, thank you for helping us turn ideas into practical action on the ground. Your support helps us continue caring for local green spaces, improving biodiversity and creating opportunities for people to connect with nature.
We’d also like to thank BBC Radio Leeds for recognising the work taking place across our communities and for giving environmental projects and local volunteers a platform through the Make a Difference Awards. Well done to all of the other winners and nominees this year!
We’re incredibly proud to receive this award, but even more proud of the people and partnerships behind it. Here’s to continuing to make a difference for climate, for nature and for the people of Kirklees.
With thanks to our partners:
ACCU, Assured Data Protection, BAM, Cummins, Hey Dude, Huddersfield Town F C, Kirklees Council, Lesjöfors, MoorSpace Storage Co., Network Rail, Schofield Sweeney, Sentini Marine, WSP, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Yorkshire Water
Click on each to find out more about the organisations supporting our environmental work. We couldn’t do this work without their support.
If your organisation would like to support EPIKS and help us continue our environmental work across Kirklees, we’d love to hear from you. Find out more about Corporate Sponsorship or why not book in with us for one of our Corporate Volunteer Days.
More about what the award means to EPIKS…
As part of the awards, EPIKS Director Jeff spoke to BBC Radio Leeds about the organisation’s work and what the nomination meant to us. The interview highlights our commitment to improving spaces for nature, encouraging active travel, and working alongside local communities to create lasting environmental change. Have another listen here:
