A STUDENT at the University of Reading has been named Countryfile Young Countryside Champion of the year.
Ramandeep Nijjar was awarded the title at the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2024 in Glasgow on Monday, December 2.
Ramandeep is in the second year of her Zoology degree at the University of Reading, where she co-founded the Hedgehog Society.
Activities aimed at keeping campus hedgehogs safe have included setting up camera traps, carrying out footprint tunnel surveys, conducting hazard audits, setting up hedgehog houses, and litter picking.
Founding the Hedgehog Society and her work with the Green Volunteers Group led to Ramandeep winning the University’s Student Volunteer of the Year award in 2023.
Now she has followed up by winning the Countryfile Young Countryside Champion for 2024 after garnering a nomination by Sara Lovejoy of UoR’s Digital Campaigns and Engagement team.
Outside of university life, Ramandeep is the Berkshire representative for the British Trust for Ornithology, helping to run events in her local community to engage more young people with science and nature.
Ramandeep also campaigns with UK Youth for Nature and was one of 200 young people who took part in the making of Our Beautiful Wild, a film by Youth Voices for Nature as part of the Save Our Wild Isles campaign.
She led a workshop as part of the Youth in Nature Summit which is jointly funded and supported by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the British Trust for Ornithology, and the World Wildlife Fund UK.
The weekend-long event focused on empowering and enabling young voices to be heard in the environmental sector.
In June, Ramandeep developed an event for Reading Climate Festival which delivered the region’s first Youth Mobilisation Day.
This programme aimed to educate young people from local schools about Reading’s Climate Emergency Strategy and provided practical advice on running creative campaigns and engaging with politics to effect positive change.
Ramandeep said: “I’ve always been passionate about nature and wildlife.
“I was lucky that my family would often take us on trips to the coast or to local parks, and I was also fortunate to be part of girl guiding since I was five.
“That really accelerated my passion for the outdoors.
“Nature brings so much joy to so many different people and I want to continue to protect it so hopefully more people can experience the joy I feel when I’m in nature.”
Nominator Sara Lovelyjoy said: “Ramandeep consistently works to empower her peers, providing them with the knowledge and tools to become effective advocates for nature.
“Her achievements at such a young age are truly impressive, and her potential for future impact is immense.
“Ramandeep represents the kind of passionate, informed, and active environmental champion that gives us hope for the future of our planet.”
