Otter sanctuary volunteer 'overjoyed' to win award

A woman who has volunteered at an otter sanctuary for the past three years has said she is "completely overjoyed" after winning a prestigious wildlife award.

Lily Herniman, 18, joined the UK Wild Otter Trust near South Molton in north Devon as a volunteer aged 15 and has since volunteered at the charity three days a week.

Last week, she was named the Countryfile Young Countryside Champion at the BBC Food and Farming Awards in Belfast.

The teenager said the win "still hasn't sunk in yet" and she "can't believe" she won the award.

Recalling her decision to volunteer, she remembered being on the bus to secondary school and driving past the sanctuary every day.

"I always looked over the bridge and could see the pens and thought it would be so cool to get to play a part in it," she said.

"To think that three years later I'm doing it is amazing and I can't believe it."

Herniman was nominated for the award by the trust's chief executive and founder Dave Webb and his wife Kath.

They said she had become "like a daughter" and it had been "obvious she was someone very special" when she arrived to volunteer.

She was credited with helping enhance the wild areas at the trust's new otter rehabilitation centre, helping with pond creation, tree planting and habitat improvement projects.

When asked why she thought she had won the award, Herniman said: "I would say I'm a bridge between farming and conservation.

"People think of it as two separate things, and more work needs to be done to bring them together to help our farmers and our environments, as they both play a key part in our UK habitats and ecosystems.

"I'm completely overjoyed because I've always had a passion for wildlife and our natural habitats.

"Getting to work with such a vital species and getting to see them every day is a privilege and means a lot to me."

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