Leave No Trace Ireland picks up the ORN Success Award 2025 for Outstanding Contribution from a Small Organisation

The ORN Success Awards celebrate excellence, leadership and collaboration across the outdoor recreation sector. The Outstanding Contribution from a Small Organisation category highlights the vital role smaller organisations play in shaping sustainable, inclusive and responsible outdoor recreation. This award recognises a small organisation that has delivered an exceptional contribution to outdoor recreation, nature protection or responsible access – achieving significant impact through limited resources, strong values and effective collaboration.

Winner: Leave No Trace Ireland

Leave No Trace Ireland (LNTI) is a small but highly influential charity inspiring the responsible enjoyment of Ireland’s natural environment through education, research and community action. Despite its size, the organisation has achieved remarkable reach and impact, helping people and communities protect outdoor spaces while deepening their connection with nature.

The challenge

Ireland’s outdoor places are under increasing pressure from overuse, litter and biodiversity loss, at a time when resources for management, education and enforcement are limited. Communities, land managers and recreation providers need practical support to balance growing participation in outdoor recreation with long-term environmental stewardship.

Operating as a small organisation, LNTI has had to address these challenges while working within tight financial and staffing constraints.

The approach

LNTI’s work is rooted in evidence-based behaviour change, focusing on empowering people rather than restricting access. Its approach combines:

– National education and awareness campaigns, including the widely recognised Love This Place campaign.

– Hands-on training and accreditation, supporting educators, outdoor leaders and volunteers to champion responsible recreation.

– Community-led action, through local ambassador programmes that enable people to take ownership of conservation, litter reduction and climate adaptation initiatives in their own areas.

– Strong partnerships, working with state bodies, corporate partners and community groups to amplify impact and share learning.

Crucially, LNTI makes environmental stewardship accessible to everyone, embedding responsibility into everyday outdoor experiences rather than treating it as an add-on.

Outcomes and impact

In 2024 alone, Leave No Trace Ireland achieved:

– 5.5 million people reached through national awareness campaigns.

– 82 new educators trained, expanding capacity for responsible recreation education across Ireland.

– Over 132,000 students engaged nationwide, embedding positive outdoor behaviours from an early age.

– Thousands of volunteers and community members actively leading local conservation and climate adaptation projects.

The organisation’s work is further strengthened by its role as UN Sustainable Development Goal Champions, demonstrating how small organisations can align local action with global priorities through integrity, innovation and collaboration.

Why the judges selected this project

Judges were particularly impressed by:

– The scale of national impact delivered by a small team

– The organisation’s consistent, values-led approach to responsible access

– Its success in translating education into real, on-the-ground behaviour change

– The strength of its partnerships and community leadership model

Leave No Trace Ireland exemplifies how a small organisation can make a lasting, systemic contribution to protecting nature while enabling people to continue enjoying the outdoors responsibly.

One of the judging panellists, Anita Eade (Executive Director WWT, Charity Leader, Consultant and Changemaker) said,

“The judges were impressed by the organisation’s strong partnership approach, the breadth of its reach, and the range of activities delivered — from awareness raising and research to community-led action that supports both recreation and conservation.”