National land management charity the Land Trust is celebrating two successes at the Horticulture Week Custodian Awards 2017 this week.

Northumberlandia picked up the Best Parks Partnership – Third Sector accolade, and the Countess of Chester Country Park was named Best Community Health Initiative.

The partnership team of Banks Mining, Blagdon Estates, the Land Trust and Northumberland Wildlife Trust was recognised for the creation of the publically accessible green space of Northumberlandia and their commitment to ensuring it benefits the community for generations to come. A 100-feet-high human landform sculpture is the centrepiece of the park and was created from 1.5 million tonnes of stone, clay and soil carefully selected from the adjacent surface coal mine.

The Countess of Chester Country Park was recognised for its range of activities and initiatives that encourage people to get outdoors and active to benefit their mental and physical wellbeing. The Land Trust and The Conservation Volunteers, as owner and managing partner of the Country Park, work with Chester parkrun, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Mersey Forest, and Nature for Health, and other organisations and community groups.

Alan Carter, Director of Portfolio Management at the Land Trust, said: “It’s fantastic for these two amazing sites to be recognised in this way. Both highlight some of the key aspects of the Land Trust’s work in opening up natural spaces to the public and engaging businesses, public bodies and communities with the natural world around them.

“Our thanks go to everyone we work with across all our sites who help make them such an important part of daily lives.”

The Land Trust had a third site shortlisted in the Horticulture Week Custodian Awards – Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park was in the running for Best Urban Park Initiative.

The Countess of Chester Country Park was also shortlisted in the Healthcare Transformation Awards this week in the Improving Patient and Community Engagement Category.

Northumberlandia also won the Family Day Out (Readers’ Choice) award at the Northumberland Tourism Awards this month.