Bath-based landscape architecture firm Grant Associates has been recognised as an ‘Earth Champion’ for its contribution to protecting the planet’s environment.
The firm has received an Outstanding Earth Champions Award in the built environment category by Earth Champions Quest, which was created by the United Nations to champion the local sustainability efforts.
The organisation’s focus this year is on Bristol and Bath & North East Somerset to highlight work striving to protect the environment in the city-region.
Grant Associates’ award recognised its work on projects such as regeneration of Bristol’s historic Harbourside as part of a £120m scheme for developer Crest Nicholson, pictured, and Wessex Water’s operations centre on Bath’s outskirts, which focussed on promoti
ng the site’s delicate ecology.
The award also recognised the practice’s effort to connect with the community through local initiatives and events such as the Forest of the Imagination, which transformed Bath’s Queen Square into a temporary fantastical, tree-filled landscape and outdoor gallery as part of a four-day contemporary arts event in May.
Grant Associates’ international projects, such as Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, also demonstrated the firm’s ethos of connecting people with nature.
The firm was one of 127 organisations and individuals nominated by Bristol and Bath community members as Earth Champions, of which just 36 received an Outstanding award
The awards are part of the Earth Champions Quest’s programme of events, workshops and celebrity appearances that aim to strengthen the connections, and share best practice, between organisations making a contribution to the environment.
Grant Associates director Andrew Grant said: “It’s an honour to be recognised by the Earth Champions Foundation for our commitment to creating sustainable landscapes through well-informed and innovative design in the Bristol and Bath area, and beyond.
“This award is made all the more special because it stems from nominations made by members of our local community.
“We believe whole-heartedly in the Earth Champions’ mission to demonstrate that the global environmental challenges we face need to be tackled at a local level as well as through national and international efforts.”
