An International award for marine restoration has come to Howard Wood of the Isle of Arran’s pioneering marine environmental group, COAST.
Howard, chairman and co-founder of COAST, has been awarded the hugely prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for his work with COAST in promoting the sustainable management of Arran’s seas.
It is the first time this international award, the largest prize for grassroots environmentalists worldwide, has come to Scotland and only the second time it has been made to somebody in the UK.
Howard Wood moved to Arran with his family when he was a teenager. A keen diver, he witnessed first hand the impact dredging had on fragile marine habitats.
In 1995 he established COAST with his friend Don MacNeish [pictured together above, Howard on the left] to champion sustainable management of marine resources for the benefit of all. The organisation has now grown from being entirely staffed by volunteers, to having two dedicated employees.
Howard says: ‘I’m delighted with the award. This is global recognition for everything the community of marine volunteers on Arran have been working on for so long.’
Here is a video on Howard Wood’s background, narrated by Robert Redford.
