Alfred Toepfer Medal

The Alfred Toepfer Medal, named after the founder of the EUROPARC Federation, Dr h.c. Alfred Toepfer (1894-1993) is awarded annually in recognition of a particular individual who has made a significant contribution to nature protection in Europe. The medal is presented at the annual EUROPARC conference.

This is a great opportunity to honour those who work in our protected areas, who have a European vision yet make a difference in their home country or region! Nominations will be considered by the EUROPARC Council and the winner announced at the annual EUROPARC conference in September.

And the Alfred Toepfer Medal 2009 goes to..

This years succesful nominee for the Alfred Toepfer Medal was Mr Gordon Millar who was nominated by Thomas Hansson from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

As Mr Hansson started his speech saying "In this valuable work there are many individuals who contribute and make a difference. Over time a few people stick out. We see them in various contexts. They have a clear vision and in a goal-oriented fashion move our work forward", Mr Millar was unaware of his fate. It was only as the powerpoint presentation with pictures of the winner that accompanyed the speech began and Mr Hansson began telling the audience about the winners achievement that the penny finally dropped and Mr Millar looked stunned to say the least.

Mr Hansson listed a number of Mr Millars achievements some of which can be seen below:

• Mr Millar started his National Park career at the age of 12 whilst on a school trip two years after the establishment of the UKs first national park in 1952.
• In 1968 get a full-time post with the Peak District National Park Warden Service, buys a house in Edale, in the heart of the National Park
• During the 1970s Mr Millar became an active member of the Association of countryside rangers. Promoting the value of ranger services coming together to exchange expertise and ideas.
• He had a famous discussion with rangers from Scotland, United States and Denmark on a boat trip on Loch Lomand that led the following year to the formal inauguration of the International Ranger Federation
• In 1992 he represented the Contryside Managers when the International Ranger Federation (IRF) was founded with a signed agreement between the Countryside Management Association (CMA), representing rangers in England and Wales; the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association (SCRA); and the U.S.Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR).
• At 6:30 on the evening of Sunday, May 21, 1995, as chairman of the International Ranger Federation, officially opened the First World Ranger Congress with the raising of IRF's flag - the green, blue and white ying-yang symbol.

It was an emotional moment when Mr Millar went up to the stage to accept his award under a standing ovation from the 300 protected area practitioners attending the ceremony.

The speech given by Thomas Hansson and the powerpoint presentation can be downloaded below.

Previous winners

In 2008 the winner of the Medal was the retired Romanian forester Mr Walter Frank who was nominated by EUROPARC Germany for his fantastic work with Romania's ancient beech forests.

Last updated December 2009