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2025 Living Countryside Awards – the results!
Read the stories behind the winning projects along with the full results of the 2025 CPRE Bedfordshire Living Countryside Awards.
Bedfordshire Choice Award – winner: Clophill Lakes Nature Reserve
More than 1,000 votes were cast by the people of Bedfordshire, with Clophill Lakes Nature Reserve picking up 20% of all the votes.
The new nature reserve at Clophill Lakes has been developed by the Greensand Trust, with a very high level of volunteer involvement. The site will be managed to maintain the valuable mosaic of wetland, grassland, open water and scrub habitats. Accessible paths and visitor facilities help make it a real community asset.
Bedfordshire Choice Award – runner up: Biggleswade Community Gardens
The project only narrowly missed being the one with the most votes and our judges thought it only appropriate to acknowledge the great support that the community has shown for the community garden.
Biggleswade Community Gardens is a volunteer-led initiative which manages several sites across the town, cultivating fruits, vegetables, and flowers for communal enjoyment. Community is at the heart of the project with events including barbecues and plant swaps, as well as promoting physical and mental health. Sustainability is also key, whether it’s supporting wildlife or using recycled materials.
Made in Bedfordshire – winner: Wooden Hill Coffee Roasters
Wooden Hill are local coffee roasters, supplying Fairtrade and Direct Trade Coffee to cafes and restaurants across the area. They dedicate a tree through the Forest of Marston Vale for every 100 kgs of coffee roasted, 2025 marks ten years of this initiative with 1,700 trees planted to date.
Judges’ Highlights
The judges were particularly interested in Wooden Hill’s approach to sustainability throughout their activities and their plans to expand the business whilst keeping a local focus on the production and customer base.
Highly Commended
- Disco-licious Foodstore and Kitchen
Grassroots and green shoots – winner: Edible High Town
Edible High Town’s community gardeners look after nine little patches on public land in High Town, Luton. People of all ages and abilities come together to grow fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers for everyone to share. They help keep the area tidy and litter free, lobby the council to be more nature friendly, and organise nature-based activities like walks and picnics.
Judges’ Highlights
The judges were particularly impressed by the community involvement and how the project has managed to extend its activities over recent years.
Highly Commended
- Biggleswade Community Gardens
- Bloomin’ Well
- Repair Cafe Leighton Buzzard
- Roots to Recovery
Commended
- Barton-le-Clay Coronation Community Garden
- Dunstable Wombles
- Kingsbrook and Cauldwell Community Allotment
Keep it wild – winner: Clophill Lakes Nature Reserve
As well as picking up the Bedfordshire Choice Award, Clophill Lakes Nature Reserve also won the Keep it wild category which celebrates projects that nurture nature, recognising groups that are working to improve biodiversity.
Judges’ Highlights
The team were particularly impressed by the amount of volunteer engagement and some of the challenges that had been overcome to get the reserve open to the public.
Commended
- Meppershall Parish Council
Congratulations to all of this year’s entrants. There are brilliant things happening across Bedfordshire!
