During the evening, the finalists will be presented with their awards. There are three levels of award: Full Award (plaque and certificate), Highly Commended and Commended Awards (certificate), and this year The Peter Brandon award will be presented to the project which the judges decided deserved special recognition. The projects will not know which award they will receive until the evening itself.

In alphabetical order, the finalists are:

• Ashplats Wood, East Grinstead. Conservation work near East Grinstead
  
• Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft for their restoration work and learning space
  
• Oldland Mill for the restoration of the Mill near Hassocks
  
• Ringmer Community College for students’ work on renewable energy sources and environmental education
  
• Slindon Forge for the restoration of the old forge building and development of a community space, cafe and grocery shop
  
• Sussex Prairie Garden for the development of a garden with prairie vegetation, cafe, plant shop and craft courses
  
• The Grove cafe and village shop cafe and village stores in Blackboys for community space and local foods
  
• The Sussex Produce Company for developing a grocery store and cafe with local foods and drink in Steyning
  
• Woodland Flora and Fauna Group (associated with the Greenfield Guardians) for their work on owl and bat boxes and pond and meadow restoration, in Hurstpierpoint/Sayers Common
  

We would like to congratulate all the finalists and look forward to seeing you all on the 16th October at the Awards Ceremony at Firle Place. We would also like to thank all the projects who didn't reach the finals on this occasion, and would like to acknowledge all your hard work.

Photos by Claire Lloyd